Iron Lion # 1

been quite a while here!

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:11:45 +0200

it seems like a century since I've been here on my very first blog-love. well....its been quite a jampacked series of weeks that seemed to just choke in together.

might have even less time still as I battle with work on my thesis....but will try be here some more still....

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commence internship

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:50:03 +0200

It's been one of those kinds of weeks when on Friday you go: "phew! TGIF!!".
I commenced my internship at the Instituto Observatorio Soical in the city of Sao Paulo...I also started work on my dissertation.

Well, this seems to be like setting off on the last lap of a very eventful stay in Brazil. It really is a wonderful country I must say!!

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Mermaid and me

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:41:58 +0200

She called to me
Half her, half fish
Rippling light cries
Of pleasure, rising from the sea

At the bank, I stand
Then lay down, playing with the sand
Hugging tightly the shore
As I think of the days of yore

Sensual caresses of your breeze
....steal me
Soul enchantress, from the deep
Sereia, will you not let me be?

She calls to me, as she always does
Enticingly, breaking the laws
Between myths and us
She calls to me...at the seas' shores

_______________________________________________________________
Author's note: Sereia is mermaid in Portuguese

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What next?

Wed, 06 May 2009 00:22:44 +0200

The stealth of the thief
Takes on a bold gait

possession is ownership
...is it?

Sunken eyes do cry
The tears only take a while

Stormy drum beats echo in my
Head, from times gone bye

....times that loom with the pregnancy
Of a tomb ahead

I search for words
None can I find

None but a resounding question:Is
This the end or a beginning?

After this in Ekiti
...what next?

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Wheel of life

Tue, 05 May 2009 19:53:21 +0200

It keeps turning
With gears, sometimes without

It makes nonsense
Of even the senses, while it tries
To make some sense

It unfolds, very much like a rumpled skirt

It roars like a thousand waves, in caves
Of cannibals, devouring themselves

It is a wheel, that is and yet is not
A wheel, it is that we have and yet
Must lose

....what a funny thing, life is

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Shimmering rain

Tue, 05 May 2009 06:25:33 +0200

Shards of glass, splinters
Of wood, debris from whence
All was good

Memories of nights, figments
Of days, thoughts of things
When all was right

The tomb of life, in your
Womb of death, smite
My rest

I seek to grasp, but my hands
Slip and gulps of air, I
Take with gasps

Across the river, faintly
Though, I see a rainbow....could
This cloud have a lining of silver?

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days of yore

Mon, 04 May 2009 05:00:26 +0200

Once the sky seemed blue
And my life revolved around you

I lived then, not in days, but in aeons
....within your arms

The chirping of the birds in the trees
Were solely for me
Songs of my heart, beating
To the rhythm
Of your living

There were days that seem now like yesterday
....yet they seem still, like ages
Away.

I sit here, in the middle of no where
And I wonder:

....where have they gone?

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Rage of angels

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:46:20 +0200

Its raging, spreading
Pounding...numbingly

I can't see it, I
Can't even hear it

...do I feel it?
I don't know what I
Feel, how can I know
If I feel it?

It rages
Ringing without rhythm
Somewhere deep within the recess
Of my mind

...if yet I have any

I can't see, but it shines still
An incandescence of darkness
Through the frost of mists
That bite

Dancing to madness, drum beats
That heave, yet won't leave
Asserting mortality in eternity
What is this, if anything it is?

Could it let me be? Could I let it
See, that I see it not?

But yet, my feelings not me, hear it
....losing me

Tearing me apart...losing me

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Unicamp welcome party

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:25:33 +0100

There was a really great party here yesterday in which the university community welcomed the new students. For us non-Portuguese speaking students, I would argue that it was hardly publicised. I got to know barely fifteen minutes before it started when my flatmates in our Republika were like 'hey Baba we are going for the party, how about you?' I intended to go for an hour or two because of the essay I am writing but ended up spending five hours or thereabout! And when I left at 4.30am the life band was still jamming!

....Brasilieros sure love to rock!!!!!!!

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For Brasil...on arrival

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 03:31:00 +0100

Here I am

Long before today was to come
Your call was strident and felt
In the innermost recess of my soul

Urging, beckoning, calling…

Your clarion of a new world, spans
The past that spawned
Your today

Your clarion call of a new world, reaches
To the crevices
Of a future of humanity

….seeking to find itself

Your call I have heeded, Oh! beautiful land
Of beautiful people, the warm sun and
The passionate leather-bound ball

Brazil; I now call onto you
As a pilgrim seeking the hallowed
Halls of profanity’s sacrament

Brazil, in you I now am
A seeker that would be a seer, stoking the embers
Of the fires wrought in your cities and the Amazon

….breaking the chains of what was and is, with what will be

Brazil, here I am
…the Lion has landed.

Baba Aye, 06.47hrs, 07/02/09

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In Brasil!!!!!!!

