A PROUD HERITAGE: LABOUR PARTY AND THE EMPOWERING PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL DEMOCRACY  

BEING TEXT OF THE SPEECH PRESENTED BY BARR. DAN NWANYANWU mni, THE NATIONAL   CHAIRMAN OF LABOUR PARTY, DURING ITS 3^rd  NATIONAL CONVENTION HOLDEN AT LABOUR  HOUSE AUDITORIUM, ABUJA, ON SATURDAY, 12 DECEMBER, 2009.

PROTOCOL

1.    Many emotions mark my heart as i stand before you today: humility in the face of the immensity of the responsibility that has been thrust upon me; pride in our accomplishments; and faith in our collective capacity to triumph ever the challenges that still lie ahead of us. Today’s historic convention is a testament to the living vitality of Nigerian labouring masses who own  our platform, the individual  endeavours  and sacrifices  of  every single one of you;  the selfless commitment and devotion of all members of the convention  committee;  and the support  and assistance of all our leaders  and cherished elders too  numerous  to mention. 

2.    Today marks a rite of passage; from the uncertain steps of our not so distant beginning to the assurance that Nigeria’s democratic project must be measured by the benchmarks and  standards that our great party will set. Today, our possibility has turned into a reality, not only in our national spread and reach; not only  in the number of people  elected into offices  who proudly bear our  emblem; but most important,  in the fact  that the Nigerian Political space has witnessed  the birth growth   and development of a new party, that is defined  by organisational coherence , ideological  clarity  and philosophical rooting  in the best tradition and practice of Social Democracy. 

BUILDING FROM THE GROUND UP

3.    When the Party for Social Democracy (PSD) was founded in 2002, it was an idea which  was firmly planted  in the consciousness of a few progressive Nigerians who were persuaded that the time  was ripe to re-define the  democratic direction of the Nigerian  state. The guiding organisational principle and mobilization strategy of the party was to build from the ground up, to sow  the seed of positive Social change  deep in the hearts  and minds of Nigerian working people, and in that  direction, to expand the space of mass involvement, inclusiveness and participation in the political  process. As against the prevalent paradigm of national democratic propulsion being an organ of inter-elite  consensus, the new party saw in  the people  as reposing  the engine of Nigeria’s political re-birth.

4.    Even as the new platform transformed into the present Labour Party, the beginning was difficult. The young party was beset by natural organisational and administrative problems and limitations, with its core membership drawn from  the rank of the poor and those who survive marginally  above  the  poverty line.  The consequence of this  was the paucity of sustainable  funding, a situation that was not helped by the one-room space given to  it at the Labour House by  the Nigerian Labour Congress. Yet,we were not deterred, convinced as we were, that of our vision and idea will catch on, and in our single-minded commitment to a democratic society  that must honour  the Labour  and enterprise of our people.

5.    Having  reached agreement with the  Nigeria Labour Congress  about the  future administrative space  the party will inhabit, we quickly  moved  the party office to its present location, at the heart of the town, in the midst of the people, and  in fulfilment of our collective hope and expectation that  our new National Headquarters  will truly  be a people’s parliament. This administrative  strategy  opened a wide  space for  mass  involvement in the party’s programmes  and  activities, expanded  its membership  base and consolidated its standing amongst  the people  as a true partner in their desire to take their  political destiny in  their  hands. Increased membership helped in strengthening the party’s administrative and organisational machinery,  and in manning its several strategic arms. With a unified and highly integrated  organisational  structure, administrated daily by  the National Working Committee on behalf of the party’s  National Executive  Council, it was easy to grow  the party across our national frontiers, in all the geo political zones, and in a substantial number of the states and local government  areas. The logic of party growth  and expansion was organic, coherent  and sequential, with party   offices moving out of National Labour Congress  and other  trade union  complexes to newly acquired independent party offices and structures. Correspondingly, too, such movements  opened  additional  space for  membership mobilisation, and the synchronization and solidification of its partnership with  the people at the grass-root in furtherance of the party’s philosophy of building from the ground up.

