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Vice President Atiku Abu-bakar yesterday accused the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) of undermining the nation's democracy through its frequent resort to strike action to press for its demands from government.

But the NLC will today intensify mobilisation for the June 9 mass action and general strike in protest against the hike in price of fuel as it meets with representatives of 38 civil society groups, students, university and polytechnic staff unions to work out strategy on how to prosecute the action.

Atiku at the on-going five day conference of African Privatisation Network (APN) in Abuja said Labour always resort to strikes instead of dialogue to resolve issues, thereby posing a threat to the survival of democracy.

Before making his remark, the vice president asked whether the NLC president, Adams Oshiomhole, was in the audience, a question which attracted mixed reactions from the delegates in the Congress Hall of the NICON Hilton Hotel, venue of the conference.

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Dateline: 27/09/2004 21:46:11

'Nigeria, not a Third World Country'

Director of Social Communications, Lagos Catholic Archdiocese, Reverend Father Gabriel O*s*u, has frowned at the labelling of Nigeria and some other countries as third world nations.

O*s*u, who described such appelation as an alienation, said it has created undue dichotomy, inferiority complex and a bad move to divide the world.

O*s*u spoke at the Eighth Anniversary celebration of The Evangelist Newsletter of Saint John Evangelist Catholic Church, Ladipo, Oshodi, just as Reverend Father Anslem Adodo of the Ewu Monastry, called for the revolution of African medicine.

O*s*u, who was the founding publisher of the Newsletter before his redeployment to Saint Paul's, Ebutte Metta, praised the decision of his successor to retain some of his policies.

Such a move, he said, was quite in contrast to "our nature and our character in this country where as soon as there is a new king, new laws emanate, often with the new 'king' jettisoning what their predecessors have done in office.

A a result he said, there were numerous white elephant projects in this country leading to unemployment, frustration and alienation.

O*s*u also condemned the resort to rubbish predessessors' name, thereby creating bad blood and lack of continuity in policy implementation.

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