Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM)

For struggle, Solidarity and Socialism in Nigeria

Newspaper of the DSM

Chapter Two Continued...

THE ANPP

There is nothing and there can be nothing appealing to politically conscious sections of the masses about the political evolution and objectives of the ANPP. The party, in relation to PDP, is no more than the other side of a bad currency. At its inception in 1998, the APP as the party was then called had the largest layers of the most rabid pro-Abacha military junta's erstwhile politicians and supporters in its leadership ranks. It was for this reason that the party was often jestingly called "Abacha's Peoples Party".

Aside from this fact, it is the political party most favoured by the most conservative sections of the ruling class from what is called the core north. It is in this party that you find the most ethnic and religious jingoists and extremists.

Beyond the politically inspired introduction of Sharia legal system, representatives of the ANPP at various levels of governments, had in the past four years, proved beyond all reasonable doubts that the party is fully committed to the same ruinous, self-serving politics and corruption which dominate the ethos and conducts of its PDP counterpart.

Throughout the period, the ANPP members in the National Assembly completely failed to provide any opposition to the anti-poor policies and corruption of the PDP controlled central government. Far from it, members of this party in the National Assembly were deep-neck involved in all the rots of the past four years. All its members collected outrageous sums from the nation's purse in the name of furniture allowances and other sundry financial swindling. Members of the ANPP in the National Assembly stoutly backed at all relevant times, the PDP's policy of opposition to the emergence of new political parties, particularly pro-masses ones like the NCP.

On coming to office in his first term, President Obasanjo pledged to fight corruption. Towards this end, an anti-corruption and other related offences Act was eventually passed by the National Assembly. For almost three years of the existence of this Act, no significant public officer has either been tried or convicted under this Act. Occasionally, whenever some public officers did something the presidency did not like, members of the commission charged with the enforcement of the provisions of the Act had been found of threatening to probe such officers.

However, in order to pre-empt a situation where someday, somebody might develop the will to enforce this law, members of the National Assembly from the PDP, ANPP and AD towards the end of the last season quickly rushed through an amendment which in effect watered down the anti-corruption features of this Act!

The party's presidential candidate, General Buhari, has little or nothing in his political antecedents that can positively excite politically conscious sections of the masses. As a military head of state between 1984 to 1985, most of his "brief" tenure in power were spent waging merciless war on organisations of the broad masses. Then, NANS under the leadership of Lanre Arogundade, the NCP Senatorial Candidate for Lagos West constituency in the elections in issue, was banned for the simple "crime" of conducting mass, peaceful propaganda and agitations against the Buhari military junta's policy of education commercialisation. As is usual in this kind of situation, several student activists across the country got rusticated in different institutions of higher learning for the crime of agitating that education must not be made the exclusive preserve of the rich and looters. Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Pilots Association and a host of other pro-masses bodies and organisations were similarly banned, with scores of activists being victimised through sacking from their jobs.

At the peak of the riots and killings which followed the adoption of Islam as a state religion in most of the core north states, particularly those controlled by the ANPP, General Buhari made a statement urging Muslims to vote for only Muslim candidates in future elections. Needless to stress, this anti-democratic precedent and ethno-religious jingoism of Buhari has made him more of a scarecrow than a hero in the eyes of millions of change seeking members of the poor masses across the country, particularly amongst the non-Muslim layers.

The party's vice-presidential candidate, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, equally lacked anything appealing to politically conscious sections of the masses. Since the Second Republic, when he came into political limelight as special adviser to the then President Shehu Shagari, there has been nothing to distinguish him from the rest of the self-serving, ruinous locusts calling themselves leaders. As a matter of fact, he was humiliated out of office as senate president in 2001 following series of scandalous allegations of corruption successfully proved against him. Of course, he was later "pardoned" by his "colleagues in crime" so that he may be able to run as Buhari's deputy.

