11-11-2024: In case you missed it, some organisations of the so-called left in Australia have issued a “call to action” purportedly for “protestors” in Nigeria who are facing the death penalty. The Spartacist League (SL) has taken the lead, calling a protest in Melbourne on the 8th of November outside the State Library of Victoria.[1] Class Conscious (CC) has leapt on board, reprinting the SL’s call,[2] as has the Revolutionary Communist Organisation (RCO).[3] This motley trio has managed to obtain endorsements for a rally denouncing the Nigerian government (!) from the African Solidarity Collective, the Black Peoples Union, League for the Fourth International (AUS), the Victorian Socialists, Free Palestine Coalition Naarm, Unionists for Palestine Victoria, the Victorian branch of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and the Sydney Branch of the MUA.[4] They are railing against the arrest of around 2500 people for taking part in the #EndBadGovernance “protests” in Nigeria this year, 11 of whom face the death penalty on what they claim are “trumped up” treason charges.
Years long attempts at regime change
So should the left and trade union movement in Australia take action in defence of Nigerian “activists”, as implored by the SL? Not on your nelly. As we will see, what in fact the SL and a cohort of misguided revolutionaries are doing is stumping for US backed regime change in Nigeria. They are certainly NOT defending innocent grassroots activists taking action under the guise of fighting high prices for food, fuel and other necessities. No doubt, some of the Union members and Palestine solidarity activists have been drawn in while remaining unaware of what is happening geopolitically across Africa. But those who label themselves as Marxist should know better – much better. Do they really think that, with the globe on the brink of World War III, socialists in a nation whose ruling class is the most firmly of all welded to US (United States of America) imperialism, should be vociferously fulminating against a government from a relatively poor country in Africa? Perhaps they should pause for thought.
What has been happening in Nigeria in recent years are multiple attempts at regime change, orchestrated by Washington against what they see as their foes in Beijing and Moscow. In 2020, the #EndSARS movement supposedly mobilised against police brutality, which was endorsed by Black Lives Matter at the height of their notoriety. Suspiciously during the time of the fraudulent “Covid pandemic”, SARS did not refer to the alleged virus, but to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad which was set up in 1992. The #EndSARS “protestors” attacked and burnt several police stations, and soon adopted the hashtag #Buharimustgo – giving the game away that it was yet another Western backed covert operation. It was even endorsed by celebrities Beyonce, Rihanna and then Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.[5] In 2021, then President Buhari indefinitely suspended Twitter for deleting his tweets, when he was commenting that the “protestors” were claiming it was about the right to protest while burning police stations and killing police officers.[6] Since that time, Twitter has been bought out and taken over by Elon Musk, who at least deviates from the US deep state on some issues such as free speech. Twitter is now X, and does not allow completely free speech, but nevertheless Washington and its various agencies through which it operates cannot now reliably use X for regime change operations.
Boko Haram
Since 2009, the Boko Haram terrorist organisation has waged a war in Nigeria, supposedly in an effort to impose Sharia Law in the north-east. This has led to the brutal deaths of at least 35 000 people and the displacement of around 2 million. In early September, approximately 50 Boko Haram barbarians rode motorcycles into the Tarmuwa council area of Yobe state and began firing weapons and setting buildings ablaze. At least 100 villagers perished in the assault.[7] In 2015, the Greenwhite Coalition released a report plausibly claiming that Boko Haram is a covert operation organised by the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) and coordinated through the American Embassy in Nigeria.[8] The idea is to create and fund unimaginably horrific terrorism which takes innocent lives, whip up religious animosity between Islam and Christianity, and then internationalise the crisis. This then provides a rationale for – guess what? Imperialist intervention into Africa to “save” people from the cutthroats paid by the deep states of the West. Like ISIS and Al Qaeda, Boko Haram is the perfect foil.
Since NATO’s (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) destruction of Green Libya in 2011, the Al Qaeda operatives used in that operation fanned out across the Sahara and the Sahel region, which is home to some 200 million people. Some of these mercenaries went on to form jihadist groups with the backing of the West, such as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Ansar al-Sharia and Boko Haram.[9] Today, the nations of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), as they were also being ravaged by the terrorist attacks on innocent civilians by AQIM and others. This began as a security alliance and it has also led to the total withdrawal of French neo-colonial troops from Niger.[10] This could not have occurred without security ties with the Russian Federation, to which Niger turned after dumping security agreements with the EU (European Union).[11]
Nigeria also had little option but to turn to Russia for security assistance against the Western orchestrated terrorist outfits, and the two governments signed a military cooperation agreement in August 2021.[12] At the same time, Nigeria has been an enthusiastic partner with the socialistic People’s Republic of China (PRC), whose state backed firms can offer opportunities for infrastructure development that the capitalist West simply cannot. In September, Nigeria and the PRC signed a $3.3 billion agreement to develop the Brass Industrial Park and Methanol Complex, which is expected to significantly boost industrial output and generate employment.[13] If this wasn’t enough to make Washington exhale, Nigeria became one of 13 partner countries of the BRICS alliance at its historic 16th Summit in Kazan in October.[14] BRICS + (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates) is a non-imperialist bloc which is now, at the least, offering an alternative to centuries of US and Western plunder of the planet. Clearly, Nigeria joining BRICS is the last straw for Washington, leading to contrived operations such as #EndBadGovernance.