LABOUR PARTY AND THE 2007 GENERAL ELECTIONS

6.    Given the monetized character of the  Nigerian political environment, and the ready seduction of a ruling  party that readily advertises  the  invincibility  of incumbent power and the  patronage  that flows from it; and given also that party’s less than noble pursuit of  power regardless of the moral and spiritual consequences of a commandist, do-or-die mentality, it was an outstanding  achievement that  our great party .fielded gubernatorial candidates  in 18 states of the federation and senatorial, House of Representatives  and State Houses of Assembly candidates in 24 states. The party’s record in  elections that were characterized by all manners of impunity, and which failed to meet up with the minimum international standards of fairness, freeness, credibility and legitimacy, was remarkable. Added to the trauma of an unhealthy  electoral environment was also the perennial  issue of in-adequate funding.

7.    Some examples will suffice in illustrating the party’s achievements. On the basis of actual vote count, our great party won the governorship, Senatorial, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly elections in Ondo State. Yet this victory was snatched away in inexplicable circumstances. It tool over twenty months of dedicated and unrelenting legal battle before its governorship victory was restored to it. As it stands now, our great party has ten 10 state of Assembly  seats in Ondo state, with  5 seats on appeal, having won at tribunal 6 seats won at the tribunal, are now on appeal, and after losing 2 seats at the  tribunal, 1 senate seat is now on Appeal.

8.    In Edo State, the current governor Comrade Adams Oshiomol/ was the Labour Party’s gubernatorial candidate until specific, on the ground situation compelled a strategic alliance and partnership with the Action Congress, the banner he eventually used to secure his resounding victory, again, after a long, bitter legal battle. Labour party campaigned vigorously for him, as well as for other Action Congress candidates at the various elections. In Enugu State, our party was actually coasting to victory in both gubernatorial and State House of Assembly election before the process was abruptly aborted. Till   date, in spite of the declaration by the Court of Appeal,  and in spite  of INEC’s confession  at the elections petitions tribunal, Enugu State remains  the only  state  that is being   governed without any determinate election results.

9.    In Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and  Adamawa States, our party was robbed of victory,  and only placed N0.2 by INEC as a demonstration of that  organ’s residue  of conscience  given the grave injustice done to us. In addition to the party’s victory in Ondo State, and contribution to the Action Congress victory in Edo state, the party also have two members of the House of Representatives  representing  Aguata  Federal Constituency in Anambra State,  and Akoko South-West in Ondo State, a member each in Bayelsa and Nasarawa States Houses of Assembly who are their minority  Leaders, and elected member each in the Kano and Oyo States, Houses of Assembly  who unfortunately decamped  to the PDP.

10.   Since the 2007 general elections, the party has been re-building and strengthening its structures across   the nation, opening new chapters and offices,  and expanding its membership base through careful planning, aggressive mobilization drives  and goal directed proactive propaganda campaigns. The party’s mobilization strategy is underpinned by its philosophy of of mass inclusion  in the democratic process, and its unflinching belief  that the construction of a new national  social order must-stem from the inter play of enhanced consciousness  as against the narrow, elitist pyrotechnics of the ruling political groups. We pledge to continue   in this direction, and to pursue this twin-pronged agenda of an expanded membership base and a deepened ideological content   of our programme of action with relentless spirit and  uncommon will.

THE CONDUCT OF THE 2007 GENERAL ELECTIONS

11.   Retrospectively, we can now appreciate that the failures associated with the conduct of the  2007 general elections derived  from  a defective electoral instrument (the 2006 electoral Act), the weaknesses of the 1999 constitution which were exploited by fraudulent political operators, an anti-democratic political culture foisted on the nation by the ruling political establishment,  and the pervasive lack of political will and moral courage  by very senior electoral officers.

12.   Our party gave INEC the benefit of the doubt before and during the general elections based on the guarantees and assurances given  it and the other political parties that the elections will truly reflect the  will  of the people; that  their votes will count; that logistic and electoral planning  was conclusive;  and that the  elections will be fair,  free, credible , transparent and credible. Yet, on the basis of their glaring flaws, our party commissioned a survey of their conduct by a team of experts. Their findings point to the fact that on the basis of the existing electoral act, the bulk of deficient  electoral management rested with Resident Electoral  Commissioners,  and the  Returning Officers who handled the Senatorial,  House of Representatives and State Houses of Assembly elections. The collective criminalization of INEC as a body substantially stemmed from its inability to discipline these officers who announced fake and fraudulent results, and the other noted defects of the presidential election which the national body directly planned, co-ordinated and supervised. This institutional failure endured without any noted effort to pinpoint and expose individual deficiencies, to the degree that the entire organ is now enmeshed in a deep, intolerable moral quagmire, and appear substantially to be suffering from a deep crisis of credibility and legitimacy in the minds of various critical stakeholders.

