Former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has revealed how his administration decisively severed alleged links between Nigeria’s labour unions and foreign intelligence agencies, including the former Soviet Union’s KGB and the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Obasanjo made the disclosure while reflecting on Nigeria’s labour movement during the Cold War era, a period he described as one in which global ideological battles deeply influenced trade unions across Africa, including Nigeria. According to him, labour organisations were not only fighting for workers’ rights but had also become attractive channels for foreign powers seeking political influence.

Tax Law: ₦5tn VAT Windfall For States As New Formula Begins

He explained that during the 1970s and early 1980s, Nigeria’s labour unions were heavily courted by both Eastern and Western blocs. The KGB, aligned with communist ideology, allegedly supported radical labour leaders pushing socialist ideas, while the CIA was said to back rival factions to counter Soviet influence. This rivalry, Obasanjo noted, turned labour unions into “battlegrounds for foreign interests” rather than platforms focused purely on workers’ welfare.

Obasanjo said his government viewed the situation as a threat to Nigeria’s sovereignty and internal stability. Upon assuming leadership as military Head of State in 1976, he initiated intelligence and administrative reforms aimed at insulating labour organisations from external manipulation. These measures included closer monitoring of foreign funding, restructuring labour leadership frameworks, and promoting internal democratic processes within unions.

According to him, the government also strengthened national institutions responsible for labour relations, ensuring that disputes between workers and the state were resolved through dialogue and established legal channels rather than ideological confrontation fueled from abroad. He stressed that the objective was not to weaken labour unions, but to make them truly Nigerian in outlook and purpose.

Obasanjo further stated that Nigeria’s non-aligned foreign policy guided his actions. “We were not for the East, and we were not for the West. We were for Nigeria,” he said, adding that no country serious about its independence would allow its labour movement to be controlled by external intelligence agencies.

The former president said the impact of these actions was evident in the gradual depoliticisation of labour struggles and a stronger focus on bread-and-butter issues such as wages, working conditions, and social welfare. He argued that while labour unions have continued to challenge successive governments, they have largely done so within a national framework rather than as proxies for foreign powers.

Obasanjo’s revelation has reignited debates about the historical role of labour unions in Nigeria’s political development, as well as concerns about foreign influence in domestic affairs. Analysts say the account provides rare insight into how global Cold War politics intersected with Nigeria’s internal governance and labour activism.

As Nigeria continues to navigate economic reforms and labour-government relations, Obasanjo’s reflections serve as a reminder of a time when workers’ movements were not just about factories and wages, but also about global power struggles playing out on Nigerian soil.