Like Okadigbo, most prominent candidates and leaders of the ANPP during the elections in issue were former members of the PDP. Suffice to note, these elements mostly left PDP for ANPP because they could not get what they wanted in PDP not because of any policy disagreement. The profiles of most ANPP leaders speak volume. The ANPP slained senatorial candidate for Orlu constituency in Imo state was described thus by The Guardian of March 7, 2003 "Besides his personal achievements as a chartered accountant, chairman and director of several companies", Uche was a "former commissioner in two ministries under the PDP government in Imo State".

Harry Marshal, another stinkingly rich member of the ruling class from Kalabari, in Rivers, was another slained chieftain of the ANPP who until a few months back was in the PDP. Of course, their being stinkingly rich and membership of the PDP before they decided to look for "greener pasture" in the ANPP does not in the least justify their heinous and callous murders by their suspected political opponents within or outside the PDP.

However, if the truth must be told, this kind of background and politicking does little to portray them as a credible alternative to the PDP elements.

While eager to raise dusts on the riggings perpetrated by the PDP, the party's spokespersons kept quiet on the widespread malpractices which characterised the elections in ANPP controlled states and other places where it had strong presence on ground.

Crushed by the colossal riggings and manipulations of the elections, being for once at the receiving end of a corrupt and authoritarian capitalist machine, General Buhari became "squeamish" by calling the masses for action over a dispute between himself and other members of the thieving capitalist class. For this, he has since been resoundingly rebuked and denounced by less "hysteric" members of this ignoble class.

Buhari himself had since come out to say that his call for "mass action" was a momentary slip of tongue. Hear him: "A coup is neater than rigging..........A bloodless coup is much, much neater than this election which took so many Nigerians lives". (Buhari in an interview with Daily Trust of May 17, 2003). Needless to stress, this is hardly the slogan of a pro-masses leader. Anyone who fully knows and remembers the horrors suffered by the masses under military regimes brought about through "bloodless coups" can hardly wish for a more horrible prospect for the working masses. Of course, it is sure as the day follows the night that the kind of "armed robbery" democracy being practised by the ruling parties in Nigeria is such that could only ultimately provoke military coups. Only the development of a powerful political party of the working masses that has sufficient political clarity and capacity to reject both civilian corruption and "benevolent" dictatorship offered by the pro-military wing of the ruling class can avert the disaster of another round of military and civilian dictatorships.

In this context, General Buhari does not in any sense represent an alternative let alone being the way forward for the masses.

In any event, the "elected" members of the ANPP have unanimously come out to disown Buhari's "squeamish" call for "mass action".

On May 26, 2003, a meeting of the "Northern Governors' Forum" met in Kaduna to review the elections in issue. At the end of the meeting, a communiqu� was issued. Amongst other things, the communiqu� in part states: "Northern Governors' Forum discussed the call for mass action by some politicians in the country in general and the North in particular vis-�-vis the consequences of such actions on the positive development of our democracy. The Governors therefore unanimously condemned the call for mass action and instead call on losers of elections who feel aggrieved to use constitutional means to seek redress".

As to be expected, the Governors' Forum declared their preparedness to "keep the peace currently being enjoyed in their various states by deploying all legitimate means in keeping with their constitutional responsibilities and appealed to traditional rulers, community and religious leaders to prevail on their various communities not to allow anybody to use them as agents of destabilisation" (Nigerian Tribune, May 27, 2003, p. 2).

Few days after the above-cited meeting of the Northern Governors' Forum, President Obasanjo held a close door meeting with all the ANPP state governors. At the end of the meeting, Yobe state governor, Bukar Abba Ibrahim, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said the ANPP presidential candidate will not be permitted to treat his complaints on the elections in issue as "a matter of life and death". He went further: "There must always be a winner in any race and we don't bloody care who really becomes the president, provided our problems are being solved and democracy in this case can be entrenched and strengthened ......Where we were strong and we were prepared, we protected our votes and everybody knows the results. Where we were weak, this people did a big show of shame". (The Comet, June 5, 2003, p 1 and 2).