“Civil Society” is anything but civil
For Western imperialism locked in a losing battle for influence in Africa to the BRICS + nations, their decades long subversive funding of “civil society” NGOs (Non-Government Organisations) can be activated when the time, for them, is most opportune. Western government funded “non” government organisations is obviously an oxymoron, as they are used directly for the foreign policy aims of their sponsors often in direct contradiction to the interests to the mass of Nigerians. For example, there are approximately 3500 “NGOs” operating in Nigeria, and almost all of them are funded by the governments and their private corporate partners in the West. This is not just the World Health Organisation (WHO), Unicef and Medecins Sans Frontieres (which is working with Nazi armed and NATO funded battalions in Ukraine)[15], but Oxfam, the United Kingdom (UK) government funded “Save the Children” (which poses as a charity op shop in Australian cities), and many more. They set up in areas such as housing, education, environment, legal, claimed arts and heritage protection, supposed poverty alleviation, allegedly for the rights of women and on and on.[16]
While it is true that some charity work is performed by these Western funded NGOs, this is plainly not their primary role. What imperialism is doing is funding and running a parallel government inside Nigeria. This goes for many nations in Africa, Asia, Eurasia and beyond. They work away for decades effectively undermining the host nation from within, only to be activated for a full-throated colour revolution when the time is right. They are set up in every state in Nigeria, ready to be activated when Washington sees the best geo-political opportunity. For example, in 2021 the notorious Ford Foundation and the Open Society Initiative of billionaire hedge-fund anti-socialist king maker George Soros gave $3.75 million to the “Kasa! Ending Sexual Violence in West Africa” project in Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal.[17] The notion that the Ford Foundation and George Soros are concerned about the rights of women in West Africa is laughable.
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the public relations arm of the CIA, held a public forum at the end of 2022 headed “Ensuring Credible, Peaceful and Inclusive Elections”, alongside NED funders the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute. Damon Wilson, the President and CEO of the NED, met with the chair of supposedly independent National Electoral Commission, and other “civil society” representatives to “discuss preparations for the elections” (!).[18] So the head of the US Congress funded CIA linked NED chairs a public panel with NGOs funded by Western governments – to discuss the Nigerian elections? Can the leftists in Australia hosting a speakout denouncing the Nigerian government see what is happening? It appears not.
Wall Street Journal backs #EndBadGovernance
The SL, CC and RCO surely would have gagged at cheering on #EndBadGovernance from the streets of Melbourne if they were aware that these “protests” were backed by the Wall Street Journal,[19] arguably the pre-eminent newspaper of the US ruling class. The subordinated Nigerian operatives expressly linked #EndBadGovernance to the recent “protests” in Kenya and Bangladesh,[20] which should have been another indicator that something fishy was going on. In Kenya, violent Western backed protests failed to unseat President William Ruto, even as he met with US President Joe Biden who declared Kenya was a “major non-NATO ally”.[21] In Bangladesh in August, the Muslim Brotherhood linked Jamaat-e-Islami (JEI) was activated for an extremely violent regime change attempt which “succeeded” in overthrowing Sheikh Hasina, who was popularly elected just six months prior. Hasina had signed Bangladesh up to Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for infrastructure development, but this was not the straw that broke the camel’s back. Hasina had refused to allow the US to set up a base on St Martin’s Island, which would have given the US effective control of the Bay of Bengal.[22]
Some of the demands for #EndBadGovernance should also be a dead giveaway that these are NOT grassroots campaigns for cost-of-living relief. For example, “reform the judiciary” and “publicly disclose and reduce the salaries and allowances of all senators, House of Representatives members, and the Speaker”.[23] Anyone not totally in thrall to the nonsensical Western governments’ rhetoric about “freedom and democracy” should be able to see right through them. Can anyone imagine protestors in the US or Europe or Australia raising a demand like “reduce the salaries of politicians” ? If they did, they may indeed be revolutionaries. But the raising of that demand in a nation of the Global South, in Africa, where the GDP per capita is a fraction of that in the West – exposes it as being written and produced by the very Western government funded “NGOs” themselves.
