On J. Gaskie: resignation and responses
The following is a thread of the letter of resignation of J.Gaskie as Coordinator of the SWM (and self-suspension of his membership) in August 2009 and the organisation's response half a year later, after several attempts to win him back
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Comrades All,
A time comes in the life of every organisation and individual, when it becomes critically important to take a step back and reflect on course of history as it is has impacted on one, as well as one has impacted on it.
Such a time has come for me, as i believe it has also come for the organisation, our platform, our movement.
A number of things have been developing over the last few years, accelerated by the dysfunction in the movement occassioned by the toll of the retreats suffered on various fronts of the struggle in which we had been pivotal and active.
The struggles on the pro-democracy front, on the Niger Delta front, on the nationalities front, on the workers front, as well as on the political front, in the face of the consolidating march of the Nigerian Bourgeois ruling class have all suffered some retreats, and even defeats. But this is only just the external factor.
The internal factor was driven by our inability to coordinate ourselves and to conitinue to instill ideological consciuosness in our caderes, to recruit directly into our platform on the basis of marxism, rather than into fronts on the basis of some shared anger etc. All of these have contributed to a situation where even though we took the correct decisisons in intervening on all the fronts of struggle that was decisive for revolutionart transformation of society, we ended up with a situation of xterised by ideological immaturity and confusion, and manifested in political expediencies which were simply not ideologically correct.
In the midst of all these we had tried severally to revamp our movement and to put our acts together, but the attitudes and actions including writen words of some of the leaders of this movement have led me to the conclusion that as the historic leadership of this movement, we have collectively failed, and some of us have become so set in our de-ideologised manners that we have become chasers after fairy tales. We have become irredeemable.
In the light of the forgoing, i have come to the conclusion that as the one who has played the leadership role in this historical leadership collective, i can no longer continue in this role.
I am therefore voloutarily withdrawing myself from the leadership of the movement, as well as suspending my membership of the movement.
I will set forth my parting thesis later, but for now it is sufficient to say good bye.
Marxist Regards,
Jaye,
A time comes in the life of every organisation and individual, when it becomes critically important to take a step back and reflect on course of history as it is has impacted on one, as well as one has impacted on it.
Such a time has come for me, as i believe it has also come for the organisation, our platform, our movement.
A number of things have been developing over the last few years, accelerated by the dysfunction in the movement occassioned by the toll of the retreats suffered on various fronts of the struggle in which we had been pivotal and active.
The struggles on the pro-democracy front, on the Niger Delta front, on the nationalities front, on the workers front, as well as on the political front, in the face of the consolidating march of the Nigerian Bourgeois ruling class have all suffered some retreats, and even defeats. But this is only just the external factor.
The internal factor was driven by our inability to coordinate ourselves and to conitinue to instill ideological consciuosness in our caderes, to recruit directly into our platform on the basis of marxism, rather than into fronts on the basis of some shared anger etc. All of these have contributed to a situation where even though we took the correct decisisons in intervening on all the fronts of struggle that was decisive for revolutionart transformation of society, we ended up with a situation of xterised by ideological immaturity and confusion, and manifested in political expediencies which were simply not ideologically correct.
In the midst of all these we had tried severally to revamp our movement and to put our acts together, but the attitudes and actions including writen words of some of the leaders of this movement have led me to the conclusion that as the historic leadership of this movement, we have collectively failed, and some of us have become so set in our de-ideologised manners that we have become chasers after fairy tales. We have become irredeemable.
In the light of the forgoing, i have come to the conclusion that as the one who has played the leadership role in this historical leadership collective, i can no longer continue in this role.
I am therefore voloutarily withdrawing myself from the leadership of the movement, as well as suspending my membership of the movement.
I will set forth my parting thesis later, but for now it is sufficient to say good bye.
Marxist Regards,
Jaye,
24 August 2009
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Comrade,
The Special Leadership Conference of the Mayist platform - Socialist Workers' Movement-, did amongst other things consider your withdrawal from the tendency's leadership and self-suspension of membership.
The mutation of excuses proffered by you was reported. Since those stated in your August email were the only ones presented to the group as a body, the email was read out and discussed.
