Saturday 14 March 2015

THE IMPERATIVE OF A BROAD MOVEMENT FOR A POLITICAL ALTERNATIVE!



      A CLARION CALL by Joint Action Front [JAF]
Being Text of the Press Conference by Joint Action Front (JAF) held at CCG, Lagos, March 9th 2015
INTRODUCTION
We in the Joint Action Front (JAF) welcome our dear media compatriots to this press conference, which has been specifically scheduled to state our positions on the State of the Nation and our resolve to defend the interest of the Nigerian working people and the oppressed poor classes at all times.
The Nigerian economy is heading towards a collapse despite the empty assurance by the Federal Government and its various spoke-persons that all is well. The prevalent socio-economic realities have proven the Government wrong.
Our assessment has shown that the Federal Government and State Governments and their agencies are in deficit of arrears of salaries to workers across the country, which Governments admitted has been due to the shortfall in national revenues, and thereby informed the short fall in allocations.
However, JAF notes that the same economic downturn, which is the direct result of the capitalist economic policies of privatisation, deregulation and the underdevelopment of the nation’s productive forces, is bound to continue as long as this system of exploitation continues.
Over the years, we in JAF have maintained that this system of exploitation must be fought and defeated, hence our consistent struggle for SYSTEM CHANGE in the direction of socialist transformation of the Nigerian society.
STATE OF THE NATION
.The highlights of the State of the Nation are:
·         The General elections of February 14 and 28 were postponed and despite the new dates of March 28 and April 11, there are worrisome signals of the conspiracy to again postpone the election. The use of the MILITARY to force the postponement of the elections is dangerous and threatens even the new election dates of March 28 and April 11. Who, except the military itself, determines whether or not there is enough security? Nigeria must not allow the military to come again and tell us we cannot have elections. We must resist this for the sake of our country and its people.
·         There is no end in sight to the Boko Haram menace despite the renewed war by the military.
·         There are crises in the economy, manifesting in very big, sharp drop in prices of crude oil, destruction of the value of the Naira, heavy and cruel joblessness, abject poverty and no one, no place is safe from violence in our country.
·         How have Governments responded to the drop in oil revenue? The same old therapies: default in paying workers’ salaries, retrenchment, Austerity measures in the 2015 budget, neglect of public infrastructure, no welfare, more starvation, more insecurity,  more suffering for the working people, the poor and the oppressed. For the exploiters, more riches through foreign currency, cheaper labour, heavier profit.
·         Irrespective of the party that wins the presidential election, the crisis in the economy is bound to continue because the economic agenda of the two major parties (PDP and APC) remains dependent on oil and capitalist policies of privatisation and deregulation. These policies are operated and championed by servants of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), whose main business is to steal our national wealth for the use of the exploiters in Europe, United States of America, Japan, Asia, etc. These agents cannot defend the working people, the poor and the oppressed anywhere.
·         In Nigeria, the privatisation and deregulation policies have undermined the 1999 Constitution, which in stating the country’s economic objectives, makes it mandatory that the commanding heights of the economy shall not be in private hands. Rulers, their governments and their agents have sold and are determined to sell everything sellable unless the working people lead the oppressed to stop them.
LESSONS OF HISTORY
·         The rule and policies of Electoral manipulations since post-independence Nigeria have been harbingers of national calamities. In the 1960s, election heist led to Operation Wetie, military rule and the 1967 - 70 Civil War. The 1983 NPN electoral moon-slide led to another 16 years of military rule. The crisis arising from the annulment of June 12 1993 election led to the strengthening of military dictatorship and anarchy.
·         Who suffered in the past? Who will bear the brunt of ongoing political and economic crises in the country if they are allowed to get worse and worse? In all these crises, it is the working people and the oppressed poor that were worst hit with untold deprivation and bloodshed.
·         We should therefore oppose all manner of electoral manipulations and postponement under whatever guise, including the ongoing rumour of a military coup or imposition of an interim regime to scuttle the election. The clear lesson from history is that such an aberration, will leave the working people and oppressed masses worst off, and thereby cut short the process of building a broad movement that can ensure the realisation of SYSTEM CHANGE under the control of the working people and oppressed.
WHAT IS TO BE DONE?
1.    To Defend Democratic Gains won by the people of Nigeria.
·         We have a DUTY to support the democratic rights of the Nigerian masses to choose their leaders through elections, hence we should INSIST that elections must hold peacefully and in line with INEC rules and guidelines on March 28 and April 11, Results must be declared and the winners of the elections must be sworn-in on May 29, 2015.
2.    To mobilise the Working People and all the poor and oppressed in our country against Austerity Measures.
·         But beyond the elections is the challenge of organising and mobilising the working people,  the poor and the oppressed to resist the Austerity Measures and further misery for the people that are imminent irrespective of the party that win.
3.    To Build a Genuine People’s Political Alternative.
·         Also, there is the fundamental issue of change. To achieve change we must build a Genuine Working People’s Alternative.
·         We should ask: what kind of change do the working people and the oppressed want? Is it the Change by the ruling political parties who have looted the country dry? What should constitute Change and who can really effect the Change?
·         For us in JAF, the Change we want will UNITE the vast majority of our people under a government that will organise the working people and oppressed poor to boost our productive capacities and will use the resources for sustainable economic and social advancement; thereby reversing our economic dependency and restoring our dignity as an independent country. The Government of the working people will take care of all Nigerians no matter where they come from, their religion, where they live, and their sex. It will care for all Nigerians dehumanised by the rule of the oppressors
·         But to get this kind of Change, we in JAF cannot do it alone. This is why we have resolved to commend to all working people and all oppressed classes in Nigeria the necessity to join forces together and build a BROAD MOVEMENT that can put before the Nigerian People a Genuine Working People’s Alternative.
IMMEDIATE PROGRAMME OF ACTION
  1. We have started nationwide consultations with NLC, TUC, Trade Unions, Trade Associations, Student organisations, Professional Bodies (NMA, NBA, etc), Artisans and Market Groups, Residents Associations, CDAs, Progressive Political Parties, Left groups, CSOs and Faith-based groups on the basis of the above enumerated goals.
  2. A Consultative Meeting of all the consulted groups will hold before the elections to define the Programme of Action of the BROAD MOVEMENT and the tasks to organise all people’s organisations to come together and struggle to win.
FORWARD EVER, BACKWARD NEVER!