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:50:40 +0100

I arrived in Barao Geraldo, Campinas district, State of Sao Paulo a week ago, for my second semester in Unicamp.

...it's so great to be here; Brasil is indeed a wonderful place to be in!

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Chris & Greg...a tribute

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:29:12 +0100

Chris Nwachukwu, an ex labour reporter (one of the most detailed and analytical in the bourgeois press of the late '90s into the earlier part of this decade, with ThisDay newspapers -fridays, then -), ex-trade unionist (with the textile union, which he initially left ThisDay for, to return later), ex-media relations officer of TrustFund, a sympathiser of the Abuja Socialist Collective and at the time of his death, Chief Press Secretary to Adams Oshiohmole died in an auto-crash on Saturday December 13, along with Greg Aruna, a comrade of whom -unfortunately - I do not have much facts on presently, I believe.

The poem below is my tribute to them as I pay my last respects for these fallen patriots, from afar:

There will be a tomorrow
(for Chris and Greg)

In the abyss, it seems
Our dreams perish
...labyrinths of our mortality

Never again, to see
Those we loved and that loved us
The end comes oft unforetold

Ashes on burnt logs though, are
Not full stops...where embers still
Glow, of the fire's hope

The end hardly ever be the end
A beginning is never the beginning
Of being

Companeros, you have fallen, we
Salute you in death. A thousand will stand
Longer tomorrow, for you stood today

Our cry shall be: "fatherland or death!"
The Nigeria you believed in, lived for and
Died in its cause....

Shall one day arise
From the ashes of your graves
And patriots you'll meet with the
spirits

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...a new sister

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:23:13 +0100

I now have a sister from anoda moda here!

Kathrin Birner has been such a wonderful younger (my fifth) sister, I daresay....and that's not surprising considering the fact that we share the same birthday!

We went together to Hamburg for the Norstadt in der Republik Conference and demonstration last month. She translated and presented my poem at the occassion in deutche (I'm now an international poet! heheheheheheh!). We also did the presentation on Bureacratic-Authoritarian states thesis of O'Donell together in the Latin America class (by default really...) rand came out with an A+

As "Ronnie" my third sister said; 'what else would u expect from Great Octobrists?' (well she didn't use the same words but "idea is need..."

Kathi has asked me to spend Christmas with her family in Bavaria and I would have loved to. I made friends with comrades from there at Hamburg, particularly "O" and Clem. Her boyfy Stefan is also a nice young man that I take a liking to. But I'll just have to miss it 'coz the Yoruba X-mas party also takes place here on Christmas da...what a pity, you could say

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Africa People's Convention....and a new friend

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 18:01:25 +0100

I had a wonderful time yesterday after speaking with my lovely wife, Lola (it was our wedding anniversary). It was at the African People's Convention.

I had been to the APC's club house with akins from the Yoruba parapo group here and during general discussions over beer the APC's president had invited me to come over yesterday and give some insight into pan-Africanism/afro-centricity and organising that could be useful for the group, drawing from my experience. I did and after the (monthly) meeting, the weekend clubbing of the clubhouse swung into full steam!

At this juncture, I must introduce Dr. Omar Hassan...the new friend I made yesterday.

Omar, a vet doc with post-graduate qualiications in English language and lit. as well was at the tram station when I got there...a bit tipsy, so to speak. He reached out to me as a black man, and I did decide to patiently humour him...it turned out to be a wise decision. The old guy (should be close to 60yrs) happened to have been one of the pan-African activists that took Kwame Nkrumah's corpse from the hospital to the airport at Bucharest in '72. He actually took me to his home where I met his Rumanian wife (she was initially uptight; Omar who seems a very friendly person said that a few black bros he met just like that and brought to live in his house till they found their feet stole stuffs. She however later warmed up to me). She said she loves Rumania as much as we love Africa...but loves the Euro more. She (believing I'd also come to stay) "prophesised" that I would be saying a similar thing and long live deutcheland! in the next five years!

....lest I forget, Dr. Omar is from Somalia and has been in deutcheland for two decades + now.....one of the countless brains of our lands lost to the benefit of Europe and the abyss of attempts to drown the frustrations of a fantasy: a home that is only faintly remembered, in the ocean of bacchus....?

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off and on....

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:19:41 +0100

I think my being (more of) off and on with the blog goes to confirm the stress of strains of work that divert the mind and focus from things like blogging even when u have the internet right before you most of the time...?

I do appreciate the few comments particularly with the slipped out title sans blog on my b/day...they were so touching.

Anyway, let's keep our fingers crossed that we'll wake up ONCE MORE.

So much has happened and so much is happening...can a blog capture them all? Who knows, I think no though. But then titbits of my life in blog should be much more than -more often than not - a blank blogwall! at least I think so.

...so Iree; wha' ya gwain do...?

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MY BIRTHDAY...

