Nigerian Unions Call Strike in Effort to Oust Government

An estimated 4 million workers were ordered to go on strike Saturday in a bid to force out this West African nation’s military-backed government.

On Thursday, dictator Gen. Ibrahim Babangida resigned under pressure, but he left behind a government of civilian supporters who promised to hold new elections early next year.

Many Nigerians want the interim government to install tycoon Moshood K. O. Abiola, the apparent winner of the June 12 presidential election that was to end a decade of military dictatorship.

Babangida’s decision to annul that election plunged Nigeria into a crisis that has triggered unrest and mass movements of people fleeing to their ethnic homelands in anticipation of tribal clashes.

The crisis is the worst since a 1967-70 civil war over a secession bid by the Ibo people in the oil-producing southeast.

The open-ended strike that began Saturday was called by the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and the 41-union Nigerian Labor Congress.

Lagos was mostly at a standstill. Many stores were empty, and only a handful of buses were on the streets.

Because the walkouts came at the start of a three-day holiday weekend, however, it might take several days to gauge whether enough people will participate to meet the unions’ goal of shutting down the economy.

Some effects of the strikes were immediately apparent in other parts of the country and in Port Harcourt, the oil town that is the nerve center of the industry that supplies 80% of government revenue.

Some oil tankers were unable to load, and the Port Authority commercial wharf was closed because workers did not show up.

At the two major ports in Lagos, which handle more than 60% of exports and imports, 15 ships waited at sea. But big producers such as Shell, Elf and Chevron reported no immediate impact on production.

Some domestic and international flights were canceled as air traffic controllers and other staff joined the protest. Several incoming international flights were diverted to neighboring countries, leaving hundreds of stranded passengers.

In London, Abiola said he would return to Nigeria this week to set up his own government.

There was no word on Saturday from the new administration headed by Harvard-educated businessman Ernest Shonekan. Once a respected executive, he now is considered a puppet of Babangida.