SYSTEM CHANGE REMAINS OUR GOAL!
Press Statement
1.
It has
become imperative in the light of the ongoing nationwide consultation by the
President Jonathan’s Advisory Committee on the National Conference to restate
the position of the Joint Action Front (JAF), which had previously been made
public in March 2012.
2.
The position
of JAF on the National Conference was a product of a Special Discussion Session
of JAF’s Affiliates on the State of the Nigeria nation-state held on March 11th
2012 in Lagos.
3.
We stand by
the resolution of the aforementioned March 11th 2012 meeting, which
became necessary then because of the desperate calls for National Dialogue
(ND), National Conference (NC) or Sovereign National Conference (SNC) by
politicians, military apologists, government fronts and agents, imperialist
lackeys, and members of the exploiter’s class in-and-out of government (in the
past four decades) alike.
4.
JAF,
therefore, wishes to re-state its position as clearly articulated then, that:
· JAF is not opposed to Dialogue or
National Conference or Sovereign National Conference or by whatever name it is
called; but such a Conference should not be at the instance of the same
members of the ruling cabal and their recruits who suddenly become “champions
of National Dialogue”;
· JAF acknowledged that in the call
for ND, NC or SNC, there are few patriots who are genuinely committed to the
resolution of the crises in the Nigerian polity through social dialogue. But
the concern of JAF is that majority of those calling for the ND, NC or SNC are
members and fronts of the ruling cabal and political parties who want to
re-negotiate among themselves the conditions under which they will continue to
enjoy their privileges while keeping the majority of the people poor and
powerless;
· The Mass Protest of January 9th
– 16th 2012 protest against the wicked imposition of a high price
for petrol, in which Nigerians overwhelmingly supported the call by the Joint
Action Front (JAF) and its labour allies – Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and
the Trade Union Congress (TUC) - was unprecedented as it cut across ethnic and
religious boundaries, and put a lie to the use of religion and ethnicity by
successive regimes and their cohorts to engender the perennial violence and
insecurity in the country;
· The failure by the ruling cabal and
office holders at the three levels of government and their collaborating
political jobbers to deliver on electoral promises and ensure responsible
governance, has been responsible for the political instability, ethnic and
religious suspicion and violence, and the insecurity of life and property being
daily aggravated by the perpetration of condemnable violence by such groups as
the Boko Haram, MEND and Amnesty palliatives-excluded Niger Delta militants,
ethnic militias and other yet-identified groups who have turned the country
into a theatre of bombing, kidnapping, hostage taking, sophisticated armed
robbery and gang warfare.
· The popular expression of the
Nigerian working people and the poor is that the current neo-liberal order of
privatisation and deregulation with its attendant failure to deliver on
education, health, employment opportunities, social welfare, infrastructure,
etc have made life unbearable to the people
· Nigerians should be wary of the
forces in the mainstream of the National Dialogue or Sovereign National
Conference (SNC) because they are not on the side of the working people and the
poor. The Governors and their fronts that are now dissolving into ethnic
platforms of North, South, East and West to demand a Conference and review of
revenue allocation, are the same forces that conspired with the Federal
Government to impose hike in fuel prices, increase in electricity tariffs and
other untold hardships on Nigerians. It is not enough to talk about “Political
restructuring and Revenue Derivation”, Nigerians should in particular, be
concerned with: what use has the current office holders made of the
allocation they receive monthly?
· Genuine unity of Nigerians despite
the diverse ethnic and religious differences is possible, and can be attained
by a Conference that is led by patriots and pro-working people and the poor
organisations and its agenda should be based on: CONTROL OF THE ECONOMY AND
GOVERNANCE FOR THE COLLECTIVE INTEREST OF THE PEOPLE as against the current
running of the economy for SELFISH PRIVATE INTEREST OF THE POLITICIANS;
· If a Conference becomes inevitable
to address the national question and resolve the decades of political and
economic decadence; it should be a Conference of the Exploited and Oppressed
Working people and the poor who have genuine reasons for their anger and
frustration against the existing ruling cabal, whose callousness and inimical
policies have been responsible for the decades of injustice,
dehumanisation,
poverty and wants, ethnic and minority marginalization and hatred,
bad governance, looting and
sharp corrupt practices,
underdevelopment, subservient
to foreign political and economic dictates, etc;
· The major task before Nigerians is
the UNITY of the social forces across the country on a NATIONAL AGENDA to
redeem the country from the present class of looters and profiteers who are
located in every ethnic and religious groups; and
· Patriots and organisations of the
working people and the poor that are truly committed to the socio-economic
emancipation of Nigerians should join forces together as was done in the
January 2012 protest to provide leadership in the quest for a new Nigeria that
should ensure that the country’s wealth is judiciously used to benefit all
Nigerians, irrespective of sex, age, ethnic or religious differences.
5.
SYSTEM
CHANGE IS WHAT NIGERIANS MUST FOCUS ON!
· The
Political Alternative that Nigerians should embrace now is SYSTEM CHANGE in
order to rescue power from the
present wicked
and corrupt ruling class
of exploiters and oppressors.
· What in JAF we
meant by SYSTEM CHANGE: “Nigeria is rich. The wealth belongs
to the people. Most Nigerians are hungry, have no jobs, no education, no
healthcare, no potable water, no electricity supply and no affordable
transportation. Most cannot feed their families or educate their children.
Those who are lucky to have jobs are not much different. They also cannot afford
a decent living for their families. On the other hand, there is a very tiny
group of Nigerians who have cornered the wealth that belong to the working
people and the poor, who are in the majority. They loot the treasury and use
their stolen wealth to sustain themselves in power through their political
parties. They use their power to get richer and richer when the poor get poorer
and poorer. This is the system of exploitation and oppression. It is the system
that brings out the army and the police to kill poor people when they protest
against oppression and exploitation. We want to change that system and replace
it with a system where the working people and the millions of people who are
sufferings under the system of exploitation will win power and ensure that the
wealth of Nigeria is used to ensure a good life for the majority of the people
who are now exploited and oppressed. System change is not replacing one
exploiter’s government by another exploiter’s government. It is replacing an
exploiter’s government by a people’s government to reorganise Nigeria and put
an end to exploitation and oppression”.
DARE TO
STRUGGLE, DARE TO WIN!
Comrade
ABIODUN AREMU
JAF
Secretary