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:16:44 +0200

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Capitalism in crisis, Part 1

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 05:13:32 +0200

Capitalism in crisis
A working people’s perspective
Part 1

The world economy has been shaken to its very foundations in the past few weeks and capitalism faces the beginnings of its worst nightmare since the Great Depression of 1929-38. There have been hues and cries from several quarters and working people in Nigeria and across the world grope for answers and the way forward. Baba Aye of the WPV/ANSA comments on this monumental crisis of capitalism from the Global Labour University in Kassel, in the first part of a series dedicated to furthering working people’s understanding of the issues as a contribution to finding the way forward.

There are times really when 200 years would seem like 200 days; in terms of those two centuries impact on the movement of human history. And there are times like now, which people living them and generations to come will never forget; when 200 days seem like 200 years! The September slump of the world economy (more like a sad September for capital) is one that unveils the claim by capitalists and their apologists that the “market” and its supposedly “invisible hand” remain the pathway for human development and social progress for the blatant lie it is. The neo-liberal ideology behind; privatisation, downsizing, liberalisation, and all other “government has no business doing business”, faces a challenge like never before, from its own for-profit logic of capitalism!

We have seen several responses to this calamity that faces capitalism. These have come from capitalist policy-makers, economists, columnists and other hangers-on. They have also come from the working people and different left forces who in different ways believe that another world is possible. As a saying in some Nigerian languages goes, we see different kinds of knives when an elephant is brought down. Not surprising some of these views have hinted at the September slump being an herald of the death of the capitalist elephant.

It is noteworthy though that while the BBC for example asserts that many terms, until a few weeks before being part of the financial system’s language (e.g. “short selling”, “leverage” and “derivatives”) have now become words you hear in discussions at groceries and barbers’ shops, most working people still come face-to-face with the interpretations of the recent events from the eyes and pens of representatives of capitalism especially in Nigeria. But we feel the pains of their sad September and need to analyse what is happening properly to come to grasps with the challenge of finding the way forward. In this series Working People’s Vanguard shall present perspectives on the crisis and “what is to be done?” from the world view of working class people.

From credit crunch to financial meltdown
The crisis started as what was called a “credit crunch” caused by massive defaults in the payment of “sub-prime mortgage” by working and middle class people in the US. This started late in 2006 and took up steam by mid-2007, by August this year the embers of its fires had become a raging inferno that was to unleash the financial meltdown’s most dramatic events. Sub-prime mortgages are loans made available by (mortgage) banks to persons like you and I, who are not money- miss-roads like the prime capitalist to purchase houses. These loans where packaged by the banks in ways to attract more people to buy into it despite their low incomes. It was easy to get into, but with very high interest rates. For over six years, the prices of houses rose in the US, getting to a peak of almost 20% in 2004. It was thus profitable for the financial system to invest in it through the loans to millions of working people. By 2006 though, the prices of houses began a downward fall as economic hardships and the compounded interests on the loans, made it difficult for more and more working people who had homes to pay their mortgages and by the beginning of 2007, their value had fallen below 0! The fall never stopped, by August, it was -15.8%. When the prices and value of these houses were high, repossessing homes of defaulters on the mortgage was something the banks could live with. Some loans could also be written off without qualms as bad debts (in 2001 for example, 0.4% of mortgage loans where written off as losses by commercial banks in the US). However when the economic downturn makes it impossible for even still more working people to pay their mortgages and the value of these houses is in the red, then there is big trouble, for the banks, as lenders.

By August, 3 out of every 50 house owners in the US had defaulted in the payment of their mortgages. Over 1 million persons have been rendered homeless, many sleeping now in tents, trailers or their cars. The mortgage banks have had to write off 0.82% of mortgages as bad debts, costing them about $240bn. These financial institutions have made frenzied attempts to raise new capital to save the situation with over $160bn raised. Meanwhile the financial sector as a whole as raised over $360b and written off $500b in the last one year, but as we shall see below, this has been to no avail as the djini they released from the bottle refuses to go back without assuring them of massive destruction.

How did the sub-prime mortgage defaults lead to a “cash crunch”? And how did this crunch precipitate the financial meltdown that has sent quakes and tremors through the world of capital?

In the capitalist financial system there is a parasitic “secondary market”, where claims on debts as assets are traded for the purpose of making more profits without production or any genuine value whatsoever added in the process. One of the main instruments of this market is Collateralized-debt-obligations (CDOs). The debts of mortgage entered into by sub-prime mortgage home owners, were packaged as CDOs. With the “assurance” of the mortgages being paid in the future these CDOs (like shares in the primary market) were sold and bought as bonds by capitalist speculators and their institutions who consider themselves as “investors” and investment banks, respectively. In 2004 CDOs issued globally amounted to $157bn. By 2005 it was $272bn, it rose to $552bn by 2006 and shortly before the crunch began, it stood at $503bn. The sales of these issued bonds (which are packaged and re-packaged, bought and sold in a manner very much like casino-gambling) raked in $2trn, last year alone! That however, was before the cookie started to crumble. It is interesting to note here in passing that the first CDO was issued in 1987 by a Wall Street Investment banking firm known as Drexel Burnham Lambert, which was liquidated in 1990 for criminal trading of junk bonds (also known as “high yield debts). Need one say more to point out the thievery behind that instrument of “fictitious capital”?

