You have the right to form a union. This is not a suggestion. It is written into the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Section 40: every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons, and in particular he may form or belong to any political party, trade union or any other association for the protection of his interests.

Most Nigerians do not know this. Most employers do not want them to know it. This piece is for the ones who want to know.

A trade union is a formal organization of workers who join together to negotiate with their employer as a collective. The key word is collective. One worker asking for better wages is easy to ignore. Fifty workers asking together, with legal standing, with the right to strike, with the protection of the law — that is a different conversation.

Under the Trade Unions Act (Chapter T14, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004), a trade union is defined as any combination of workers whose purpose is to regulate the terms and conditions of employment. That definition is broad. It covers factory workers and office workers, formal employees and informal traders, permanent staff and contract workers.

Here is how you form one.

First, you need at least fifty members. The Act requires that any application for registration be supported by at least fifty members of the proposed union. These must be workers in the same industry or occupation.

Second, you apply to the Registrar of Trade Unions, who sits in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment. The application must include the name of the proposed union, its rules and constitution, the names and addresses of its officers, and evidence of the fifty founding members.

Third, the Minister of Labour must approve the registration. The Minister has discretion to refuse registration if he is not satisfied that it is expedient to register the union. This discretion has been used to block unions that the government finds inconvenient. It is a known obstacle that can be navigated with legal advice and persistence.

Once registered, the union has legal standing. It can negotiate with employers through collective bargaining — the process by which the union and the employer agree on wages, hours, and working conditions. The agreement they reach is called a collective bargaining agreement, and it is legally binding.

The union also has the right to strike. A strike is legal in Nigeria if the union has followed the correct procedure: giving the employer and the Ministry of Labour seven days' notice, attempting conciliation through the Ministry, and exhausting the dispute resolution process. A strike that follows these steps is protected. Workers who participate in a legal strike cannot be dismissed for doing so.

What about informal workers? The Act covers formal employment, but informal workers — market traders, artisans, gig workers, domestic workers — can also organize. They cannot form a trade union in the strict legal sense, but they can form a cooperative society under the Cooperative Societies Act, or a professional association, or a community-based organization. These structures do not have the same legal protections as a registered trade union, but they provide collective voice, shared resources, and the ability to negotiate as a group.

The practical steps for any group of workers who want to organize:

One — find your fifty. Talk to your colleagues. Identify the people who share your grievances and are willing to act on them.

Two — write your constitution. The union needs rules: how decisions are made, how officers are elected, how dues are collected, how disputes are resolved.

Three — elect your officers. A president, a secretary, a treasurer at minimum.

Four — register. Get a lawyer if you can. The registration process is bureaucratic and the Ministry has discretion to delay or refuse. Legal advice helps.

Five — negotiate. Once registered, approach your employer and request recognition. If they refuse, the Labour Act provides a process for compulsory recognition. Use it.

The 1945 general strike happened because Michael Imoudu and thirty thousand workers understood something that most Nigerians have forgotten: the law is on your side. The Constitution is on your side. The right to organize is not a gift from the government. It is a right that workers fought for, bled for, and won. It belongs to you.

Use it.