We have gone to this length making copious quotations from the positions of the various layers of the ANPP leadership so as to establish certain facts. One, neither Buhari nor the other sections of the ANPP leadership believes in the masses nor mass struggles. While one preaches "bloodless coups" the other preaches accommodation with political robbery all in the names of the masses and democracy!

Of course, the ANPP governors and other elected officers may claim that they were not pressing further the issue of electoral riggings against the PDP because of their concern to preserve Nigeria's often called "nascent democracy" and political stability. However, class conscious workers, youth and all genuine change-seeking elements must see their position in this respect for what it truly is: a short-sighted, self-serving device. The calculation is very simple. These elements fully know that if the tenure of the current civilian administration is terminated now for whatever reason, they stand to lose all.

Presently, the party controls the governments in seven states, besides pockets of other elective positions across the country. If the present dispensation remains, there also exits the possibility of the party getting few other posts and contracts from the PDP controlled central government. So, why risk all these for an uncertain future, when after all, both PDP and ANPP are committed to the same neo-liberal capitalist policies of privatisation, commercialisation, treasury looting, etc?

Not only were they not in support of "mass action", they in fact pledged to deal with anybody trying to upset the prevailing 'peace and stability'. So how honestly can anyone accuse the masses of not rallying round these kinds of elements?

THE AD

The AD case is even worse than that of the ANPP. As a party that arose from a pro-masses, welfarist background, the conducts and performances of its representatives in governments in the past four years had been nothing short of absolute disaster. All its governors abandoned reforms and put on the garments of neo-liberal capitalist counter-reforms. All the party's leaders now without an exception believe that privatisation of the commanding heights of the economy and commercialisation of social services such as housing, education, health care, etc, represent the last wisdoms in political economy.

The AD governors in the past four years were amongst the most vociferous against increment in the minimum wage. And where they were forced by workers struggles to effect an increment, they had resorted to mass retrenchment of workers and victimisation of workers leaders and activists in their respective states. In Lagos State, the Tinubu administration sacked almost 15,000 workers including tens of workers leaders like Ayodele Akele, the COIU chairman in Lagos State. The erstwhile governor of Oyo State, Alhaji Lam Adesina, in his own case sacked 10,000 workers including Femi Aborisade, a long standing labour activist and National General Secretary of the NCP for the "simple crime" of taking industrial actions for improvement in their conditions of service. In Osun State, the then AD government led by Chief Bisi Akande sacked and victimised thousands of workers and workers' leaders. Not contented with this, an attempt was made to kill Dr. Oyebade Olowogboyega, the then local government workers' union (NULGE) president in the state for his temerity in leading industrial struggles for the implementation of a minimum wage that had been approved by the relevant authorities. Olowogboyega was luckier than Uche and Marshall (two ANPP chieftains killed for political reasons) by escaping with his life, though he has been maimed for life!

While always claiming to be short of sufficient funds to effect an improvement in the living conditions of the masses, all the elected and leading representatives of this party continued to live opulent and corrupt lifestyles. On all key anti-peoples, anti-democratic policies of the PDP, the leadership of the AD raised no single objection. They were in fact active collaborators of these policies. The AD members in the National Assembly fully agreed with the PDP not to register new political parties, especially with a view to foil the emergence of the NCP as a political party. The AD leadership did not raise objection to INEC's "processing fees' which if not struck out by the court, would have practically made it impossible for organisations representing the masses to be able to even field candidates in the 2003 elections.

The AD members in the National Assembly and in their respective state Houses of Assembly did collect, like their counter-parts in PDP and ANPP, outrageous sums for furniture allowances and all sundry matters. When members of the National Assembly decided to repeal the largely redundant anti-graft Act and replaced it with a much watered down version, the leaders of the AD in the National Assembly worked closely with their "colleagues in crime" to achieve this show of shame.

Prominent AD leaders like late Chief Bola Ige, Dr Olu Agunloye, Mrs. Dupe Adelaja (nee Adesanya) etc, had accepted political appointments to serve under the PDP controlled central government right from day one of that administration.