When sub-prime mortgage “clients” started defaulting in droves, panic spread into this secondary market. Because the CDOs had been so chopped up into little bits and gone through so much re-packaging and circulation within the finance sector (every one of those capitalist gluttons, wanted a piece of the pie!), no one knew how vulnerable any one of them was. Normally, banks borrow from themselves on a daily basis as they tend to invest much more than what they have as shareholders capital and deposits so as to make more and more money. But with the uncertainty and fear of the unknown that had now set-in on them like a plague, each bank decided to hold on to its own money, the inter-bank lending practice froze like shit in snow; last year’s cash crunch was the result.

The first major casualty of the crunch to meltdown dilemma, was Bear Stearns, until its collapse in March, the fifth largest investment bank on Wall Street. Two of the hedge funds it ran had earlier gone burst last year, but the fall of the big bear itself, which had profited from the business of capitalism’s recovery efforts during the depression of the ‘30s, signalled the coming of greater things like those we witnessed in the week of September 15-19. The United States Treasury had to come in and persuade J. P Morgan Chase bank (which pays Tony Blair $1m annually, just to help it talk from time to time with governments-particularly in “emerging economies”-for securing “deals”) to buy Bear Stearns at a give away price with a $30b guarantee, from the pool of America tax payers money. This was three days after the release of $300b dollars in for Bear Stearns survival by the US government failed to save the situation! Leading bourgeois columnist with the Financial Times, Martin Wolf was forced to consider March 14, when the deal was struck as “the day the dream of global free-market capitalism died”. Even he did not envisage that worse was still to come, though this was written on the wall! Bear Stearns crash was due to what is called over-leveraging. This has been a critical factor in all the stories we have heard and seen in this unfolding drama of “how are the mighty fallen”.

What is (over-)leveraging, you might ask? It is but a new name and concept beatified by the complex mathematical formulas and concoctions of the best brains of the capitalist world; to express and justify a very old and indeed inherent characteristic of capital. This is the driving seat fictitious capital takes over real production. Leverage in simple terms is the utilisation of debts or borrowed funds to greatly enhance the profit that a unit of invested capital could generate. Bear Stearns for example had a capital outlay of $11.8b, but with leverage, it had an investment profile of $395b. A great chunk of this leverage was tied to bonds on the sub-prime mortgage market! The crazy thing about their so-called leverage which is now a lever for their doom is that to acquire the leverage capitalist don’t even have to actually borrow the monies that constitute the leverage directly. They have a whole spectrum of what are called derivatives which are financial instruments, which have their values dependent on the values of other financial instruments like loans, mortgages, bonds, stocks, interest rates and exchange rates. The whole idea is to spread out the risks while making the deals and getting money rolling into the investment banks which faced virtually no restrictions in the name of free market, while the party lasted. But now it is spreading the fir that is consuming the capitalist system.

IndyMac followed, but it was relatively small fry. Federal National Mortgage Association and Federal Home Mortgage Association, popularly known in America as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were next. Fannie Mae was established in 1938, as a component of the New Deal, which got capitalism out of the mess of the Great Depression, to guarantee the mortgages of broke banks. It was privatised 30 years later. Freddie Mac was formed in 1970. While they were privately owned firms until August, they were considered as Government Sponsored Enterprises, with strategic importance in American mortgage finance system between them, they guaranteed $5.3trn of the $12trn, of loans to mouse owners in the US. In less than 1 year as the sub-prime mortgage wahala spread, the share values of “Fannie” and “”Freddie” fell by 80% and 86%, respectively. Within a few days before they eventually went under the figures jumped up by 38% and 45%. Scared at the possible consequences of their collapse, the US treasury moved in with what Henry Paulson, its secretary called “unlimited liquidity”. So much for neo-liberal economics, policies and politics! But why did Fannie and Freddie get to such a brink. Once again like Bear Stearns leverage. As against the $5.3t it had in its vaults, it had loaned out $62trn, in the secondary market of speculation. Yet American tax payers had to (and still are) paying for these banks greed.

The icing on the cake, or more like vinegar in the tea for the bourgeoisie, was to come in their sad September, that started in the shape of the “Monday meltdown” that swallowed Merrill Lynch, Lehman brothers, AIG and Washington Mutual in quick succession. These were the giants of Wall Street and they were on their knees, filing for bankruptcy or being nationalised by a neo-liberal state. The week of weeping in Washington is still fresh in our minds. We thus, for now at least, will not hold ourselves here for space in repeating its details, our aim being to go beyond the surface of what happened, to why and how these happened.

