OYO LG ELECTION: SPN BEGINS CAMPAIGN

On Saturday April 28, members of the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) in Ibadan kickstarted the campaign for chairmanship and vice chairmanship of the Ibadan South west local govt. Hundreds of fliers were circulated to members of the public while posters of the campaign were also posted around few of the wards making up the LGA. This is the first electoral outing of the SPN since its registration. The SPN is fielding comrade Abiodun Bamigboye (Abbeytrotsky) as Chairman and Ayodeji Adigun as Vice Chairman of the Ibadan South west LGA. Abbeytrotsky and Ayodeji are campaigning on a socialist programme - a cardinal aspect of which is to serve as a chairman and Vice Chairman on a workers wage. 

Our experience today again confirms the mass disaffection with the capitalist political establishment and a search for alternative. Many who received our leaflet expressed support. Livid with rage, a number of their paid goons tried to attack us at Molete round about. They broke a bottle but comrades stood their ground. The SPN is the only party really campaigning on the ground. The ruling party and the bourgeois opposition apparently see this as their normal elections where parties would rig the polls where they are strong. It is not impossible that if our issue-based campaign is intensified as comrades appear ready to do in the coming days before May 12 elections, more attacks might come our way. Whatever happens, members of the SPN in Oyo state are blazing a trail for the party and for the entirety of the working class struggle to transform society.

You can support the election campaign by making donation to the party:

Account Name: Socialist Party of Nigeria

Account Number: 1015587065

Bank: Zenith  

Or Call 08033914091

DEMOLITION OF ILE-EPO MARKET BY LAGOS STATE GOVT WITHOUT ALTERNATIVE MARKET IS MINDLESS

SPN DEMANDS COMPENSATION TO BE PAID AND PROVISION OF ALTERNATIVE AND DECENT MARKETS FOR THE AFFECTED TRADERS

Press Statement

The Lagos State Chapter of the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) condemns the demolition of Ile-Epo market in Oke-Odo Alimosho local government and demands an end to all elitist and anti-people policies being carried out by the Akinwumi Ambode led Lagos State government. 

Characteristically, the Ambode-led Lagos State Government demolished the popular Ile-Epo Market in the early morning of Friday April 27, 2018 in a brutal commando manner. Ile-Epo Market is a major depot for different food items, and many people patronize it daily to buy foodstuff and fruits. Just like all previous demolitions, the poor traders were not provided with alternative markets and compensations thereby eliminating the livelihood of hundreds of traders and thousands of their dependents.

The market was invaded by officials of Lagos State Government as well as armed security operatives who coldheartedly demolished that market structures and also traders’ wares reportedly worth hundreds of millions of Naira. This policy is an obvious attack on the living conditions of traders and will cause indescribable hardship to millions of people who patronize the market. Where there are need to reconstruct markets or communities, there should be plans that will accommodate the affected people without subjecting them to agony and economic crisis. This clearly shows that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) just like the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) do not have plans for the poor masses. 

Since the return to civil rule in 1999, the ruling political party (AD, ACN and now APC) has demolished many communities and markets for profit motive. We will not forget in a hurry the demolition of Ijora Badia, Otodo Gbame, Oshodi, Oja-Oba market, Tejuosho Market, Makoko, mechanic villages etc. These anti-poor policies are the height of wickedness. For instance, Tejuosho Market was demolished because fire gutted a tiny fraction of the market in 2007 by Governor Fashola-led government and years after the completion, many of the shops are currently unoccupied because they are unaffordable. 

What is more worrisome is the fact that, Lagos State Government has failed in the area of providing conducive and affordable public markets, recreation centres in the communities, sporting facilities, public libraries, public funded free and quality education and healthcare but has turned around to attack the people who are striving to survive the harsh economic realities created by the anti-poor policies of the ruling class and government. 

