Professor Adebayo Olatunde Akinsanya of the Tai Solarin Federal University of Education, Ijagun, has called on the Federal Government to intensify efforts to control inflation and stabilise Nigeria’s economy. Akinsanya warned that persistent economic pressures could weaken workplace relations and reduce productivity across organisations. He also urged the government to review the country’s industrial laws to reflect present economic conditions.
The professor made the call while delivering the university’s 42nd inaugural lecture, titled “Have Dominion,” drawn from Genesis 1:28. Akinsanya, who teaches in the Industrial Education Unit of the Department of Adult and Development Education, College of Specialised and Professional Education, said economic stability was closely connected to the relationship between the government, employers and employees. He maintained that inflation must be brought under control to support peaceful and sustainable industrial relations.
According to him, Nigeria’s ambition to become fully industrialised will depend partly on the ability of the major participants in the industrial system to maintain harmonious relationships. He said industrial harmony could promote peace, strengthen workers’ morale, increase productivity and encourage the prudent use of organisational resources. It could also improve employees’ working conditions and allow them to participate more effectively in workplace affairs.
Akinsanya called for industrial legislation to be updated in response to inflation, changing knowledge requirements and growing awareness among employers and workers. He also urged the government, business owners and employees to use collective bargaining, negotiation and social dialogue when addressing industrial disputes.
According to the professor, collective bargaining and negotiation should remain important mechanisms for determining wages and employment conditions and preventing disagreements from developing into larger conflicts. He linked this approach to the International Labour Organisation’s Decent Work Agenda, which promotes workplace rights, social protection and dialogue among the parties involved in employment relations.
Akinsanya identified effective communication as another important means of preventing and resolving workplace disputes. He said conflict could arise when employees were excluded from decisions or were not adequately informed about new policies, programmes and developments within their organisations.
The professor argued that an effective communication environment would allow workers and employers to exchange knowledge, ideas and skills more freely, thereby improving efficiency and organisational performance. Such an environment, he said, should encourage trust, openness, credibility, support and employee participation in decision-making. Organisations should also communicate their performance goals clearly to workers.
Akinsanya explained that the government, employers and employees had different but interconnected interests within the industrial relations system. While employers generally pursue profitability, workers seek improved welfare and fair wages. The government, on its part, wants production to continue without disruption so that goods and services remain available to the public.
He said the differences among these interests should be managed through dialogue and established procedures rather than confrontation or the attempt by one party to dominate the others. The professor recommended substantive and procedural agreements that clearly address wages, bonuses, overtime, working hours and leave. He also called for agreed procedures that would allow industrial disputes to be resolved peacefully.
Akinsanya, a former branch chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities at the institution, warned that industrial conflict could impede national development. He said disputes could interrupt productive activities, damage infrastructure and cause resources that could have been used for development to be redirected elsewhere.
To reduce such conflicts, he recommended workers’ education and peace education to help employees understand their rights, responsibilities and limitations within their organisations. The professor also advocated conflict-management approaches that would produce mutually beneficial outcomes, particularly collaboration.
Although he acknowledged that different disputes might require different responses, he said collaboration could help the parties pursue solutions acceptable to everyone through cooperation and assertive communication. Akinsanya maintained that every participant in the industrial system had an important role to play and should contribute to the establishment of a peaceful and productive working environment.
“Government should create more practical regulations and better economic space for dutiful industry,” he said. He also urged employers to respond more effectively to workers’ concerns, while employees should regularly improve their knowledge and cooperate with others to increase organisational productivity.
The lecture examined the development of work, industrial relations and workplace conflict across different historical periods, from early societies and ancient civilisation to feudalism, medieval industry, the Industrial Revolution and contemporary employment relations.
Akinsanya reiterated in his concluding recommendations that the government should stabilise the economy, control inflation and update industrial laws. He also called for collective bargaining and negotiation to remain central to relationships between employers and employees. He concluded that peace was essential to productivity and national development, stressing that cooperation among industrial stakeholders would be required for Nigeria to achieve its industrialisation objectives.
The inaugural lecture was the 42nd in the university’s lecture series and the sixth since the institution became TASFUED. It was also the 14th lecture from the College of Specialised and Professional Education and the second from the Department of Adult and Development Education.
Akinsanya pioneered the department as acting head in 2015. His presentation was the first inaugural lecture delivered from its Industrial Education Unit. The event was presided over by the university’s vice-chancellor and attended by principal officers, members of staff, students, academics, family members and friends. Members of the ASUU South-West leadership, led by former national chairman Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, and representatives of the Oke Ona Grammar School Abeokuta Alumni Association were also present.