ADC, PDP, SDP, LP, APGA Not Different from APC – Bàbá Ayé

With the recent defections across party lines, both in the states and the National Assembly, how do you think such parties like ADC, PDP, SDP, LP and APGA will perform in 2027?

One thing that these defections have shown is that there is essentially no difference between these nominally different parties. They all represent the same class of exploiters and oppressors of the people that have made life hell on earth for the poor working people in Nigeria. Thus, not surprisingly, when you look at their ideologies, programmes and perspectives, they are all in favour of making the rich richer whilst paying lip service to the people all in the name of seeking votes from us. For example for PDP, SDP, LP and APGA, you will see that in their 2023 manifesto, they were all for removing the fuel subsidy instead of addressing the corruption in it. And this was just one of the several neoliberal policy positions in those manifestos. As for ADC, it is a repackaged format of mainly former PDP stalwarts and those from the other tendencies in APC that lost out to the Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s BATCO tendency in the ruling party. It is because of the fact that the differences between them and the APC is no more than the differences between six and half-a-dozen that it is was so easy for such defections to take place. In light of all the defections, their performances as sham alternatives will definitely be seriously hampered.

As a Leftist political activist, how do you think the African Action Congress (AAC), the most visible Leftist political party in Nigeria presently,  will perform in 2027 bearing in mind its records in last two outings?

To answer your question, it needs to be first put in mind that there is a lot of allocation in what goes for recording votes for parties in Nigeria. Rigging has been woven into the fabric of elections in a rather worrying manner. The chief rigger is usually the party in power. But other capitalist parties with lots of money do also play some role within the broad scope of money-backed rigging of the system. This puts parties with a revolutionary alternative and less resources in a disadvantaged position regarding the allocation of votes. Also, to understand the place of AAC in Nigeria’s politics, you have to situate it within the context of the rise of radical left parties to challenge the deepening of reactionary politics at the polls in Africa and indeed globally. This wave of alternative party formations which cover a broad ideological spectrum, I must add, includes such parties as the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the rather short-lived Socialist Workers Revolutionary Party (SWRP) in South Africa and the National Unity Platform (NUP) in Uganda. One of the most significant developments in 2019 in my view could be gleaned from comparing the showing of AAC, despite the limitations of vote allocations to that of the SWRP. Despite the fact that the SWRP was formed by a trade union which had over three hundred thousand members, and that the union NUMSA, had been pushing for that party for almost five years earlier – though it took them time to move from thinking to action -  the number of votes it got were less than those of AAC. So, even with how it would appear we might not have fared greatly in the past, the party can hold its head high with the records it has achieved. Regarding the coming elections, I am very sure that we will definitely do much better. We have had new members in five digit figures over the last few months alone. We have plans at turning these into massive numbers of votes. And we also have the firm commitment to defend the votes and stop the fraud of election allocation. Most importantly, we intend to mobilise Nigerians to stand up for, vote and fight alongside the party which represents the exploited, oppressed, marginalised and sidelined majority; working-class people, youths and all those who want to win a better society. We thus urge all Nigerians who seek a liberatory alternative to the Hobbesian state of nature that Nigeria has now been reduced to, to vote for us in the coming general elections.

What is your take on the IMF approval of the reforms of the Tinubu administration when such reforms create more poor people in the country instead of helping the poor and working people?

 The IMF's approval of the reforms of the APC administration led by President Bola Tinubu is not surprising at all. The IMF serves the interest of global capital. It has to make some, the more you look the less you see verbal commitments, about the need to address increasing poverty of working-class people, partly because one of the fears of global capital is the resistance that can come from the angry masses. And you know what they say about the hungry being angry. So there are efforts to give seeming placation. Sometimes they talk of things like cash transfers, and other palliatives. It is all like that proverbial  rat that bites your toe and blows on it. So, it is working people themselves that can fight to liberate themselves, standing in unity with working-class people across the world to fight against capitalist governments, to fight against the international financial institutions, which represent the interest of global capital. We must unite and fight to smash this expectative system, liberate ourselves, and build a socialism, a society based on social justice and cooperation.

Do you think the controversial New Tax Laws should be revisited by the lawmakers?

The new tax laws are part of the efforts of the ruling class to consolidate capital formation. And this, of course, amongst other things, entails making working-class people pay more. When you look at the details of the law,  contrary to some of what Taiwo Oyedele, the lead-architect of the law who has now been confirmed as the new Minister of State for Finance says it's aimed at benefiting capital first and last, and not the poor working people. We need a taxation regime that makes the rich pay a much fairer share, and that is also hinged with a universal social protection system that enables poor working-class people to live decent lives. This would include universal access to quality health services, quality public education for all as a right, decent housing, and so on and so forth. So understanding the tax system on its own is not enough. We need an integrated approach rooted in redistributive justice to draw wealth from the super-rich and safeguard the lives of poor working people. Unfortunately, I don't see this current national assembly revisiting these tax laws.

What is your assessment of President Bola Tinubu's performance vis a vis security, economic stability, and infrastructure development?

Bola Tinubu is much more interested in ensuring his smooth ride to securing a second term in 2027 than on issues like the security of the masses. It is a shame that it took the nauseating imperialist bullying of Mr Donald Trump for him to try to buckle up in that regard. As to the economy, he continues with an economic agenda of ‘the rich by the rich for the rich’. While the rich have gotten richer, the economic situation of working-class people only got worse. Infrastructural development is a bit trickier. On the face of it, there has been some progress with road construction for example. But, when you look more closely, you see that these have been used to siphon money, building up his war chest for the 2027 elections. His performance has been rightly applauded by imperialist organisations like the Bretton Woods Institution and capitalist moguls. As for the masses it's a performance which has added to the sorrow, tears and blood that have always been our burden and even more so under the APC regime for the last decade.