OBI’S SINGLE TENURE PROMISE WILL END UP AS MERE RETHORIC

OBI’S SINGLE TENURE PROMISE WITHOUT A BREAK WITH THE RUNIOUS CAPITALIST SYSTEM WILL END UP BEING A MERE RETHORIC

Only Socialist Nigeria with democratic socialist planning including  nationalization of the commanding heights of the economy under a democratic control of the working people can begin to resolve the socio-economic crisis bedeviling the country

Our attention in the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) has been drawn to  a recent declaration by Peter Obi, a leading presidential aspirant, that he would serve only a single four-year term if elected. This vow which has sparked discussions across Nigeria obviously appears modestly admirable especially in a political climate often characterized and dominated by desperation for power. However, it is important to state that a mere vow of a single tenure presidency does not address the deeper, structural issues undermining Nigeria’s development. It is our belief in SPN that without a complete break from the ruinous capitalist system that has continually failed the Nigerian working people, youth and poor, such a promise, no matter how it is presented, will amount to nothing but an empty rhetoric.

The socio-economic crisis bedeviling Nigeria is not a product of tenure duration or leadership rotation. The true roots lie in a capitalist system that is built on exploitation, corruption, and the enrichment of a privileged few at the expense of the mass majority of the working people. It is this system of capitalism whether being managed by military rulers or civilian administrations that has been consistently responsible for the condition of mass poverty, unemployment, dilapidated infrastructure, including a near collapse of social services like education and health, currently obtain in Nigeria.

As far as we are concerned in the SPN, the only way out of the age-long Nigeria’s socio-economic problems lies not in adjusting the timeline of political office but in a socialist transformation of the economic and political structure of the country. This socialist alternative will mean that the commanding heights of the economy are placed under public ownership and democratic control by the working people themselves. This would allow national resources to be planned and utilized to meet the needs of the vast majority, not the profit-driven interests of the few. Under a socialist Nigeria, free and quality healthcare and education at all levels would be guaranteed as a right. Infrastructure would be developed not for prestige or profit, but to drive productivity and improve living conditions. Jobs would be created through massive public investment and industrialization, while social welfare programs would protect the poor and vulnerable. The fight against poverty and inequality would not be rhetorical but structural and systemic.

However, it must be stressed that none of the current crop of capitalist politicians including President Bola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, as well as their various political parties, can be trusted to carry out such a transformation. Despite their populist language and reformist tones, their class interests are firmly tied to preserving the capitalist status quo. Meaningful change will not come from within the capitalist elites. History has shown that only a government formed by the working class, in alliance with the oppressed layers of society, possesses the social power and historical mission to bring about genuine liberation and development. For this to be possible and successful, the working class must organize independently within the framework of its own  political party which has to be rooted in the struggles of ordinary people and armed with a clear socialist programme. Such a party would stand in opposition to all wings of the capitalist class and fight for the democratic control of the economy, political system, and public institutions.

In this regards, the role of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), as mass organisations of the working class, becomes crucial. Rather than continuing to rely on capitalist politicians or confining themselves to rhetorical opposition, the leadership of the labour movement must take concrete steps towards the rebuilding of the Labour Party as a true vehicle of working-class politics or supporting the formation of a new mass working people’s party. We therefore call on them to convene a national conference that brings together trade unionists, socialist activists, youth organizers, and left parties such as the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) and the African Action Congress (AAC) including pro-working people civil society organizations like Joint Action Front (JAF). The aim of such a conference should be to democratically discuss how to build a genuine mass party that serves the  interests of Nigeria’s working people, youth and the poor.

The SPN hereby urges the working people, youths and other oppressed layers in the country to stop placing hopes in the same political class that has brought the country to its knees. The working class must rise to its historic responsibility. Only mass struggle and  fight for socialist programme can build  a Nigeria where social justice, genuine development and basic needs for all are possible.

Abiodun Bamigboye

Acting National Chairperson

Chinedu Bosah

National Secretary

Email: [email protected]