ELECTORAL REFORM

13.   Distinguished delegates, and party leaders, it is thus clear that the messy electoral environment of 2007 has thrown up persistent and unrelenting debate about Nigeria’s electoral future and the fate and destiny of the national democratic  project.  From President Umaru Yar’Adua’s admission  that the election that produced his administration was afflicted  by grave defects to the  submission of the Justice Uwais committee report,  the national space has been  dominated  and deeply  scalded by vociferous agitations  about electoral reform, a  campaign  that is currently   adorning  the  garb of a spiritual  crusade.

14.   Without dwelling laboriously on all the elements that a new electoral system and order in Nigeria must contain; properties that lie at the heart of Nigeria’s political transformation permit me to further enunciate our party’s position on some salient   issues in the ongoing debate. Our platform for a fresh electoral start that will guarantee Nigeria’s political survival rests on these five planks:

i.             The appointment of the Chairman of INEC, the Federal Commissioners and the State Resident Electoral Commissioners must be insulated from the office of the President of the Federation and independently managed;

ii.           INEC must enjoy a first line charge in the National budget as a means of guaranteeing its financial autonomy and safe guarding and strengthening its political and institutional independence;

iii.         In the determination of election cases  by  the various elections petitions tribunals, the burden of  proof must  rest squarely  with INEC, and be shifted  significantly  away from the petitioner. The grain of idea in this stand is that the INEC cannot  escape  sanction  after conducting   shoddy  and unacceptable elections nor hide under the plaintive charge  to  aggrieved parties to seek redress at the law courts;

iv.         Time limit  should be imposed on  the disposal of election  cases, to the  extent and degree  that all election cases at the  final level of appeal must be

v.           disposed off before elected candidates are  sworn in, and

vi.         Finally, electoral  fraud  and all other malpractices must be criminalized and punished as such through the establishment of an Election Offences Commission.

15.   This is our credo, our mutually agreed point of no retreat, no surrender.  And this is indeed the solemn testament of all patriotic national unions,  from civil society to  Labour, from the media to the  intelligentsia , from opposition political parties to ethnic  unions, and from progressive youth organisations to women structures across  the length and breath of the land.

COALITION BUILDING

16.   In principle, coalition building, alliance formation and the structuring of strategic political partnership between two  or more political parties is not wrong in itself. Properly formulated, it can enhance the competitive edge of the parties in the coalition and create a wider  spectrum  for political operation. Our party demonstrated the viability of this strategic option in the partnership we structured with   the Action Congress (AC) for the purposes of the general election in Edo State. In that arrangement, the  guiding principle was the viability of the principal candidate  for the election,  the progressive orientation of our partners,  commonality of ideological perspective and  other  prevailing local circumstances.

17.   However, this specific union is a far cry from the current urge among several political leaders to float a new political party that will confront the PDP in the 2011 general elections. Nigerian history instructs us that  this path is unviable, especially given the fact that  Nigerian politicians  only agree to come  together after been robbed of victory.This mindset is suspicious and opportunistic, as was demonstrated in the failure of   opposition parties to come together  before the 2007 general elections. Parties are formed to aggregate popular viewpoints for the attainment of democratic power, and currently there are about 55 registered political parties working towards this ideal. If these parties, singly or in strategic combination cannot be grown, developed and positioned to attain this noble end, there is  little doubt  that a new formation  will achieve it.

18.  We thus view with extreme caution these ideologically and philosophically indeterminate moves to form a new party, small or mega, and urge our politicians  to begin the urgent work of expanding  the membership base, and mass acceptability  and popularity of the   programme of action  and platform of the viable parties , as  a prelude to crafting creative partnerships in the months ahead, as against  the ill-conceived  and the ill- defined manoeuvres  that will yield little political benefit. In Saying this, i will also want to stress  that the future of Nigeria democracy, cannot be attained in the midst of 55 political parties. This is simply too much of a number. Nigerian political Leaders must recognise the limit of their political enterprise and be courageous and forthright to admit that there are clearly too many parties around. This process of soul searching  will lead to one healthy end: the merging and  fusing of  parties sharing common beliefs and subscribing to common principles, values and ideology, in such  a way and to such  an extent, that  we may arrive  at the  post of a few robust  parties with the  will, capacity and  determination to  wrest power from the misgoverning PDP.

