By Al-Bashir Wakili Abubakar

There is no doubt that labour rights are sacred. Labour leaders must also understand and appreciate the right of Nigeria and its more than 225 million citizens to function without being held hostage.

In a sector where safety, precision, and reliability are non-negotiable, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) should be a bastion of stability, not a theatre where workers’ unions frequently resort to strike threats like a loaded gun pointed at the nation’s meteorological heart. Such a cycle of attempted disruption is not just unprofessional—it is dangerous, economically costly, and ultimately self-defeating.

Labour disputes are a legitimate part of democratic engagement, but when they become a predictable pattern of threats and blackmail, they cross the red line. The frequent strike ultimatums issued by the unions in NiMet have moved beyond the realm of negotiation into a form of institutional hostage-taking that has the tendency to undermine public trust, aviation safety, and the credibility of the labour movement itself.

NiMet’s role in aviation safety is critical. Accurate weather forecasts are the backbone of flight planning, maritime navigation, and disaster preparedness. Every time workers down tools, the ripple effects are immediate—flight cancellations, economic losses, and heightened safety risks. According to industry estimates, even a 24-hour disruption can cost airlines and related businesses hundreds of billions of naira.

Because the labour unions affiliated with NiMet are aware of the critical and indispensable nature of the agency’s role, they frequently resort to strike threats as a tool of blackmail to trigger panic within management. The unions have done this several times, especially since Prof. Charles Anosike assumed office as the agency’s Director-General and Chief Executive Officer.

The situation raises serious concern, given that NiMet unions did not resort to this level of blackmail and threats during the tenures of previous managements, even when workers allegedly suffered neglect in terms of welfare, training, and other incentives.

As stated earlier, industrial action is a legitimate tool for labour unions when used responsibly, but the NiMet unions have developed a pattern: issue a strike threat, extract concessions, suspend the action, and repeat. This cycle erodes goodwill, undermines genuine grievances, and creates the perception that the agency’s workforce is more interested in brinkmanship than in service delivery.

Before President Bola Tinubu assumed office in 2023, Nigeria’s aviation sector faced numerous challenges, including infrastructure deficits and regulatory bottlenecks. Since then, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Barrister Festus Keyamo, SAN, has confronted these challenges and, according to the writer, has transformed the sector into one of the best in Africa, attracting accolades from within and outside the country.

On his part, Prof. Anosike has transformed NiMet into a digital leader, enhancing climate and weather services as well as advancing early warning systems, thereby repositioning the agency as a strategic institution for national development.

These achievements have come alongside what the writer describes as unprecedented welfare initiatives for the agency’s staff, who were previously denied training opportunities and other benefits. For example, in the past four months, the Federal Government has approved three key welfare packages for workers following requests by Anosike’s management and the support of the supervising minister.

The approvals include the Revised Scheme of Service, described as a landmark and progressive measure that would sustain the ongoing transformation and secure fair wages, with the broader goal of strengthening Nigeria’s climate and weather services. They also include the Unified Salary Structure and an updated Conditions of Service, which took effect on June 1, marking a formal adjustment to the remuneration framework for the agency’s personnel.

Apart from these approvals—all secured this year for the workers—the management has also addressed several longstanding issues raised by the unions, even though they were inherited from previous administrations. According to the writer, these include the provision of furniture, salary relativity, payment of minimum wage arrears to staff promoted in 2025, settlement of 45 months of arrears—which was the first major demand when Prof. Anosike assumed office—as well as staff training and retraining. These measures are in addition to efforts to amend the NiMet Act to strengthen revenue recovery.

In his famous Critique of the Gotha Programme, published in 1875, Karl Marx popularised the maxim: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs,” advocating that citizens should contribute to society according to their talents and capacities as part of a broader vision of equitable distribution. In the same work, Marx also drew attention to the moral principle of reciprocity: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded.”

Considering the achievements recorded by the current management and the several welfare packages extended to workers, the agency deserves a peaceful and conducive working environment to enable it to deliver further milestones. As a gesture of gratitude, the unions should encourage workers to remain loyal, dedicated, and committed, rather than promote resentment, blackmail, and outright threats.

It is worth recalling that in 2024, NiMet workers, through these same unions, commended the Prof. Anosike-led management for what they described as unprecedented welfare packages, saying they had “never had it so good.”

It was therefore surprising that in January 2025, just a few months after that commendation, the same unions issued a strike warning to management, leading to several meetings and negotiations before the industrial action was suspended.

The latest moves by the unions, according to the writer, follow a similar pattern. This time, they bypassed management and wrote directly to the Honourable Minister, requesting a meeting. In the letter, they reportedly threatened to embark on strike if certain conditions were not met. This is in addition to reports that they also wrote to their parent body with the same threat.

There is an urgent need for the NiMet unions to recognise that their frequent resort to strike threats may send the wrong signal to international partners, investors, and travellers. In an industry where reliability is paramount, such attempts to destabilise the system are reputationally damaging and, therefore, condemnable.

The NiMet unions should instead reciprocate what the writer describes as the conciliatory approach of the agency’s Chief Executive Officer, who has consistently promoted peace and industrial harmony by ensuring that workers receive their entitlements, rather than resorting to a “carrot-and-stick” approach, which is also available to the authorities.

The unions should see themselves as partners in progress and embrace structured dialogue and long-term agreements rather than perpetual brinkmanship through frequent resort to blackmail and strike threats.

For its part, the Federal Government should effectively enforce labour laws in Nigeria to prevent workers in essential service-providing agencies such as NiMet from holding the nation hostage.

Mallam Al-Bashir Wakili Abubakar, a meteorologist, climate researcher, and agricultural extension officer, writes from Damaturu, Yobe State. Email: [email protected].