Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM)

For struggle, Solidarity and Socialism in Nigeria

Committee for a Workers' International

Home

Join DSM

Contact DSM

About us

Our Manifesto

Statements

Socialist Democracy

Newspaper of the DSM

Campaigns

NCP

Trade Unions

Students

Women

International

Downloads

email

Socialist Democracy September - October 2003

Recently, all state governors and the president who emerged in the flawed and massively rigged and globally criticized general elections, celebrated their 100 days in office with pomp and pageantry. The 100 days in office was marked by flamboyant congratulatory messages in the mass media.

While the various congratulatory messages gave the impression of a rosy and eventful 100 days in office, the reality on ground contradicts the rosy picture painted by the various congratulatory messages sponsored by hangers-on, political jobbers, contractors and associates of those in public offices.

Since the last general elections, the conditions of life for the vast majority of Nigerians have gone from bad to worse with hunger, unemployment, ever rising cost of living, poverty, inflation arising from the increase in the pump price of petroleum products, insecurity of life and property, armed robbery, ethnic violence, etc being the lot of the masses.

Rather than ameliorating the sufferings and pains of the masses, governance at all levels in the country has become one huge burden on the people because of the various anti-people policies and pronouncements of those in government. Daily, the pains, sufferings and hardship confronting the masses increase with no hope of the situation changing for the better underlining the helplessness of the conventional politicians and political parties to proffer solution to these problems.

Instead of ameliorating the terrible living conditions of the masses, governments at all levels is rather keen on pushing them further down the drains of economic and social misery and snuffing lives out of the Nigerian masses. An excellent example being the insistence of the Obasanjo government to further increase the pump price of petroleum products despite the mass opposition to the move and in spite of the deteriorating condition of life that the last increases engendered.

The Nigerian masses have at critical periods and juncture, shown themselves prepared and ready to resist and reject the yoke called governance and its anti-people policies as the last general strike and protests against the increase in the prices of petroleum products has shown. What is however lacking is how to transform the revulsion of the masses against the traditional usurpers of public institutions, who use public office to inflict pains on the masses, into concrete political action to sweep them out of public office. The absence of a genuinely mass-based political platform with a pro-masses agenda that can mobilize the masses and channel their revulsion against the present decadent status quo for the purpose of installing a genuinely pro-masses government in power is what is holding the masses back.

Of the thirty registered political parties presently in the country, the National Conscience Party (NCP) no doubt, stands out clearly as a most popular party with a pro-poor and pro-masses programmes and manifestoes.

However, the rigged victory of the moneybag parties and seemingly poor performance of the NCP has understandably led to a mood of disappointment among a certain layer of the masses and NCP activists in particular.

The principal reason for the NCP results is that the party has not yet got sufficient influence and roots among the working masses and in most working class and rural communities that would have enabled it to win the elections. In several local governments and wards, especially outside Lagos State, the party is yet to establish viable structure.

The very short time between NCP registration (December 2002) by the electoral commission and the time of the elections (April 2003), the shortage of necessary manpower and finance were also factors which negatively affected NCP's performance.

The main challenge before the party membership at this period is to correct these weaknesses and build the party as a fighting grassroot mass party with presence in every ward, street and home through systematic campaign on issues affecting the working masses. Only the building of such a formidable presence can ensure victory for the party and the masses and neutralise the effects of vote buying and check rigging by the main capitalist parties.

The party needs to do a whole lot of work to rebuild and strengthen the party structures and transform it into a genuinely mass based political platform with structures in the communities, streets and neighbourhoods.

Building the NCP as a mass based political party implies setting up units of the party in streets, neighbourhood and communities with mandates to champion and intervene in issues confronting neighbourhoods and communities like police harassment and extortions, insensitivity of government officials to the problems of neighbourhood and communities, anti-people and anti-poor government policies, etc. It implies neighbourhood and community units of the party serving as points of contact to supporters and potential members of the party and equally serving as avenues for educating the masses on the party's programmes and manifestoes and other important issues of public interest in a language that is understandable and accessible to the community/neighbourhood. Building NCP as a community based party entails using the units of the party in the communities to discuss and dissect governmental policies as well as alternatives of the NCP to the pro-rich policies of the conventional political parties and politicians.

The task of building the NCP as a mass based political party is a sine qua non for positioning the party as a credible alternative come 2007 elections and beyond. The popular sentiment among the masses who see the party as a party of the future will be a mirage except it is realized that the future starts now and that concrete steps need to be taken to position the party for the take over of political power through consciously entrenching the party in communities and neighbourhoods.

Also essential is the need for the NCP to embrace a full socialist programme without which it would be incapable of implementing its 10-care programme and fulfil the yearnings of the working masses.

This task of building the party no doubt cannot be undertaken without finance. The challenge here is for the party to reach out to change seeking elements in the society, an increasing number of whom could be convinced to support the party financially.

It would have to be realised that the cost of changing society like the task of changing society cannot be borne by a group of few individuals but by the widest possible number of genuine change seeking elements in society. The party must open its doors to tap into the goodwill it enjoys among the masses and sections of the society who are sympathisers of the party to finance the task of building the party into a mass-based political formation that can lead the masses to take over political power from the present crop of visionless, myopic and selfish ruling class and their political parties whose inability to better the lot of the masses and take society forward have been proven beyond doubt time and time again.

Socialist Democracy September - October 2003