THE ANTI – CORRUPTION FIGHT

19.   Distinguished delegates, permit me to throw in a few word about the much advertised fight against the prevalent and increasingly  institutionalized  scourge of corruption, graft and sleaze. Without a doubt, the struggle against corruption  is globally underpinned to improve the quality of human life and to meet the benchmarks set  by the Millennium  Development  Goals (MDGs).  Continentally, this struggle  has  been  affirmed by the African Union (A.U) leaders as a concrete component  of NEPAD, and the specific mission of the APRM  ( African Peer Review  Mechanism)  which emphasizes the place and import of good governance, accountability, probity and transparency as Sin qua na for rapid Socio-Political transformation and the ending  of Poverty.

20.   Closer home in Nigeria, it is commonly agreed that in spite of the very glaring defects of the Obasanjo administration, and these are legion,  that the regime took the  right step when it established the EFCC, and subsequently  appointed  a very courageous, visionary  anti-corruption Chairman in the person of Nuhu Ribadu . His human failings apart, it is undeniable that  the EFCC under him confronted the monster of corruption boldly  and squarely,  arraigned, tried and imprisoned high ranking public officers, recovered  billions of looted funds, investigated  and was ready  to prosecute  over 34  state governors when  they shed their immunity, ensured that the anti-corruption debate became central to any discourse on the National Question and garnered  for the   country significant  international recognition and respect.

21.   In reality, the current anti- corruption spectacle that confronts us presently is, to say the least, tragic. The EFCC has lost its nerve and verve, its raison d’etre, its solemn justification, its moral high ground and authority. Corruption currently stalks the land and the rich, powerful and the   very corrupt, are currently untouchable sacred cows. This gory situation is compounded by the vacillation, equivocation and confusion that   trail the action   and inaction of the Federal Attorney General  and Minister of Justice. For good or bad his office now appears as a safe haven  for corrupt officers who exploit  deliberately  created legal, administrative  and bureaucratic quagmire to evade the law. Nigerians must rise up to this present challenge and help in re-directing  the  fight against corruption  to its original noble end. And our great party will not only be involved in this struggle, it will help to lead the charge.

A NOTE ON THE ECONOMY

22.   I want distinguished delegates, and the Nigeria public to ponder  on a number of issues relating to the National Economy. We  intend to task an Economic Team to do a comprehensive  assessment of the State of the National Economy and bring out clear  findings and recommendations on what should  be done. If that task force is   set up after this convention, we would be accomplishing much on behalf of Nigeria labouring masses.  Some of the issues worthy of consideration include:

i.             The Nigerian economy is substantially disarticulated and  dysfunctional, given the prevalence of contradictory  micro and micro economic policies;

ii.           The Nigerian economy is in urgent need of diversification as a prelude to its sustainable, industrial  growth;

iii.         Human infrastructure and human security should be urgently attended to in order to improve the human development index, reduce poverty, and create wealth through  sustainable means of livelihood;

iv.         The National North-South, East-West  and East-North rail system should be revamped  because of its tremendous salutary   impact on the  national economy;

v.           The current 7-point agenda and the vision 20:2020 should  be streamlined to accomplish a  few critical tasks,  the most important  being the rot in the power / energy supply sector  given the colossal  failure of the government to meet up with its much touted  6000 mega watts by the end of 2009;

vi.         A lot more work need to be undertaken at the Post-Amnesty period in the Niger-Delta. Currently, the euphoria over the relative success of the Amnesty programme is dying down, and there are no concrete  signs of significant undertakings in the region in the area of human empowerment, reintegration of ex-militants  and accelerated infrastructural  transformation of the region; and

vii.        Finally, the National Assembly must be alive and alert to their oversight responsibilities as this will help in ensuring solid policy implementation by the Executive Branch Currently, the picture is saddening given the tragic fate of their numerous probe panels.

FOREIGN POLICY

23.   Traditionally, Nigerian Foreign Policy thrust has always emphasized the primacy of Africa in our foreign policy objectives. A new element should be quickly introduced the protection of the lives, rights and privileges of Nigerians who live abroad. Citizens diplomacy should be much more than a verbal craft or sanctimonious cant. Words must be matched with deeds. From China to Libya, and from Europe, the USA to Asia tales abound about the humiliation Nigerians are subjected to. This trend must stop. An assertive and proactive Foreign Policy agenda must incorporate Nigerians in Diaspora Organization in its frame work, to help drive the agenda of citizens diplomacy and the respect of the

humanity and dignity of Nigerians where ever they may be in the world, and what ever may be their circumstances.

