Baba Aye's

The "June 12 struggle" was an interesting period in Nigeria's history. The story of the struggle goes beyond the election that was annulled and its custodian. And the story of the election and the roles different personages and organisations played in the high drama starts well before the six-year democratic revolution unfurled with the annulment.  I've written a bit about this important, somewhat tragic, somewhat farcical, but none the less definitive moment in Nigeria's history. One of the two articles one might be interested in looking up are " Nigeria: the six year revolution " which which was first published in 2008 in the Working People's Vanguard and again in 2015 in the Socialist Worker . The other is " The shadow of June 12 : June 12, the left and Nigeria's democratic revolution", which was published in the Republic in 2022 and which has been republished in its latest special print issue "Nigeria Imaginary", marking t...

“A tale of two September 21s” was what first came to my mind as a title for this article (and I still see it as an alternative title). I intended to trace out the similarities and differences in the significance of two events, which in different ways affected the two main components of the labor movement in Nigeria. First was September 21, 1974, when internment led to the unity of the trade union movement . Despite repression, infiltration, self-serving momentary splits, and attempts at state incorporation, the spirit of unity that emerged that day has remained alive. The second was September 21, 2005, when the death of a leading revolutionary socialist and civil society activist inspired efforts at uniting the socialist movement . After five years during which the initiative atrophied, it became clear that it had failed. It was, however, probably the longest-running attempt at establishing an alliance of the left. There are lessons to draw from this understudied period of our re...

Response to Osaze Lanre Nosaze's open letter It is quite unfortunate that not once in the 4,407 words of Osaze’s letter is there even the slightest mention of the defining issue of today i.e. the COVID19 pandemic. It shows how disconnected from changing the world his penchant for interpreting it is.* Anyway, I have neither the time nor the disposition for a long-drawn response, for the moment at least. But there are some outright distortions that need to be clarified and a few issues which I will summarily put in perspective regarding the claims and accusations made in his open letter. 1.        On “our phone discussion” and related matters -           Osaze claims that I or as he puts it, the SWL merely “wanted a CORE meeting held where the question of developing a programme for the organisation would be finalised and an expanded leadership established”. This is a half-truth.  -    ...

Kuli kuli is a delicious peanut-based snack. It is probably the most celebrated accompaniment for “smoking” garri, or cassava flakes if you will. It is also known for being so temptingly delicious that it could teach youngsters thievery, as one of those songs we sang in Yoruba as kids went.   Kulik kuli was also the Friday back page column of Mr Femi Adesina in The Sun. He has since then become a lead spokesperson for the second coming of a dictatorship under General Muhammadu Buhari. With lucid style, the column contributed to national discourse. There was an echo of truth in its lines. The past half a decade has however helped show Adesina for what he is, as he now writes and speaks for “the inside”. Does this have to do with supernatural powers, abi na demons in Aso Rock that like (to waste) our local snacks? Just a few years back Reuben Abati informed the world of these spirits and their taste for boli , the plantain snack which is supposed to help turgidity of that thin...