Having established the dynamics of the lurching of America’s cash crunch to the most bizarre financial meltdown in history, we need to see the ripple effects in motion and weigh the reactions and responses to these.

A spreading contagion and diverse responses
America has been the engine room for global capital accumulation, for decades. Apart from its “leveraged” foreign reserves (being the biggest debtor country of all times!), its control of global financial institutions and its massive proportion of the multinational/transnational corporations determining the flow of capital across the globe, the sheer volume of its huge populations consumption has provided a veritable nexus for global trade. Thus its crisis turns out to be the world’s crisis. It was so in 1929, it is much more so in this era of globalisation. There are those who believe that the crisis will be contained within the shores of the US. A good number of these, incidentally, have been major proponents of the (Anglo-) American model.

The contagion of economic collapse is however spreading and it is a long drawn global crisis that we have emerging. The facts on the ground across the world, validate this position.

It is important to also analyse how different forces in the society, across and within nations are reacting or responding to the crisis.

Great Britain stopped being great to America in 1776, when America gained its independence from it. Once an empire which the sun never set over its dominions, it has been content with a junior partnership role to America in forging global capitalism. It probably will have more wounds than any other country apart from the US, in this dilemma the capitalist world finds itself in. As in the US, the craze of sub-prime mortgage had eaten up British society in the aftermath of the 2001 recession. The real estate market was juicy for investors and the “buy-to-let” market (where investors bought houses merely to let them out to working people) raked in £120b for investors last year alone. But the bottom came out of the bucket, there too. Northern Rock, a leading Bank had to be nationalised last year due to the (sub-)prime mess it had gotten itself into. The British government coughed out £50m of tax payers money for this, jacking up the UK’s debts profile by 44.3%

More recently, HBOS (the Halifax Bank of Scotland) had to be packaged for Lloyds bank to buy at a give-away price, by the government. B&B which had made a profit of £108m in the first 4 months of 2007 had lost £8m within the same time frame this year. Its share value had fallen to £350m by August. This was less than its profit last year alone! It was also nationalised to prevent its collapse and then sold to the Spanish Santander bank.

The contagion is spreading across the capitals of Europe. The Swiss UBS has made write-downs to the tune of $50b, Deutsche bank which is a 501 to 1 leverage has an albatross of E 20b on its neck and the tail goes on. As the Financial Times put it “European banks are living on borrowed time”. Australia is not left out; Macquerie, its leading investment bank is going burst presently

But is this crisis limited to the West; Europe and North America? Many capitalist commentators have been optimistic that capital flow only has to now move southwards. They have eyes on the BRIC counties (Brazil, Russia, India and China), the emerging markets in (particularly in Asia and Eastern Europe). This hope is however grossly misplaced.

The economies of virtually all these countries are beginning to seize. Russia had to shore up its state-owned Sherbank with $100b and the monstrous Chines capitalist machine donned in socialist phraseology is slowing down from its growth rate of 12% to barely 8% this year.

The situation in Africa is no better. South Africa, arguably the economic hub of the continent is witnessing an economic slowdown, which makes nonsense of earlier forecasts of a growth gear this year. The country’s GDP as dropped from over 5% last year to 3.8 and is now expected to further contract to 3.2% next year. Inflation rate has jumped to 11.2% from 6.5% last year. In Nigeria, the illusions of many in a stock market that seemed to just be rolling in the goodies for everybody is fast turning into a nightmare. Stocks fell by 33% in value within 4 months and the Federal Government had to step in to institute a ceiling and floor to stocks prices movement.

With this scenario, it is not surprising that even some of the most liberal of capitalist politicians and ideologues, up to yesterday are now calling for some extent of regulation of the financial market. Hank Paulson the $500m-worth US Secretary Treasury (who until he became secretary of the treasurer was the CEO of Goldman Sachs, the biggest of these swindler-investment banks) rolled out the Troubled Asset Relief Programme (TARP) that is to cost American taxpayers $700b. Added up to the $600b already spent (to no avail!) over the past 1 year for the relief of capitalists troubled assets (which they now don’t talk about) that sums up to $1.3t! And from the treasury’s own analysis; this is just the beginning. They don’t know how bad it can yet get!

For Gordon Brown in the UK who had much earlier claimed that “the cycle of boom-an-burst has been abolished”, the problem is simply one of “irresponsibility” on the part of some finance speculators. On the continent of Europe the reactions have been much more strident and hypocritical.

Sarkozy of France, who as always been proud to flaunt his died-in-the-wool liberal soul, for any who care to take note, spoke out loudly at the UN for “regulated capitalism”! Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor holds up the crisis as an Anglo-American problem, saying; “I criticize the casual attitude of the finance market-Unfortunately they have opposed voluntary regulations for a long time with the support of Great Britain and the United States”. Interestingly though Lafontaine of Die Linke, the (supposedly) Left Party in Germany has rushed to the side of the US calling for German support (which would cost it $100b) of the TARP. This of course is merely to tell big business that “we might be left, but we are your friends; after your death and resurrection, please remember us in your paradise!”

