The Movement for a Socialist Alternative (MSA), a socialist platform in Nigeria, has condemned the untold hardship Nigerians are going through due to what it described as President Muhammadu Buhari regime’s anti-people policies.
In a statement signed by its General Secretary, Aj. Dagga Tolar, the organization stated that “week after week, the mass of the people has continued to face one hardship or the other, ranging from queuing in the bank to withdraw their own money to queuing at the pump stations to get petrol.
“While this challenge has lasted for months now, the Buhari government did not feel bothered by the high level of hardship it has forced on the poor masses.”
According to Dagga Tolar, “The capitalist policies of this regime have further revealed the crises associated with the system. The country has been put into a state of chaos as a result of scarcity of cash due to the recent unnecessary and anti-poor policy of naira redesign and unavailability or hoarding of petrol which has continued for a period of four months.”
The organization described the response of the presidency to the current crisis as symptomatic of “the I don’t care body language and attitude of President Buhari towards the grave danger that these policies of his government pose to the survival of the general masses”, also expressed worries over the lack of interest of the labour leadership over the situation.
“The silence of the Labour unions has further emboldened the regime to continue to visit untold hardship on the Nigerian working people. We condemn the attitude Ayuba Wabba-led Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) as shown in its comment that the union will not challenge the ongoing fuel crisis and the hike in prices under the guise of being tired of fighting for the price reduction.”
It, therefore, called on trade unions not to abandon their responsibility of defending the working class in the country.
It also urged both NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to place the Buhari regime on notice by commencing the mobilization of the working masses for an effective 48-hour warning general strike, demanding an end to the untold suffering imposed on the country which it said, has been made worse by the scarcity of petrol, which shot up prices of goods and services.1
