The lamentable ironies of Nigerian political elites revolve around hypocrisy of the highest order. They are one thing outside and another thing inside government. In September 2010, one time CBN Governor wrote a piece entitled “2011 Elections, Let the Real Debate Begin” and was published by Thisday newspaper. The FEC discussed it and the Minister of Information then rained personal attacks on the author. However, many newspapers’ editorials were in strong support of the issues raised.
Another elections period came around this 2015, but the tragedy of the electioneering campaign was that both contending parties missed the golden opportunity to sensitise the electorate about the enormous challenges ahead and hence mobilise them for the inevitable sacrifices they would be called upon to make soon. Both bigger parties talked around the major development challenges to sway the gullible electorate, but none has any credible agenda to deal with these issues. The assertion is correct within the context of the evolving global economy and Nigeria’s broken finance.
From the socialist political perspectives, we have always provided alternative platforms for a paradigm shift. Bourgeoisie democracy rooted in capitalist economic model can never and will never liberate and emancipate the working people, peasants, artisans, youths and women from the vicious cul-de-sac of imperialism. Nigerian politicians like their counterparts across the African continent are dare devil desperados. Their stock-in-trade is problem creation, but lacks the abilities to proffer solutions. They are ardent destroyers, but not builders as they are quick to sing transformation without an idea of reformations. They know best how to create genies like thugs, kidnappers, armed robbers, assassins, arsonists and terrorists. They don’t understand the theories to create genius who could be inventors of global brand or innovators in leadership and business. They only believe in the now and here, but no thought for posterity as they teach the youths not to believe in the future when they expect to be leaders. They pay the youths to do their bidding for paltry worthless amount of money
Today, the African youths have mortgaged their future as they have been in cohort with politicians to destroy and truncate it before they even see it. They were at it as bomb blast echoed from the North East and reverberated in the South, East and West and spreading across the entire country as we awaited the Ides of February 14 2015, time line Nigeria. A temporal reprieve negotiated by stakeholders in security, defence, INEC and others put on hold the palpable doomsday. This was part of the contradiction that has sustained the brigand political competition and administration in Nigeria which has reduced the polity to an intra bourgeoisie squabbles and manipulation. The total devotion to such macabre politics is one which has unwittingly thrown us to an odd paradox in several respects. There is no better time to echo a people’s revolution than now.
However, when 28th March 2015 finally came, the Nigerian people demonstrated their power to change unpopular government with their votes. Although, the ideal change that emanates from below is yet to produce a government. It is in this stage that an organisation like Socialist Workers League and other socialist tendencies come to reckoning. These are tendencies with a clear programme which consists of the most advanced elements of the working class and social activists. It will provide platforms that can gather the energy from the looming spontaneous outburst of protests from below and focus it. When this begins to happen, then we know the dawn of people’s protest for real change has come. The incoming government does not represent the genuine working class desired change yet as only workers themselves can agitate for the desired change through self emancipation from below.
By Comrade Ogbu A. Ameh, Abuja