The international labour movement has not been left out of the reactions to this crisis which will leave working people as its major victims. The responses do however reflect the self-imposed limitations of seeking a workable answer within the confines of the unworkable character of capitalism. In a statement released on September 30, titled “the time has come”, the International Trade Union Confederation position was that “resolving the financial crisis must go hand in hand with concerted action to stimulate jobs and growth so that the imminent danger of world recession is averted”. This statement amongst other things shows a common fad with the issue at hand; seeing it merely as “a financial crisis”. On the contrary it is a crisis of capitalism, starting in the financial sector due to its burden of fictitious capital just as did happen in 1929!

The Presidium of the Socialist International representing the neither here no there ideology of “social democracy” which in recent times of the “third way” has become more of there than here, also met on the crisis, late September. Comprising presidents of several countries that have bought the neo-liberal ideology hook, line and sinker in practice, it issued a statement wherein it pompously averred that “for the global social democratic movement, the current times are a defining moment, one in which real priorities and alternatives must now be placed at the centre of the political agenda to guide us out of this”.

The working class and left forces, which seemed to have been stunned initially by the very force of how deeply reality is confirming our analysis before our very own eyes began swinging into action in America. Two mass protests Ain New York, two days before TARP was first presented to the US Congress signalled things to come.

The way forward
Earlier in July Joseph Stiglitz published an interesting article with a question mark: “The End of Neoliberalism”. Today, many a neo-liberal barely two months ago, nay, a few weeks back are now the ones screaming the essay’s title…without the question mark! Naomi Klein of the alter-globalisation movement pointed out though, that such belief would be self-foolery. The issues though go deeper than the possibly mortal blow that the neo-liberal ideology of capitalism has received.

The capitalist system has fluctuated between the paradigms of less regulation and more regulation; depending on which at a particular point in time is best suited for safeguarding capital and engendering its continued expansion and accumulation. A Stiglitz could well be the 21st Century’s Keynes as Friedman rose up to refurbish Adams Smith 300years later. For us as working people, the challenge is to develop and popularise ideas for the building of that possible new world on the ruins of capital and with these mobilise our strength for the overthrow of this anarchic and destructive system of capitalism.

Closer relations would need to be forged with and within the alternative globalistaion movement. At Belem when the World Social Forum is held next year, the agenda of the movement of movements must be taken to a new level to reflect the times we now are in. in Nigeria, the forthcoming Nigeria Social Forum have a programme for social change beyond the sloganeering on another Nigeria’s possibility.

The road ahead is very steep for us, but it also holds great possibilities, much more than at any time in the history of our generation.

It is not given that the situation will result in revolutionary triumphs across the world. On the contrary, it could lead to right-wing take-overs as the mass of the people sink into the abyss of poverty and discontent, without the subjective factor of revolutionary parties as agency.

We must build our ideas and we must build our forces. We must together “bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old” whore of capitalism and its finance casinos.

Viva la Revolucion!
AAmandla! Ngawethu!

Comments

On Mbeki's resignation

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 01:19:23 +0200

Mbeki's resignation stem's from roots much more political than from rules of legallity; it was a reflection of his being vanquished in an intra-party struggle. A few details might suffice.

The immediate cause of the resignation was a resolution by the ANC National Executive Council demanding it in the wake of a court's ruling that there was a manipulation through strings pulled by Thabo Mbeki, in the corruption charges against Jacob Zuma, who emerged as the ANC top-dog, despite Mbeki's third term intent. From the point of view of party internal democracy, it could be argued really that here was rule of law! But that is neither here nor there.

The deeper roots or what could be termed the "remote causes" of the resignation drama stretch into deeper political and ideological terrains which the anti-Zuma manipulation was a tip of the iceberg as well as the last straw of. After the defeat of apartheid in '94, a populist Rapid Development Programme was instituted under Mandela. By June '96 however, this was replaced with the neo-liberal Growth, Employment and Redistribution programme (GEAR), which like the NEPAD it inspired and the NEEDS that then reflected it only put the lives of the working people in reverse gear (quite akin to "overtake don overtake overtake", long live Abami 4ever!). The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South Africa Communist Party (SACP), both of which with ANC comprise the "tripartite alliance" condemned and have never stopped condemning this shift to the right. Their support for Zuma whom like many a man (or woman) at some time or the other, confessed to letting his kinikan override his sense of common sense, was borne out of his antecedence in the struggle against apartheid. His favourite song as an Umkhonto we Sizwe leading combatant was something about give me my guitar (considering that guitar's melody being ratatata! u can better imagine its configuration) .