Dr. Oladipo Fashina                        Comrade Abiodun Aremu
JAF Chairperson                             JAF Secretary

JAF Message to NLC NEC Over Inconclusive NDC



A MESSAGE FROM THE JOINT ACTION FRONT {JAF) TO THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL {NEC) OF THE NIGERIA LABOUR CONGRESS THROUGH THE GENERAL SECRETARY               THE NIGERIA CONGRESS HOLDING ON WEDNESDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2015.

Fraternal greetings from the Joint Action Front (JAF) We, who are your allies in the struggles for the freedom of Nigerian, African workers, and the working class all over the world ,are unhappy ,to say the least ,about the developments in the recent, inconclusive National Delegates Conference (NDC)of the Nigeria Labour Congress.
The crisis that  ensued from  last week's  NDC has generated  great  danger, apprehension and fears in all Nigerians who believe firmly that the salvation of, the people of Nigerian  workers  from the shackles of oppression  and misery­ economic political,       cultural, religious; indeed all manifestations of class oppression, lies in a united working class and its political organization
A united working class movement will Lead Nigerian's to dismantle class oppression, and other forms of oppression. This has been the ideal, the hope, the credo of the working class. It was what our heroes died fighting for: Papa Michael lmoudu, comrades Nduka Eze, SaadZungur, RajiAb,dallah, Wahab Goodluck,M.E kolagbodi, Amlnu  Kano, Mokwugo Okoye,·Gogo Chu Nzeribe, Osita Agwuna,  Abubakar Rimi, (The first political ruler to declare May Day a holiday), Hudson Momodu, Amaefula lkoro a.k.a Nehru, Alao Aka Basorun, Lasisi Osunde, S.U. Bassey, Ola Oni, Gani Fawehinmi, Bekolari Ransome Kuti, Chima Ubani (Martyrs of workers struggles). EskerToyo is still alive.,It is this ideal that has given hope to millions of Nigeria oppressed, deprive, dehumanized, the seemingly hopeless and helpless millions who suffer while  our ruling class from all ethnic nationalities from all religions, from all sexes, strive in midst of abject poverty and misery of the people. Nigerian workers and all oppressed class want to live in a country of their own where they have dignity and class power. They are the working class, the peasants farmers, the millions of unemployed men and women all over the country, the lumpen of all states, all the oppressed that can be found in all states, all ethnic groups ,all religious groups, all sexes, everywhere, everytime.
For Nigeria's ruling class, the crisis that was created by the events of last week leading as it did to the unconcluded election, is an opportunity to cripple the NLC, the organization that has defended the working class, all the poor and oppressed classes, and given hope to millions of people that Nigeria can become a powerful free model of an African country. The ruling class in Nigeria 'is being presented an opportunity, terrible and undeserved,..to cripple, without  resistance, a most Powerful labour movement on the African Continent. This must not be allowed to happen.
The military wing of the ruling class tried but failed to destroy the most potent labour organization but ultimately failed to destroy the working class movement.
It imposed sole administrators, a devastating structural adjustment programme (SAP) and laid the foundation for complete control of our economic and political institutions by the imperial powers.
Nigerian workers, with their allies-the students, the academia, women's organizations etc resisted and rejected the process of emasculation of Nigeria's working class movement.

