For Struggle, Solidarity and Socialism in Nigeria
Socialist Democracy – March-April 2008 2007 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION PETITION TRIBUNAL VERDICT ON YAR’ADUA: A Grand Judicial Beatification Of Electoral Fraud After eight months of intensive and very expensive legal tussles over the fairness and legitimacy of the 2007 general elections, the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on Tuesday February 26, 2008 gave a verdict which endorsed the election of Musa Yar’Adua
2008 Budget: As Usual, Not for the Ordinary Nigerian Peluola Adewale President Umaru Yar’Adua tagged the 2008 Appropriation the budget for the ordinary Nigerian. Not a few poor working masses will ask him to tell that to the marines. He informed that the budget “gives priority to, and makes ample provision for improving physical infrastructure, particularly, power and transportation, human
Detained OAU Student Activists: Comrades Regain Conditional Freedom By Peluola Adewale, DSM, Lagos Two of detained student leaders of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Olatunde Dairo, the Public Relations Officer of Students Union and Taiwo Hassan Soweto, Coordinator, Education Rights Campaign were released from the prison late yesterday (February 21) after their bail conditions had been met earlier in the
BEKO 2ND ANNIVERSARY SYMPOZIUM The 2nd memorial anniversary of Beko Ransome-Kuti, the former chairman of Joint Action Forum, the civil society arm of Labour and Civil Society Coalition (LASCO), was held on Sunday February 10 2008 at the Nigeria Labour Congress Secretariat in Yaba, Lagos. It was LASCO that led the seven general strikes and mass protests against the last
Inferno in Ajegunle A Call for Provision of Decent and Affordable Housing for the Poor Masses About 200 houses were razed to the ground and two lives lost on the trail of a huge inferno. This is the latest, and indeed the worst, in the spate of the fire incidents that have almost become commonplace in some parts of Ajegunle,
KENYAN’S RIGGED PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: A TRAGIC AFRICAN PHENOMENON By Segun Sango On December 27, 2007, Kenyans voted in general elections to elect a new government. But as mostly happened in Africa, it is the ordinary Kenyans that instead got short changed. Against the run of public support and public opinion polls, President Kibaki, one of the 3 leading presidential candidates
Legitimacy in Governance Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture On January 15, the Ikeja branch of the Nigerian Bar association held its fourth al Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture in honour of the well known and respected civil rights lawyer and founder of the National Conscience Party. Among the invited speakers at this very widely reported event was Segun Sango, general secretary of
PROPOSED FUEL PRICE HIKE AND THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION Statement issued at a Joint Press Conference held by United Action for Democracy (UAD) and Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) in Lagos on Monday, January 14, 2008 We have followed with keen interest the ongoing debate on fuel prices. In particular, we’ve studied closely, as reported in the media, the outcome of
Setting free imprisoned OAU student leaders By Lanre Arogundade & Adeola Soetan, Lagos, January 11, 2008 Although the reigning authorities in our alma mater, the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, would want the world to believe differently, the un-hidden truth is that they have chosen to have three students’ leaders imprisoned because they stood and acted boldly for independent unionism,
Application for bail for DSM OAU students refused The application for bail for the two student DSM comrades, Olatunde Dairo and Taiwo Hassan Soweto, was refused today (November 26) at the magistrate court, Oshogbo, after a nauseating “hide and seek” game that witnessed three adjournments. This means that they stay in jail on a series of false allegations, including conspiracy
OAU student president’s release again delayed By Peluola Adewale, DSM, Lagos The Osun State government, in connivance with state judiciary, has continued to play games with the freedom of the three detained OAU student leaders. They persist in employing a combination of filibuster and frivolity to prevent the students’ bail application from being heard or ruled upon. OAU Student union
Imprisoned OAU students Dates for bail hearing secured Mass meeting of OAU students decides action Peluola Adewale, DSM, Lagos Monday, November 19, saw some steps forward being made in the legal attempts to get bail for the three detained students from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The Osun State High Court in Osogbo adjourned the case of OAU Students’
“OAU 3” State’s delaying tactics block imprisoned students’ release OAU students discussing next steps Pelad, Lagos, November 15, 2007 The attempt to get the two arrested DSM student comrades from OAU, Ile-Ife, released from jail was supposed to come up yesterday Wednesday, November 14, at the Magistrates Court in Osogbo, Osun state, but their case was not heard. In the
Full Text on one webpage: This pamphlet was originally written by Segun Sango, the General Secretary of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), barely 100 days in power of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and then discussed within DSM. Yar’Adua was declared President by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in April 2007 general elections which were marred by unprecedented massive rigging,
APPENDIX POLITICAL ORIENTAITON FOR LABOUR IN THE POST 2007 GENERAL ELECTIONS Nigeria’s 2007 general election has been roundly and justifiably condemned as the most farcical exercise ever conducted in Nigeria and internationally in the name of elections. The entire exercise was dominated by brazen, large scale financial and electoral manipulation by the ruling parties across the country. Such was the
CHAPTER EIGHT THE IMMEDIATE PERIOD AHEAD The prospect for the economic well-being of the vast majority of the working masses and poor, under President Yar’Adua looks very bleak and worrisome, especially within the framework of the neo-liberal economic philosophy being championed by his government. As we have repeatedly underlined in several of DSM publications, the past 8 years or so
CHAPTER SEVEN THE WAY FORWARD As we in the DSM often argue, none of the basic problems confronting the working masses across Nigeria and in the Niger Delta region can be resolved on the basis of the prevailing unjust neo-colonial capitalist arrangement. One, the self-serving profit interest of the main imperialist countries of the USA, Japan, Europe and now China,
CHAPTER SIX THE OPPOSITION Sadly to note, there does not exist presently any viable opposition nor alternative being proffered by the entire labour movement to the well tried but failed perspective being offered by the Yar’Adua government. Scientifically speaking, there is, in fact, no any opposition being mounted against the policy options being presented by the Yar’Adua government. Of course,
CHAPTER FIVE THE NIGER DELTA Arguably, the crisis in the Niger Delta constitutes the greatest threat to the self-serving rule of the capitalist elite nationally and the interest of imperialism internationally. As of today, the region, through revenues from crude oil, accounts for 95% of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings. However, due to the combination of a skewed political arrangement left
CHAPTER FOUR THE SEVEN POINT AGENDA In order to give the impression of a serious minded administration, President Yar’Adua has come up with what is known as the seven point agenda for the country. This includes energy, security of lives and properties, land reforms, human capital development, wealth creation, poverty alleviation, transportation and infrastructural development. According to official propaganda, the