Mbeki however, was not just anti-Zuma, or anti-Left and did not start his monkey-tricks of manipulation to hold on to power as much as he could (very unlike his revered predecessor, the Madiba), with the Zuma case. In April 2001, he had played a similar "bad card" when he accussed Cyril Ramaphosa (former mineworkers' s union chieftain, former ANC Secretary-General, and now a mega-multimillionaire), Tokyo Sexwale (nice name u could say) and Mathew Phosa of trying to overthrow him. Leading newspapers in RSA likened that charge to Stalin's charges against Zinoviev, Kamanev and Bukharin. Mandela had to speak out against the power-baiting. ..it was all so obvious. These men had made 'bastard money' and with their resources and following in the party, Mbeki had seen them as threats in the ensuing struggle for him to maintain power...it however would be Zuma that would be his nemesis.

What is all this turenche about anyway, you might ask? Simple, Mbeki is not that role or rule of law respecting president for any body, politician or whatever to learn anything from! He is a self-styled suave but not less jaguda African politician, who serves primarily the western neoliberal forces that are getting a bashing, and his power hungry self! There was this cartoon on NEPAD from Namibia, Mbeki was the father, NEPAD the child and Obasanjo the nursing mother. It is quite apt here too...their second child (a pair) was third term but luckily for 9ja & southey, they came out a pair of stillbirth twins

The question is; what do we expect from Zuma? Will he throw out GEAR andrestore the spirit of the RDPI have time and again told our comrade in COSATU/SACP that they will be quite dissapointed. ..time you might say, will tell. Well, with the events of the past week, the balance of forces globally as tilted against neoliberalism. But still...time, I say, will tell

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A re-birth of the blog...I hope!

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:19:45 +0200

I took (quite) some time off (u could say that again!) after I started my would have been Mayist new year!

Considering the circumstances now, I guess I am much more sure than Lehmanists would have been last week that the re-birth this time is for real!

An icing on this 'new, improved' blog-cake is the tit-bits diary of my time in Kassel (at least most part of it!)

Ciao!

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The Kassel Diary: Day 1-10

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:08:42 +0200

The Kassel diary

Day 1: The Lion lands in Kassel

The journey to Kassel was quite a very interesting one, starting from Nigeria! Almost half of all I had intended to travel with, had to be taken back home for me by Lola, my darling wife. And why not, when the airline people were asking for outrageous amounts as price for spare luggage. I'll tell the story of that later, but for now we look at the drama here and today.

I arrived on time at Frankfurt, indeed early enough to move with the9.05 as against the directed 9.35 train to Frankfurt main where I got the ICE 78, heading for Kassel. Na to drop from the train, the mbga, mbga come take start o!

I was quite fagged out on day 1, partly from the jet-cum-train combo-lag, and so stopped above....the story continues below.

At Kassel, the train captain, or whatever, annonced we were 4 mins from Kassel. Even though I was not yet familiar with their sharp sharp train drop method, I started trying to put my luggage together towards heading for the door, but a team of rascals coming from the restaurant slowed me down. And after that the sheer dimensions of the baggage- comprising mainly books- further weighed me down. To cut a long story short, I got to the door and was told it was locked 4 good. B4 long story, train don waka! Na 4 Gottingen I come meet myself o!

I came back to Kassel by another train, a slow coach that stopped virtually everywhere. It took almost an hour. But that was just the beginning. After trying in vain to get a cab, I sent e-mails to the programme's coordinators in vain, before calling Mikel, the student assisstant who's been very helpful with admin matters here.

Mikel took me to my apartment on 19A..... I therein met my "roomie" one Bernand from Public Services Workers' Union, Ghana, with a friend of his called Zach.

Later in the evening, I went downtown in search of a sim card (I had earlier been given an O2 sim by an African who rose to my assistance when trying to get Mikel. I foolishly bought E40 credit for it, only for that to ne in vain, so I was seeking another O2 sim, but didn't get). I got a vodafone sim and called, wifey, then mama mia.

Got back to the apartmet 11ish. It's quite a quiet neighbourhood.

Well, the rest is spoken for with where I left the diary on Day1; I slept off!

Day 2: Meet the class and some admin stuff

I left the apartment at about 8.30am with bernand. We picked up his friend Zach on the way and headed for school. Christoph and the bro from S/Korea where busy outside, downstairs; smoking...I joined them. Lara then joined us with her dogs; diamond and dewey.

We went up to the classroom. Christoph repeated somethings the class had been informed off yesterday 'coz of we late comers (a Laura from Cnada too just came in-i.e. this morning). He then went into new info stuffs, which were quite useful.

We had a tour of the campus in two groups; one led by Anna, the other by Mikel (7 LPGs per group). I was in the former. Anna is the "treasurer" & she gave me my Sept & Oct allawi b4 we set pff 4 d tour

After the tour, we had lunch then went to register at the town hall after which end of story for Day 2 school-related work.

Mikel went with Zach, Laura and me (all of whom had complaints regarding our rooms). I had been given a closet of a room, when there was something more like the Suite hotel in Vienna! Of course I had seized it

Mikel came to "regularise" this sort of.

