Pages: (165-177 )
Abstract
Scholarship has traced the development of social protection in advanced democracies to a series of significant events, prominent among which was the mobilisation of a working-class movement that pressured the state to provide certain safety nets and social security for many of its citizens. On the other hand, developing democracies in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Nigeria have, in the face of endemic poverty, failed to provide a tangible social welfare system to address the prevailing economic deprivations among the masses, despite the visible activity of many civil societies such as the labour union, specifically since the inception of the fourth republic. This study, therefore, examined the efforts of the Nigerian Labour Congress in the development of social protection in Nigeria. The study observed that while the Nigerian Labour Congress has been undeniably involved in the promotion of social security, the ‘welfarist’ concern of this union, just like many other pressure groups, was narrow and equally not thorough enough to significantly impact government to create a tangible social protection system that will benefit the general masses. The study concluded by suggesting that civil societies would best benefit the entire citizens, especially in the face of the present harsh market realities, by coming together to develop a broad plan of action that will force the government to create an established social protection system that makes access to basic needs the right of all citizens.
Keywords: Effective mobilization, fourth republic, Nigeria Labour Congress, poverty, social protection.,