Just barely one year into the tenure of Obasanjo PDP government, prominent AD chieftains started to proclaim Obasanjo as the best president that Nigerians could get in this milieu and as such, urged the AD not to field any presidential candidate to oppose Obasanjo's second term bid for presidency. The AD patriarch/spiritual leader in the south west and the leader of Afenifere (the organisation seen in the southwest as the real power behind the AD's political influence), Pa Abraham Adesanya gave a final seal to this line of thought when he declared: "So far, so good, Obasanjo is the best amongst the lot" (The Guardian, March 2nd 2003 p. 2). And so, it came to pass; the AD leadership failed to field a presidential candidate. Instead, it, particularly by its leaders and members in the southwest endorsed Obasanjo's candidature.

All along, the AD leaders had taken the masses of southwest for granted. As a party that traces its origin to Awolowo (Nigeria's most known and successful welfarist capitalist politician), the masses in the west will always flock out to vote them regardless of their conduct and performance in power. In fact, one of the former AD governors, Lam Adesina, was said to have boasted that even if the party fielded a goat, that goat would win against any other candidate in the southwest. Such was the contempt and complacency which most AD leaders have for the masses.

Of course, their own party members were scarcely treated better than the ordinary masses. Little or no regard was being given to them on any matter of policy within the party or the governments controlled by the party. Arbitrarily and whimsically, impositions of candidates on members and constituencies by top government and party leaders were the order of the day.

By the time the elections came, the party had substantially lost legitimacy and support of the vast majority of the masses of southwest. As far as the masses in the southwest were concerned, there had existed a power vacuum created by the anti-poor corrupt and pro-rich disposition of the AD governments in power. All the PDP elements had to do was to take advantage of being the most visible political machine available in most parts of southwest at the material time to shove the AD governments out of power in five of the six south west states.

Having realised the degree of mass apathy and even outright hostility of the masses towards the AD governments, the PDP mercenaries and vote merchants simply bulldozed their ways to power. For instance, in Ogun State, the home state of Obasanjo, all the governorship candidates, including the winner of the governorship election, were said to have scored a total of 747,296 votes. Whereas, on the same date, at the same polling centres, Obasanjo was said to have scored 1,360,170 votes even though the same number of ballot papers that were given out for the governorship election were given out for the presidential elections.

This brazen electoral robbery was made possible because the AD had lost all moral authority and support amongst the masses. What is even more, they themselves had proclaimed Obasanjo as "the best".

Against this background, can a valid accusation be made against the masses for not coming out in mass actions to protest the alleged electoral robbery of the AD by the PDP? The answer is capital NO.

But then, how do we explain the "victory" of Governor Tinubu-led AD in Lagos state? Was this a proof of the alleged fact that the AD government headed by Tinubu in Lagos State performed better than his counter-parts in the other 5 states lost to PDP? Was this "victory" a vindication that the PDP did not rig elections in southwest but only won on its own merit?

These kind of false fables are, of course, what the "victors" of the year 2003 general elections at the central level and in Lagos State would want the world to believe. In a thank you message issued on April 21, 2003, titled "The Wonderful People of Lagos State", Governor Tinubu had amongst other things stated: "You have resolved by majority vote that I, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), is the best man for the job. I thank you for your abiding faith in me and our party".

Earlier, on Monday April 19, 2003, the former Minister of Education and Obasanjo's collation agent at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Media Results Centre, Abuja, Professor Babalola Borisade had given the following explanation as to why the PDP had not won in Lagos State: "Tinubu has been very hardworking in Lagos and everybody attests to it that he is one of the action governors in the country. As a result of such performance, he had been able to hold on to the state". (The Guardian, April 23, 2003, p. 9).

