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The Struggle Against Neo-Colonialism

Nigerian Activist Segun Aderemi Visits the US

by Jeff Moore, contributor

Have you wondered how the economic doctrines of the last 20 years areworking for the poorer two thirds of the worldÕs population?Directives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, andexport industry have taken hold in most of the worldÕs governments,and the outcomes of these policies are largely unexplored in thecorporate media. Policies have taken hold which promote privatization,the defunding of publicly owned industry, austerity programs in publicspending, and in general letting Òfree enterpriseÓ have free reign.

The speaking tour of Nigerian activist Segun Aderemi across the US inSeptember and October provided a window into such conditions inNigeria, which is in his words, Òa country with enormous naturalabundance and enough arable land to feed our own population ten timesover.Ó Aderemi spoke at eight different high schools, colleges, andlibraries in the Seattle area in October.

The stark reality of life for the working class of Nigeria is spelledout as Aderemi quotes the familiar litany of statistics from UN andNGO sources. Life expectancy is 47 and 52 years for males and femalesrespectively. Of a population of 120 million, 89 million live on lessthan a dollar per day even though the Niger Delta region containsabundant petroleum oil. Classrooms designed for 40 are typicallyjam-packed with 140 students. One IMF loan of $12 billion has become acontinuous unpaid debt of $27 billion.

The Obasanjo government of Nigeria is an example of a common form ofthird-world government where resource extraction (oil in the case ofNigeria) is the primary source of wealth. Imagine if in the past yourgovernment helped foreigners take your strongest children (slavery),it now takes what is valuable from your land (oil), it accepts creditin your name (IMF and World Bank), and it allows foreigners to trainand equip the military and police to try and keep your people fromorganizing to change all this. This is sometimes referred to asÒkleptocracy,Ó or government-by-theft.

On top of this, the financial leaders (US and Nigerian) do not investin water systems, roads, telephones, or running water, because theydonÕt care to invest in other parts of the economy beyond oilextraction.

As Aderemi explained, the political situation in Nigeria is both graveand dynamic. The bulk of the people live in poverty, yet they arestill able and willing to fight for a better life when possibilitiesfor action arise. Aderemi has been engaged for the last 20 years inchallenging Nigeria to come into its rightful inheritance: democraticcontrol of the economy by the working people of Nigeria and an end to the poverty and environmental degradationthat is the natural outcome of centuries of exploitation.

Aderemi is determined, but along with other opposition figures, hefaces repression.

In 1986 Aderemi helped found the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM),when he recognized that a fundamental realignment of power would haveto precede any meaningful effort to deal with poverty. In his ownwords: ÒOnly when workers take the commanding heights of the economyinto public ownership will poverty really be addressed.Ó Because thecurrent and former governments of Nigeria have a proven inability tomeet the populationÕs basic needs, or even carry through with theminimal promised development, ÒundergroundÓ political movements aimedat protests and strikes have evolved to the point of successfulnational strikes. Twice in the last three years the economy was shutdown for two days. Through protests and strikes, they can move thegovernment to at least partially meet their demands.

Nigerians understand the value of the oil being taken from Nigeria andthe potential for transformation of their lives that nationalizing theoil industry could have. As Aderemi puts it, ÒOnly a democraticallyplanned economy can offer a solution.Ó

However, Aderemi stresses that a positive transformation of societywill have to be international in character. Business interests can andwould isolate Nigeria, should the Nigerian working class successfullycreate a social democracy. For further info or to get involved, please contact (206)736-6807,Seattle@SocialistAtlernative.org, or visitSocialist Alternative.