Baba Aye's

Introduction The proportion of the workforce in formal employment which had never been very significant in Nigeria has further declined in the past three decades, starting from the period of the Bretton Woods Institutions-inspired Structural Adjustment Programme, with consequent expansion of workers within orbits of informal labour and employment relations. This paper considers how informal workers have been and are being organized; situating this within the broader picture of the problems and prospects these pose for envisioning and broadening the capacities of workers in their struggle(s) for better working conditions and a better society. The informal economy has been dominant in Nigeria since the late 19th century advent of capitalism and introduction of modern work forms in the country. The process of post-traditional urbanization which commenced from the beginning of the 20th century took on added steam in post-colonial Nigeria, particularly from the period of structural adjust...

The October 1, bomb blast as Nigeria marked the golden jubilee of its flag independence seems to have thrown up more questions than answers. A series of statements had been issued before the blast signed by Jomo Gbomo, a pseudonym that had been used on several occasions as the voice of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND. And subsequent to the bombing, MEND claimed responsibility. The President of the Federation, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan immediately stated that the bombing was not orchestrated by MEND, while the Federal Government sought the prosecution of Mr. Henry Okah, who had been touted as the leader of MEND two years back, apprehended, tried and then released as part of a deal which granted general amnesty to “militants” in the Niger Delta, last year. Mr. Okah would later claim in an interview with Al-Jazeera that he had been asked by an associate of President Goodluck to retract the claim of MEND as being behind the bombing and rather lay the blame at the ...

Introduction The topic chosen as the theme of this historic Conference is very significant. It shows the growing concern of thinkers and practitioners with the workers in the informal economy and it shows that this situation is something that cuts across both the national and global arenas. It also points towards the fact that a lot of things remain unresolved about understanding the informal economy, particularly the working class component in it, with the phrase; “the informal worker question”. What I will try to so with this paper is to put in perspective the following: different views on what the informal sector is; some insights into how workers in the informal sector have been/are being organised locally and globally’ policy challenges in addressing the informal worker question for government and other stakeholders; possible challenges for informal workers’ organisations and particularly the emerging Federation of Informal Workers’ Organisations of Nigeria (FIWON). It is imp...