The reality is however less flattering. On April 14, 2003, two days after the elections into the National Assembly, Afenifere addressed a press conference wherein it denounced the PDP for having massively rigged the elections in the southwest, contrary to the spirit of the accord the two parties (PDP and AD) had entered into before the commencement of the elections. But when asked how the party had been able to substantially win in Lagos State despite the alleged massive riggings, the administrative secretary of Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, who briefed the press on the occasion let the cat out of the bag, may be unintentionally. According to Odumakin, the PDP was unable to record impressive performance in Lagos State because based on briefing taken on the situation in Lagos State from Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu "the governor of Lagos State and the leadership of the party in the state, were a step ahead of them", that is to say that Governor Tinubu and the AD apparatuses in Lagos State were a step ahead of the PDP in riggings, votes buying and manipulations, hence their victory in the state.

A further confirmation of the above position and prognosis can also be found in a feature article titled: "How Tinubu checkmated the PDP in Lagos" written by Clifford Ndujihe, The Guardian political reporter, and which was published on page 9 of The Guardian of April 23, 2003. Ndujihe writes: "Indications that the electoral battle (for the governorship seat-editor) would be tough emerged early although Tinubu was in firm control of the AD and enjoying the support of the majority of the youths (say touts editor) in the state. His political machine that was expected to roll over those of his opponents with ease was gradually meeting some resistance as at the evening of Wednesday, three days to the crucial governorship election.

"By then, Williams (the PDP candidate - ed) campaign funds had reportedly received a boost. The sum of N300 million, The Guardian gathered, was added to his campaign funds by the national leadership of the PDP ........coming at a time that the governor was said to have exhausted his funds ..........Tinubu according to sources, became jittery".

So what to do? Ndujihe continues: "To ensure victory for the AD in the governorship polls, Tinubu, it was learnt, mobilised all his commissioners, party leaders and stakeholders in the 20 local councils of the state. Series of meeting were held and each chapter of the AD in the councils was mandated to raise a sum of N20 million. Within 24 hours, the governor's campaign funds, it was gathered was upped by N400 million".

The above quotations did not need any elaboration. The electoral "victories" of both the PDP and the AD in Lagos State have not been based on "majority vote" but purely on abuse of power, manipulations and financial brigandage.

Perhaps, one other major reason why the PDP did not capture Lagos at all cost was not unconnected with the fact that right now, the "evil genius of Lagos", Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu is one aggressive pro-capitalist, pro-imperialist politician who in reality is more PDP than even some PDP leaders and members. While several political parties including sections of the AD were denouncing the "elections" in which the PDP had emerged "winners" as wholesale fraud and as such calling for their cancellation, Tinubu on his part had declared: "The most urgent need of the hour is to rally round the president..........We must accelerate the pace of privatisation. We must intensify the liberalisation and opening up of the country....Let this task unites us irrespective of the party affiliation or political disposition". (Nigerian Tribune, May 27, 2003, p. 2).

As some people would say, with an opponent like this, who needs a political ally? If the truth must be told, the masses did not see any viable alternative between PDP and the AD to such an extent that they would rise up in arms to come to the aid of either that may come out complaining of having been electorally robbed by the other.

THE NCP

If for several justifiable reasons, the masses would not rise up in arms to fight alongside ANPP and AD, what about their indifference to the NCP's fate in the ill fated elections? Why won't they come out massively, vote NCP and at the same time rise up in arms, if necessary, to defend their votes? After all, neither the ANPP nor the AD has any genuine pro-masses conducts and inclinations that can compare with that of the NCP whose national chairman and presidential candidate, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, is the only Nigerian recognised and called the "Senior Advocate of the Masses" (SAM). So, why should the masses, without protest, tolerate, by virtue of the results of these elections, the continuity of poverty, tears, sorrow and blood?

Chief Gani Fawehinmi himself speaks: "Obasanjo rigged the election massively using state machinery, using INEC and the security agencies. But I did not expect people who have been deprived of education, people who are unemployed, who have no food to eat, who have no access to good health care, who have no water, people whose lives and property have become insecured under Obasanjo........I did not expect that they will fold their arms and not come out to the streets to protest and say no, this must not happen". (This Day, May 31, 2003).

