“genuine forum for political debate, respecting different views and even allowing different ideological factions to be institutionalised”


In fact, it is in the light of the enormous socio-economic crisis facing organised workers and the entire black working class today, that I argue that it is mistaken, abstract and distracting for Webster to entertain and be inspired by a “lively debate over the relationship between Marxism-Leninism and Pan-Africanism”

But if workers foundationally focused on their material and social needs and interests, especially during a devastating economic crisis, they would have far more common ground for unity in action than whether some were attracted to the political ideas of Pan-Africanism or what Webster calls “Marxism-Leninism”, which in any case today in the relevant literature largely begs definition and redefinition and is in fact somewhat anachronistic.

What is a political party?..


A political party is a group of voters organized to support certain public policies. The aim of a political party is to elect officials who will try to carry out the party's policies. A political party offers candidates for public office

Political parties are formed by groups of people with common interests and outlook, who come together with the aim of either forming government or strengthening their influence on government. Each party creates policies to achieve its aims and then presents candidates for election to parliament.

The first set of political parties to be formed in Nigeria was formed in 1959, shortly before Nigeria gained her independence from Britain. The three political parties were the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). This party was led by Nnamdi Azikiwe.

The second political party was the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) and it was led by Ahmadu Bello. The party was majorly populated by the Hausa-Fulani from the North. The third one was the Action Group and it was led by Obafemi Awolowo. The party was mainly populated by the Yorubas from the southwestern part of Nigeria.

During the 1959 elections, no single party was able to win the majority. The NPC then decided to combine with the NCNC to form the national government. This brought Abubakar Tafawa Balewa in as Prime Minister and Nnamdi Azikiwe as the Governor-General on independence in 1960.

Nnamdi Azikiwe became the president of Nigeria in 1963 after Nigeria became a republic, while Tafawa Balewa maintained his position as the Prime Minister. The census conducted in 1963 was thought to favour the Hausa-Fulani more than the rest of Nigeria and this dissatisfied the Igbos, leading to the splitting of the NCNC with the NPC.

The NCNC then joined with a faction of the AG. This group was led by Obafemi Awolowo and they formed a new political party named United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA). The NPC on the other hand joined with the remaining faction of the AG led by Akintola to form yet another political party, the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP).



The Nigeria Civil War came in 167 and ended in January 1970. This was followed by a coup de at, which led to the removal of General Gowon in 1975 and the assumption of General Murtala Mohammed to the position of president. Murtala Mohamed was killed in an unsuccessful Buka Dimka coup de ta in February 1976 and Olusegun Obasanjo took over from him.


General Obasanjo handed over power to Shehu Shagari, in 1979. Many thought Shehu Shagari did not win the election. He re-contested after his first time and also won in an election many thought was rigged against Obafemi Awolowo.

Another coup took place on December 31, 1983, which brought in Muhammadu Buhari as president. Yet another coup took place on August 2, 1985 and Ibrahim Babangida took over as president. Babangida made new constitution and planned returning the country to civilian rule.

Elections actually held in 1993 between Social Democratic Party (SDP) and National Republican Party (NRP). Moshood Abiola of the SDP won the election that was touted as the fairest and freest election ever conducted in Nigeria.

Nigeria finally returned to civilian rule after another 6 years of military rule and General Obasanjo came to power under the People’s Democratic Party on May 29, 1999. He handed over to late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua of the same political party after defeating the oppositions Action Congress (AC) and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

The AC won most of the states in the Southwest, while the CPC won most of the states in the Northern part of the country. The PDP swill won the majority despite this strong show of opposition. Yet another political party, the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) participated in the election but was only able to win a couple of states in the south eastern part of the country.

However, Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua could not complete his first term in office. His vice, Good luck Jonathan took over and he was sworn in a second time in 2011 after winning convincingly at the polls.

Things went down the hill for Jonathan and he lost his popularity in many parts of the country, except in the southeastern and south-southern parts of the country. This led to the near-breakup of the PDP due to the exit of many of the political bigwigs of the party to the opposition parties
In preparation for the 2015 election, the Action Congress formed an alliance with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and they were joined by a faction of the APGA. They named their newly formed political party as All progressive Congress (APC).

This political party presented the former military president, Muhammadu Buhari, as flag bearer after he defeated Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and Atiku Abubakar in the primaries.

The exodus of many members from the PDP to other political parties, especially the APC, led to the shake in the stronghold of the then ruling party. Some aggrieved PDP governors formed a faction of the political party and called it the nPDP. The nPDP were made up of 7 state governors; 5 of them later defected to the newly formed APC.