ON DEREGULATION

24.   We recognise that in a liberal, free enterprise economy that is driven by market forces, the deregulation of the Oil Sector will eventually occur. However, we have not gotten to that point. Concrete measures have to be put in place to make the policy workable. These measures , which include  the  optimal operation of Nigeria’s refineries, implementation of a new living wages formula, improvement in the mass transit system, regulatory mechanism to monitor the implementation of the policy and broad based relief package to cushion the immediate effect of the policy, are only at the point of reflection. We thus join the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) the Trade Union Congress (TUC),other patriotic National Unions and Civil Society groups in calling for the suspension of the policy to give room for wider consultation and the concretization of the measures listed above. We will also work assiduously in concert with these other organizations to ensure that the policy is suspended.

ON PRESIDENT YAR’ADUA’S HEALTH

25.   Labour Party wishes to join millions of Nigerians in praying for the quick recovery of President Umaru Yaradua. We also caution that the undue politicization of Mr President’s illness is unhelpful to our national stability and is also unwarranted, unnecessary and premature. However, we recognize that some of those who speak about the transfer of power to the Vice –President are guided by the dictates of the 1999 constitution, a matter which cannot be wished away. We also call on our Governors, the members of the Federal Executive council, the ruling peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the National Assembly to be constantly alert to the provisions of the said Constitution in the current course of action as not to allow the existence of power vacuum at this critical stage of our national development.

ON GOVERNOR  OLUSEGUN MIMIKO

26.   I cannot end this address without singling out His Excellency, the first elected Labour Party Governor of Ondo State for special mention. Since he was sworn in, he has raised the bar of governance in Ondo State and is steadily implementing our great Party’s mass empowering Social Democratic agenda. He has cleared the backlog of pension arrears owed Ondo state Pensioners up to the turn of N1.4 Billion Naira, covering about 1500 beneficiaries and is paying all Ondo State workers additional 50% of their salaries this Yuletide period.

27.   In addition, the pace of infrastructural development of the state has accelerated, given the laudable achievements he has thus far recorded in the areas of educational and health facilities, and the provision of social amenities to several communities. Please join me in raising three worthy cheers to this great leader whose record of service is matchless and peerless,

CONCLUSION: LOOKING AHEAD 

28.   Distinguished delegates, I am about done. I urge you all to be alert to the challenges we must still confront, internal and external. Our party is on the steady path of growth and expansion and this will necessarily attract the envy and animosity of our detractors who have their lackeys and hirelings in our midst. They will attempt to distract us, divert our attention and draw us into unnecessary arguments and recriminations. You must resist this temptation and remain focused on the greater tasks ahead. One such task is  deepening our party’s structures and working towards its success in the Anambra governorship election, and the 2011 general elections. We must expose the opportunists and fifth columnists in our ranks masquerading as genuine party standard bearers whose agenda is to attain high positions and destroy the party from within.

29.   As the party of Nigerian working people – farmers, journalists, serious business people, artisans, market people, etc- we must remain faithful to the empowering  ideals  of social democracy.  We must embrace the philosophy of human advancement, egalitarianism, compassion, equity, equal access to opportunities, and social and political inclusiveness, with passion and eloquent  belief. Eternal vigilance must be the price we must constantly pay for being  the party of the people, by the people and for the people, for even as i speak, desperate efforts are being made by faceless intruders to create the erroneous impression that we are not one. They will fail today, as they have always failed in the past.

30.   The future that beckons to us is a hopeful one, for we shall not only win the Anambra gubernatorial election, our great party will also produce  many governors, Senators, House of Representatives members, State Assembly members  as well as chairmen  and councillors of very many local government areas in the 2011 general elections. We have behind us a proud heritage of labour and sacrifice. We have today, the eager efforts of our leaders to make party the best there ever is. The future will witness the breaking of a new dawn, the dawn of Labour Party as the most authentic social and political force in Nigeria, and in Social Democracy as the most empowering instrument of political transformation and democratic consolidation.

31.   Thank you for listening. I am done. May the Almighty God guide and protect you as you travel back to your respective destinations.

Bar. Dan Nwanyanwu mni

National Chairman, Labour Party

Abuja.

12^th December, 2009.