Socialists must proffer cogent reasons why the masses have not been up in arms on the basis of the conducts and results of the recent general elections and why, worse still, they may not stop or protest electoral robbery in the future elections.

As far as the broad sections of the masses were concerned, the NCP participation in the election in issue could not have been more than a symbolic gesture. This perception was first and foremost derived from the late registration of the party, a conscious pre-election antics of the PDP and INEC. It was characteristic then, to come across working class people and the poor in general saying that "NCP is a party of the future" . Does this therefore mean that the leadership was wrong to have plunged all the party's energy and resources into capturing political power through the year 2003 general elections?

The answer is capital NO. The party's full participation in the elections was the best thing that could have been done in the given circumstances. Through that participation, the party has been able to bring hundreds and possibly thousands of elements into its fold, this aside from the millions that at least heard of its existence. For instance, the 116,054 that voted for the party in the Senate election in Lagos State constitutes an irrefutable evidence that change is possible.

But shouldn't the party had done better? Yes, the party should have done better but for the widespread electoral malpractices perpetrated by the AD and PDP in the said elections. Therefore, the 116,054 odd people that voted NCP in Lagos State for instance deserve all the attention and encouragement to transit from just NCP voters to become active members of the party.

Due to its late registration, NCP had not been able to put necessary structures in place before the elections. In fact, even in Lagos State, which incidentally is one of the places where NCP was best organised, the party's leadership is yet to be fully constituted in the 20 local governments, not to talk of the wards within the state. Yet, the party contested about 85% of the elective posts in the state. The situation of things was not better in several other states. In fact, in many states, the party had governorship candidates without being able to get candidates for all or some of the Senatorial, House of Representatives and State Assembly slots. In Lagos where the party fielded candidates for all the elective posts except six states House of Assembly slots, the party had at the time of the elections less than 8,000 active members in its rank.

Meanwhile, there are over 8,000 polling booths in Lagos State alone. Thus, the party could not provide reliable party members as its polling agents. Unlike the AD and PDP who placed no ceilings on spendings, the NCP being a party of mostly the poor and the cheated in society had little or no money to build the party. According to a financial statement issued by the Lagos State chapter of the party after the general elections, a total sum of N8 million was spent by the Lagos State central campaign committee. Suffice to note, this includes all capital spendings such as the purchase of two campaign buses, standby generator, photocopier, etc. It includes all expenditure on posters, jingles, personnel, telephones and all aspects of the party's campaigns.

Thus, deprived of sufficient financial resources, the party could not even procure enough agents to man all the polling booths, coalition centres, etc. The truth of the matter however was that the party had larger fame than membership presence and structures required to have gotten better results than the party got. This is the blunt truth.

Despite all manipulations and over-inflation of votes, less than 50 percent of the registered voters participated in the elections in issue. The rest possibly stayed off because they couldn't see any good coming out of it all. The overwhelming majority of those who participated did not feel the presence of NCP members and campaigns in most local councils and the wards nationwide. This again we must point out was due to no fault of the NCP leaders. The party as a mass organisation only started to develop in earnest only after its registration, which did not happen until December 17, 2002.

Unless the party comes to the full realisation that it lost the last general elections, not only to massive electoral riggings perpetrated by the PDP, ANPP and AD but also because it lacked sufficient time, supporters and resources, it will not be able to squarely face the task of building the NCP as a mass force that has active members amongst workers, students, market women and men, poor farmers and in all neighbourhoods across the country. It must also be said that the party is building a potential basis for future struggles.

If it must be stressed, the degree of the party's success in this regard will determine whether future (if any) elections will be freer and fairer.

Chapter One: Background

Chapter Two: The 2003 Elections

Chapter Three: The Four Years Of Civil Rule

Chapter Four Political Perspectives

Chapter Five: Nationality Question

Chapter Six: A Working Class Solution Needed

Chapter Seven: Deregulation And Fuel Price Hike

Appendix: General Strike Against Fuel Price Rises The Lesson For The Working Masses