To make things worse for the PDP, some of its leaders started exiting the party and joining their lot with the new APC. Notable among them is Olusegun Obasanjo, who many saw as the main force behind the PDP. Trouble started brewing when Obasanjo resigned as the chairman of the PDP’s Board of Trustees (BOT).

Inability of the then president, Goodluck Jonathan to settle the rift led to the outright defection of Obasanjo to the APC. At that point, many concluded that Jonathan would end up being defeated at the polls.

Muhamadu Buhari of the APC was able to defeat the Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP at the polls and Muhamadu Buhari was sworn in as President on May 29, 2015. The APC is presently the ruling party, while the PDP is the main opposition party.

Other political parties that participated in the 2015 general elections aside the APC and PDP were the Labour Party, the National Conscience Party, the Hope Democratic Party, the United Progressive Party.

The Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, the United Democratic Party, the All Progressive Grand Alliance, the African Democratic Congress, the Kowa Party, the Alliance for Democracy and the Action Alliance. Among all of them, only the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) could boast of winning election.

What is trade union?...

An organized association of workers, often in a trade or profession, formed to protect and further their rights and interests
No matter what you do for a living, there's a union with members who do the same thing. Unions represent:

• mechanics,
• teachers,
• factory workers,
• office workers,
• actors,
• musicians,
• police officers,
• construction workers,
• airline pilots,
• janitors,
• plumbers,
• doctors,
• pharmacists,
• IT/computer professionals,
• government workers at all levels,
• engineers,
• writers,
• nurses,
• and many more types of workers

The main purpose of labor unions is to give workers the power to negotiate for more favorable working conditions and other benefits through collective bargaining.
* Collective bargaining.. Collective bargaining is the heart and soul of the labor union. ...

* Higher Wages. ...

* Better Benefits. ...

* Your Representaive...

The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members (rank and file members) and negotiates labour contracts (collective bargaining) with employers. The most common purpose of these associations or unions is "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment.


Today, the NLC has 29 affiliated unions. In total, they gather around 4 million members, according to their own figures. This makes the NLC one of the largest trade union organisations in Africa.

Recently conflict between the government and the NLC has escalated due to the organisation's opposition to higher fuel prices. The price increases are the result of decisions by the Olusegun Obasanjo government to dramatically reduce subsidies and to deregulate the purchase and sale of fuel. The NLC has led several general strikes protesting the government's fuel price policy.

In September 2004, the NLC gave the federal government an ultimatum to reverse the decision to reintroduce the controversial fuel tax or face a nationwide protest strike. The strike threat was made despite the fact that a Federal High Court judgement in an earlier dispute had declared the organisation lacking legal power to call a general strike over government policies.

Following the announcement of the strike plans, the NLC claims President Adams Oshiomhole was arrested October 9, 2004 at a protest at Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport. According to the organisation, Oshiomhole was "abducted by a team of operatives of the State Security Services (SSS) numbering over fifteen, who overpowered him, wrestled him to the ground and bundled him into a standby Peugeot 504 station wagon, which bore no licence plates." The State Security Services called the claim "sensational and inaccurate reporting", saying that the NLC president had a misunderstanding with field operatives, but that the matter was soon resolved. A presidential spokesperson claimed that Oshiomhole was only invited for a "chat" at the airport, no arrest having taken placeEdit

The National Women Commission is the national women's wing of NLC. It was created in 2003 to increase the participation of women in the affairs of the union. Beginning in 1983, demand for more recognition of working women led to the establishment of women's wing in state capitals. Currently state branches of NLC have a women's committee and the chairperson of the committee is an automatic member of the administrative council of the state's NLC. On the national level, the head of the National Women Commission is automatically a Vice-President of NLC.

And so, what you need is a representation of your person in the scheme of things not necessarily belonging to a party system which you are not truly a member of such, because you are not truly united in the first place. We need to resurrect our unions and everyone finds where he or she truly belongs. Instead of just belonging to a political party for the sake of gain's and not for good and services. If we must be represented and our voices heard we must go the way of true cohabitation. Everyone will belong to where they truly belongs and evolving ones will play along it will no longer be seen as an ethnicity premeditated coming together of already biased and regional centred dummies. The politicians we see together will again regroup to form another set of political party which is born out of alliances and regional centred dummies. And not to serve the common needs of the union members.

But you know that your profession needs upgraded and the only place where you are positioned to grow is your soil from where you are planted. Don't expect anything good to come out of the grouping of people who are not truly related.

Mensing

Consider

And actually

It will work just strong

Consider

And then you see development

Sure

Good

One