We have a duty to the present, and future generations not to let the Nigerian Labour movement and the Nigeria labour Congress collapse. Our duty to future generations is to defend the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Nigeria labour movement. We should not allow the ruling class to take over the Nigeria Labour Congress. We should resist the emasculation of working class and the oppressed In Nigeria with all the might, all the history of working struggles and experience.
We should not lose what our working class national heroes died for. We should never forget       our   struggles against imperial rule, against colonialism, neo­colonialism, neo liberalism in all its open and hidden oppressive form.
We must not sacrifice the organizational base of working class struggles, the bulwark of the defence of Nigeria's working class, to ruling class parties of Whatever description. We must always separate the interests of Nigerian workers from the interests of ruling class parties. We cannot afford to sacrifice our hard won struggles and unity. The ruling class will divide us, use us and, as they have always done, continue to build alliance with the imperia lpowers in Europe and Africa, the same forces that impoverished and are impoverishing our people.The Nigeria Labour Congress has given, and should continue to give us the base for that resistance to imperial rule in the world.        ..
The National Executive Council of NLC should emerge from this meeting to {1) resist the real threat of cancerous division now facing the most powerful organization of workers {2) defend the achievements of the working class movements in the struggle for independence till today (and beyond)
{3)Here and now reject, defeat, and throw away the real threat, the clear danger of   the losing  the   hard-earned            gains   of         working           class    struggles         since

Independence, and ensure the survival of the most potent weapon for the defence of the poor, the weak and the oppressed in our country._ (4)Pledgetoworkforcorrectionofallmistakesthathavetendedtoundermine the unity and strength of the working class, which has led the struggles of the oppressed in our country.
If we leave this meeting divided the ruling class of all ethnic groups all religions will have won. The centers of imperial rule will be happy. They will move in for the kin encourage and strengthen docile labour centers. To lose the unity of the labour movement  is therefore      a          class suicide    a          historical abdication of responsibility for which generations upon generations will never forgive us. This NEC therefore must preserve our future: the future of the Nigerian people, Nigerian workers, Nigerian children and the existence of Nigeria itself.
We implore all working class leaders present to sacrifice for the survival of all oppressed classes in our country. We implore you to save the Nigeria Labour Congress and by doing so save Nigeria our country; give· hope to the people.
Keep the struggle for African freedom alive in the tradition of Patrice Lumumba, Nelson Mandela, Amilcar Cabral, Eduardo .Mondi Eme, Kwame Nkrumah, Pa lmoudu, and all the freedom fighters of the Nigeria Labour movement listed at the beginning of this letter.
Let us leave this NEC united and history will do honour to the Congress, the leaders, the contestants, our Trustees, and all who make unity possible. Pa lmoudu will give a formidable nod in his grave.

A historical compromise and sacrifice from all contending forces will save the labour movement and hence Nigeria. The survival of a virile and indomitable NLC, and a principled labour movement will save Nigeria.Both are imperatives. The alternative is suicide.

A united labour movement will never be defeated.



Thank you.



OLADIPO FASHINA
·JointActionFront(JAF) February18,2015