Some Nigerian youth are certainly attracted to working for Western funded NGOs. After all, they likely pay salaries far beyond what they can obtain from the Nigerian government or from what Nigerian industry exists. But once they do, they then have a material interest in defending their careers in any way which the NGO demands they do – up to and including protesting and even giving their lives in a Western orchestrated colour revolution aimed at Beijing and Moscow, NOT at decreasing the cost of living for Nigerians. In fact, it is likely that Boko Haram and other jihadists funded by the West are given a signal that they can unleash “political” violence on the streets when the green light is given.
Socialists in the West should be able to see the intrigues of the West in Africa, even if there are some legitimate grievances raised. Nigeria should be defended against internal and external imperialist subversion (NGOs, unhinged terrorists) even if it is a particularly conservative government. Without endorsing the politics of the governments of Russia and the PRC, Marxists should be able to see that African nations benefit overall from trade, investment and security ties with them. The alternative of covert US backed regime change is not something to advocate from behind a megaphone.
Workers League
E: workersleague@protonmail.com
[1] www.iclfi.org/aus/events/2024-pdc-nigeria (06-11-2024)
[2] www.classconscious.org/2024/10/30/call-to-action-nigerian-protestors-face-death-penalty-rally/ (06-11-2024)
[3] www.revcomorg.info/? (06-11-2024)
[4] ibid, 1
[5] www.redfireonline.com/2020/11/15/nigeria-black-lives-matter-aids-us-meddling-in-africa/ (06-11-2024
[6] www.redfireonline.com/2021/06/22/nigeria-buhari-blocks-big-techs-state-subversion/ (06-11-2024)
[7] www.apnews.com/article/nigeria-boko-haram-yobe-extremists-tarmuwa-reprisal-d0ff699af8452cd6ff34036b106a9cd9 (06-11-2024)
[8] www.globalresearch.ca/is-boko-haram-a-cia-covert-op-to-divide-and-conquer-africa/5431177 (06-11-2024)
[9] www.defenceweb.co.za/security/national-security/trans-sahel-new-frontier-in-global-counter-terrorism-operations/?catid=49%3ANational%20Security&Itemid=115 (06-11-2024)
[10] www.reuters.com/world/africa/military-led-sahel-states-rally-thousands-support-alliance-2023-12-30/ (06-11-2024)
[11] www.france24.com/en/africa/20231204-niger-s-junta-ends-key-security-agreements-with-eu-turns-to-russia-for-defence-deal (06-11-2024)
[12] www.allafrica.com/stories/202108310901.html (06-11-2024)
[13] www.finance.gov.ng/nigeria-china-forge-unbreakable-bonds-3-3-billion-agreement-signed-at-historic-trade-conference/ (06-11-2024)
[14] www.scheerpost.com/2024/10/30/brics-grows-adding-13-new-partner-countries-at-historic-summit-in-kazan-russia/ (09-11-2024)
[15] www.msf.org.au/issue/crisis-ukraine (09-11-2024)
[16] www.ngobase.org/c/NG/nigeria-ngos-charities?page=7 (09-11-2024)
[17] www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/news-and-press/news/ford-foundation-and-open-society-initiative-for-west-africa-launch-new-fund-to-end-sexual-violence-in-west-africa/ (09-11-2024)
[18] www.ned.org/events/nigeria-2023-ensuring-credible-peaceful-and-inclusive-elections/ (09-11-2024)
[19] www.wsj.com/opinion/why-nigerians-are-protesting-bad-governance-policy-economy-living-cost-violence-76604a82 (09-11-2024)
[20] www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/719292-how-proponents-opponents-of-endbadgovernance-protest-have-rallied-for-supporters.html (09-11-2024)
[21] www.redfireonline.com/2024/07/15/kenya-lives-sacrificed-in-western-backed-colour-revolution/ (09-11-2024)
[22] www.redfireonline.com/2024/08/18/bangladesh-prime-minister-flees-violent-us-backed-regime-change/ (09-11-2024)
[23] www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/718759-spotlight-beyond-economic-hardship-these-are-other-issues-protest-organisers-have-raised.html (09-11-2024)
Image: #EndBadGovernance protestors in Imo State, Nigeria. The printing and design of their banner is very likely to have been paid for by one of the thousands of US government backed “NGOs” operating throughout the country. http://www.nairaland.com
Red Fire 