JAF - Two Years of Tinubu are a Monumental Disaster

By - DSM

JAF – Two Years of Tinubu are a Monumental Disaster

The Democratic Socialist Movement is an active member of JAF

President Bola Tinubu is 2 years-old in office on Thursday May 29. Expectedly, the administration which started off with a fierce attack on the working people and the poor has been a monumental disaster. Apparently, given his moral baggage as regards his judicial record in the United States, Tinubu was desperate to please and assure the imperialism right from the word go that he was the man for the job. So, following up with the venom “Petrol Subsidy is Gone” he bellowed at his inauguration on May 29, 2023; Tinubu has unrelentingly continued to unleash vicious anti-poor neo-liberal capitalist policies in line with the dictate of the World Bank and IMF. The policies include criminal increases in petrol price and electricity tariff, steep devaluation of the naira, obnoxious hikes in school fees at tertiary institutions, etc

As a result, cost-of-living crisis has seriously worsened as the living standards of the vast majority become terribly devastated, and many more become impoverished. So, the main features of the past two years of the Tinubu regime have been mass hunger, economic hardship and increasing poverty together with the associated rise in insecurity.

And, in order to continue to ride roughshod over the working masses with its anti-poor policies the regime has adopted attacks on democratic rights as a state policy. It stifles free speech and brooks no dissent or opposition. It creates an atmosphere of fear and intimidation whenever any group wants to exercise the fundamental rights to peaceful protest. It incarcerates activists who defy its anti-democratic orders and antics.

Therefore, the Joint Action Front (JAF) commends Nigerian youths and working people who have demonstrated their resolve not to surrender their democratic rights and abandon the civic space to a despotic government. We hereby demand an immediate and unconditional freedom for young people in detention or on sham trial nationwide in connection with the August 2024 #EndBadgoverance protests or other actions over mass hunger and economic hardship. These include Michael Adaramoye, Daniel Akande and 9 other #EndBadgoverance activists who are standing trial at the Federal High Court Abuja over trumped-charges including treason, which carries a death penalty, for carrying, according to the charge sheet, placards with message “End Bad Government”.

We call on working masses, youth, pro-masses organisations and trade unions to continue to resist anti-poor policies and attacks on democratic rights by the Tinubu government. We specifically urge the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to do much more than they have at present in fulfilling their obligation to defend the interest and rights of the working-class people. We are of a strong opinion that the lack of a serious mass struggle initiated or led by the Organised Labour principally contributed to the Tinubu regime having a field day and confidence to unceasingly impose anti-poor policies and violate democratic rights.

Also importantly, the working people and youth should recall that the two other major candidates in the 2023 presidential election – Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi – also basically advocated the same ruinous policies which Tinubu has been implementing since he assumed power. Therefore, we need a genuine mass working people’s party which puts forward an alternative socio-economic program to what Tinubu, Atiku and Obi have advocated and ultimately fight for system change. By system change we mean an END to the unjust system of capitalism and its failed policies of Privatization, Deregulation, Devaluation etc, and its reign of looting, debt burden and exploitation by the corrupt capitalist ruling cabals in order to bring forth a new POLITICAL and ECONOMIC ORDER under a JUST SYSTEM (SOCIALISM). It is only a JUST SYSTEM that can ensure that the wealth of the country is judiciously used to benefit working people and the poor.

ABIODUN AREMU, JAF Secretary

Joint Action Front (JAF)

10, Afolabi Lesi Street, Anthony-Ilupeju, Lagos

08035068524, 08033347962,