IN A STRONGLY-WORDED press statement, the Movement for Socialist Transformation (MOST) has described recent international commentary on the Nigeria’s affairs, notably from former US President Donald Trump, as a modern iteration of colonial “divide-and-rule” tactics designed to perpetuate exploitation.
The statement, signed by Prof. Omotoye Olorode and Comrade Jaye Gaskia, the group posits that the foundational wealth of Euro-American nations is a direct consequence of centuries of “looting and genocide” against indigenous populations in the Americas, Asia, and Africa.
MOST asserts that contemporary global unrest represents an unstoppable “renewal of resistance” to this enduring system of exploitation, which has fostered profound hopelessness and anger in neo-colonial states like Nigeria.
According to the statement, Western capitalist powers have lost confidence in the ability of their local agents – the national governments enforcing policies dictated by institutions like the IMF and World Bank – to reliably sustain imperialist control, noting that these external forces are now reverting to a classic strategy of fomenting internal division.
MOST draws a direct parallel between Trump’s rhetoric on a purported “genocide against Nigeria’s Christians” and his and Elon Musk’s comments on an “African genocide against white people” in South Africa, linking them to a coordinated pattern of supporting settler-colonial projects, such as the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
It argues that the ultimate victims of this strategy are the Nigerian masses – workers and unemployed youth – who are being deliberately splintered along tribal, regional, and religious lines. It declares that the nation’s working people must therefore wage a dual struggle against both the external force of Euro-American capitalism and its internal collaborators within African governments.
Addressing the contentious issues of “separatism” and “secession” that have gained traction in public discourse, MOST articulates a firm belief that the collective interests of ordinary Nigerians are best served by preserving a unified Nigeria. The group’s
MOST said while its overall mission is the achievement of genuine economic, social, and cultural equality for all citizens within a single nation, it however, in a significant concession to democratic principles, acknowledges that if the demand for the country’s breakup persists, the final decision must rest with the masses.
It proposes that a pragmatic litmus test for the viability of such secessionist agendas should be that proponents in various ethnic and geopolitical blocs should call upon their constituents to “Return Home” to their places of origin within a reasonable timeframe.
MOST expresses certainty that such a call would garner “no significant attention,” demonstrating a preference for a shared national existence over ethnic partition. Should a mass relocation occur, the statement adds, historical precedent suggests that the complexities of nationhood would not be so easily resolved.