SPN demands adequate compensation should be paid to traders who lost their shops and goods as a result of the mindless demolitions by the Lagos State Government. SPN also demands the rebuilding of Ile-epo market and for the shops and stalls to be issued to the poor traders who were chased out at affordable rates.  

Shoyombo M.K

Publicity Secretary

08189504337

BUHARI’S COMMENT ABOUT NIGERIA’S YOUTH DENIGRATING

Joblessness of many young Nigerians is a sign of the failure of the Buhari’s government and the capitalist system

We call on young people to begin to show their anger through mass struggle for education, jobs and a better future

PRESS STATEMENT

The Youth Wing of the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) condemns comments made by President Muhammadu Buhari on 18th of April 2018 at the Commonwealth Business Forum in London, that "About the economy, we have a very young population. Our population is estimated conservatively to be 180 million... More than 60 percent of that population is below 30, a lot of them haven’t been to school and they are claiming that Nigeria is an oil producing country, therefore, they should sit and do nothing, and get housing, healthcare and education for free”.

We regard these comments as untrue and degrading. For us in the SPN, that Nigeria’s youth, who once outside of these shores become industrious and resourceful, have to “sit and do nothing” is a sign of the failure of the Buhari’s government and the capitalist system. We do recall that three years ago, the Buhari/Osinbajo government mounted the saddles of governance with a promise to end youth unemployment. President Buhari’s denigrating comment is clearly an admission of the colossal failure that the N-power project (a casual/slave labour scheme) has turned out to be just like SURE-P and other tokenist measures of past capitalist regimes.

Many have been angered by the president’s comment. We in the youth wing of the SPN share in this anger but we ask that this outrage should not be restricted to the social media. Otherwise it becomes an impotent reaction to an attempt to present young people as lazy and entitled whereas it is president Buhari and the capitalist ruling elite that is lazy, corrupt and that sits on our oil wealth for the maintenance of their fabulous lifestyle. The appropriate response is to convert this outrage into mass struggle. We need mass protests and demonstrations nationwide to show to the capitalist ruling elite that young people cannot be taken for granted but also to begin to fight for well-funded and accessible public education, decent and living wage jobs, monthly unemployment allowance and a planned economy to create at jobs.

In addition, we regard this comment as another lie in the trend of deceit and state propaganda that the Buhari APC government has built itself on. For an administration whose economic policies are characterized by hike in fuel price, increase in electricity tariff and Naira devaluation, which led to high inflation, rising unemployment, job losses, and collapse of businesses for its population, it is impossible to explain how the failure of the Buhari government to give economic security to the masses is the fault of the Nigerian young population. For an administration that increased Nigeria's debt stock by N9.122 trillion between 2015 and 2017 alone and cares less about what these debts mean for Nigeria's future, one would want to ask where the President got the moral authority to condemn the youths.

For an administration whose mass employment schemes have either failed to take off or in some cases too little to make any impact; for a government that has commercialized education out of the reach of the poor; for a government that has forced many young people to migrate to other countries for greener pastures due to numerous anti-poor policies that condemn the vast majority to poverty; it is necessary to lay the blame for all the woes of the Nigerian people at the feet of the ruling APC government and their bourgeois counterparts in the PDP, APGA, etc who have destroyed the country at  different times and at different levels.

As far as we are concerned, it is the capitalist system that is the primary cause of all of the socio-economic fault lines of the Nigerian society, including the hydra-headed corruption and crimes.  On a final note, the basic needs of the people like befitting housing units, free and quality healthcare and education are the tasks of any government, as it is even stipulated in the country's constitution. But the capitalist arrangement of private privileges and profits over public welfare will not allow that constitutional task to be achieved.

As an alternative, the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) campaigns for a workers and poor people’s government which is run on basis of the needs of the masses and youths and based on the nationalization of the commanding heights of the economy under public democratic control and management. It is only by doing this that Nigeria can secure a stable and comfortable future for its young population.

 SIGNED                                                                                                         

Hassan Taiwo Soweto                                              

National Youth Leader