A CALL advocating nationwide resistance against the neo-liberal and anti-people policies inspired by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank being unleashed on poor Nigerians by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
The call was a major resolution from a symposium organised by the Joint Action Front (JAF) held last Saturday, June 24, 2023, and contained in a statement signed by Dr Dipo Fashina and Comrade Abiodun Aremu, JAF’s chairperson and secretary respectively.
The participants at the symposium which was both physical and virtual, with representatives from an array of progressive civil society organisations as well as social movement activists from across Nigeria, noted that the call became necessary “against the background of the ceaseless anti-poor attacks on the working people, women, the youth and poor ordinary Nigerians by the President Bola Tinubu’s regime.”
Stressing that the symposium was held to kickstart a sustained agenda of mass education, mass organising and mass mobilisation for mass resistance, JAF said building national consciousness for mass resistance has become a compelling step in view of the recent unfortunate backdown of organised labour from a scheduled “general strike to resist the criminal hike in petrol price imposed under the guise of subsidy removal.”
The statement, entitled: “JAF Symposium Calls for Nationwide Resistance to Save the Country From the Tinubu-IMF World Bank’s Imposition of Polices of Sufferings on Nigerians!” reads:
“1. Against the background of the ceaseless anti-poor attacks on the working people, women, the youth and poor ordinary Nigerians by the President Bola Tinubu’s regime, the Joint Action Front (JAF) held a National Symposium on Saturday June 24, 2023, in view of commencing a sustained agenda of mass education, mass organising and mass mobilisation for mass resistance.
“2. The Symposium noted that given that the organised Labour unfortunately backed down from a planned general strike to resist the criminal hike in petrol price imposed under the guise of subsidy removal, on June 6th, the insensitive regime has become more emboldened to intensify the assault on the people with other punitive measures, such as the devaluation of naira as well as the plan to increase fees at public tertiary institutions something cloaked in a scam presented as students’ loan scheme. There is also plan to again increase electricity tariff and thereby making Nigerians to pay more for poor service. Hence, it is apt that the theme of the symposium is “The Deepening Socio-Economic Crisis in Nigeria: Which Way Forward?”
“3. The hybrid symposium was attended, in-person and online, and drew speakers and interventions from across the country. In addition to a call on the labour leadership to return to the barricades, the Symposium resolved on a strategy of mass struggle and the necessity for JAF to, independently and in collaboration with other coalitions of pro-masses organisations, begin the mass mobilization of Nigerians in communities, workplaces, markets and campuses for resistance against the neo-liberal attacks of the Tinubu administration. In effect the program of actions means the following:
“3.1 Replication of symposium/Mass meeting for mass sensitisation, education and mobilisation for mass resistance across the country
“3.2 Resuscitation of, or seeking, collaboration work with different organisations of working people, professional bodies, artisans, women, youth groups and community associations fighting against attacks
“3.3 Mass activities in communities and campuses
“3.4 Reaching out to pro-masses organisations and left coalitions for a united struggle against anti-poor policies and economic hardship.
“3.5 Sustaining a principled working relationship with organised Labour, including individual trade unions, and reaching out directly to the rank and file workers at workplaces!
“4. Work and agree with others for the Declaration, Commencement of Struggle to DEFEAT all the inimical policies of exploitation, injustice, debts enslavement, Naira devaluation, etc, and to STRUGGLE for the enthronement of a JUST SYSTEM!
“5. It is only a JUST SYSTEM that can ensure that the wealth of the country is judiciously used to benefit the majority working population (formal and informal sectors) and the oppressed poor.”