It was agreed that if the issues raised in your email were as simple and straight as you seemed to portray them, then they give grave cause for concern indeed. It was however an issue of bewilderment on just how much as the leader you had tried to ensure that the issues were addressed -if germaine- before your resignation.
The genuineness of your argument was however questioned based on the mutation of your excuses, as was reported to the Conference-in-session. And this would be engaged with concrete factual debate in the coming month, in defence of our collective heritage.
Your parting thesis as stated in August would as well be welcome for the issues at stake to be treated with the thoroughness they deserve.
On a final note, we must stress that the movement and its personages hold no personal grouse against you with regards to the decision you have taken. We however believe and have a right to demand revolutionary honesty from you with regards to the "causes" stated for your action(s). Despite the slap on our collective face that your action amounted to, we shall still however look forward to possible work in different terrains of struggle and would welcome you back to the movement whenever you choose to lift your self-suspension as we are keen on massifying our tendency as a Leninist cadre party.
Thank you.
For and on behalf of the Central Committee,
The Special Leadership Conference of the Mayist platform - Socialist Workers' Movement-, did amongst other things consider your withdrawal from the tendency's leadership and self-suspension of membership.
The mutation of excuses proffered by you was reported. Since those stated in your August email were the only ones presented to the group as a body, the email was read out and discussed.
It was agreed that if the issues raised in your email were as simple and straight as you seemed to portray them, then they give grave cause for concern indeed. It was however an issue of bewilderment on just how much as the leader you had tried to ensure that the issues were addressed -if germaine- before your resignation.
The genuineness of your argument was however questioned based on the mutation of your excuses, as was reported to the Conference-in-session. And this would be engaged with concrete factual debate in the coming month, in defence of our collective heritage.
Your parting thesis as stated in August would as well be welcome for the issues at stake to be treated with the thoroughness they deserve.
On a final note, we must stress that the movement and its personages hold no personal grouse against you with regards to the decision you have taken. We however believe and have a right to demand revolutionary honesty from you with regards to the "causes" stated for your action(s). Despite the slap on our collective face that your action amounted to, we shall still however look forward to possible work in different terrains of struggle and would welcome you back to the movement whenever you choose to lift your self-suspension as we are keen on massifying our tendency as a Leninist cadre party.
Thank you.
For and on behalf of the Central Committee,
Baba Aye
31/01/2010
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BA,
Comrade General
Secretary, i acknowledge reciept of your mail and the diatribe contained into
the text of a simple letter of notification.
As you stated, if and
when we meet again on the terrain of struggle, we shall hopefully collaborate.
Marxist Regards,
Jaye
3/2/2010
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JG
comrade ngoist country director, thanx for your acknowledgment
of receipt of the movement's email of January 31st, 2010.
You are actually at liberty to consider the contents of the
email as "diatribe". I have however not added, and rather summarized
the views expressed by the collective in discussing your resignation as stated
in the agenda which you were privy to. It strikes me though that it would not
be the first time in history that, what would have seemed to some persons the
right contents of a message in their revolutionary incarnation -and which they
would have delivered with no less sense of "scientific exactitude"-
amounts to mere "diatribe" in their revised ears.
You must also permit us to note that when you have formally
provided leadership to the collective for two decades and then not only opt out
(which you have a right to and which if done in a honourable way, some of us
would have stood our ground to defend you on), but create strawmen of excuses
(there are inconsistencies in your documented -emails and our exchanges of sms-
excuses themselves and what you verbally accepted on the phone and during our
last discussion were even TOTALLY DIFFERENT from the different documented
versions of your excuses), informing you of the movement's acceptance of your
resignation can definitely not amount to "a simple letter of
notification".
As stated in our earlier email, we will definitely engage
you in a "concrete factual debate" and not exchanges of strawmen's
dialogue, even if we do not prioritize that over the immense tasks of
rebuilding which collectively we have started making considerable steps on,
even as we also face the challenges of our daily living and fending for our
families. By your own words though, you owe us your "parting thesis".
This of course would make the debate much more worthwhile for us as Mayists and
for the socialist movement now and in the future.
We do sincerely hope we will still meet at the trenches and
as well hope that we could collaborate, just as we would with any genuine force
of struggle, Marxist or otherwise.
Tchuss,
Baba Aye
4/2/2010
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