A painful part of Day2 which cut me to the quick is the insolvency at home and the responses (or lack of such) by val and gaski. Well u need to be in a situstion to better know some better.

I went to saturn, got an adaptor there and some loaves of bread plus an hotdog. On getting back discovered where I could be calling at cheaper rates than using the mobile. Not counting the yet unused E40 O2, I've burnt E50 thereabouts on calls in less than 24hrs!

An unpleasant development tonight was bernand locking me out when I went browsing. Can u imagine! I had to more or less wake up the whole building b4 he roused and merely said he believed I was sleeping as if he set a lights out schedule for the flat!

Well, I guess I captured the highlights of today....Right about time now to SLEEP;zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

10/09/08, Day 3; The real welcome, in Kassel

Today could arguably be said to be the real welcome to Kassel day for me in so many ways. The most important of this I would say was the demo. Not at all unimportant however was our hanging out at the studentestan haus. Let me however start from the beginning.

We were at the Commerzbank by 9am, to open our accounts. I deposited E800 and Anna (who handles finances) was surprised, not knowing that calls and stress had eaten so much into the E1,200, she just gave me yesterday.

After the bank formalities, we headed for the Ver.di rally in town. Wow! I was happy to be at such an event so early in the programme! I'll do a story on it for the October edition of WPV.

Later in the afternoon, we went in for the English language assesment test. Between the saqs & essay sections, Rebecca jokingly I initially thought, suggessted we all go for a beer after the test. And low and behold, every one present went, including Dina and Helen who took nothing and Bernard who only took malt (later took some tequila and I must add, had earlier apologised in the morning at the apartment, for locking me out yesterday).

The last ones of us left standing so to speak, left at about 10pm! It was fun!

We are to re-group by 8.30am towards signing our rental leases with the university. Registeration further put on hold due to the demo!

Again pain in my heart though, from my wife & kids' situation back home. I got a long distance call card and we spoke, she also called several times earlier. To say gaski showed how little he cherishes our long-lasting friendship and comradeship would be saying the least. My only comfort is that in the wake of this programme, I should be able to secure a better future for them.

Also on a final note, while waiting for Christoph, I raised the idea of a The Daily Rain or The Wind, kind of thing on a weekly basis. He said the programme's going to be real tight soon, but if I can....

With WPV @ the demonstration

11/09/08, Day 4: A beginning...sort of

Can you imagine two days of not keeping the diary updated? I can forgive myself for Day 5, but for the day I'm recording now; I should slap myself!

Anyway, on Day 4, I arrived in time to have joined the team for the trip to Studentenwerken to sign the lease, but forgot my passport at the flat and had to go back and pick it. Mitchel drew a map for me on how to get to the place but I guess is geography is little better than mine! Following his map, I went some 7 kilometres past and feeling something like that must have happened, I called Bernard. I eventually signed the tenancy agreement and insisted on getting my copy (I later learnt that the others are to get theirs by mail later).

I went for the English language viva, and Donne, the instructor said I could be free to be excused from the class, henceforth.

We held the first "One World Seminar" session with Lara and Donna. It was quite fun. And I guess comparatively speaking, myself and Lushe from Albania might be at the vanguard of exposure to the international trade union movement in the class-and I obviously have an edge on her-.

I discussed with Laura and Elizabeth about our building a blogsite and working on an on-line journal of the group. They were quite responsive.

Later in the evening, the team had fun at Cafe Hurriane, where we hung out for some drinks. Lara earlier through the phone, had linked me with Stefan at the bar/cafe. He was with this old and funny broad called Garbie, who was dancing to the 'music' of my name. We left the bar at about 11.30pm. I got back to the room and read a novel, before sleeping.

12/09/08, Day 5: Binding together

We met Prof Dr Christoph Scherer, the 'big man' of the programme, with the 'we shall overcome' song. He seems quite nice and very intelligent.

There was a discussion on our internship facilitated by Lara. So many want to go to the ILO (about five persons out of the 16). She also let us in to possibilities of an opening at the National Labour College in Maryland, USA. We eventually differed subsequent discussions on the issue till after a meeting of the group (without the instructors), scheduled for Tuesday morning. This was at the instance of Laura.

I had lunch at the University restaurant with Yung Chan, Lushe, Lygia and Cintia, after which I went to register at the University library to be able to use the internet there.

In the evening, there was an invitation by Lygia and Cintia to the team and we had a delightfully rollicking time at their hostel, partying till well past 1.00 am this morning.

Party Time!

Sat., 13/09/08, Day 6; Minted Partying!
It started on a quiet note. I woke up languorously, did my washing and some cooking.

I later did some light reading and filled up the diary for two days gone previously.

Things took the hip up later in the evening. I had a drink with Tina and Elizabeth at the Café Hurricane. On my way there, I had gotten a call from Lara, wanting to know how the members of the group took her handling of the internship Magana. I told her I felt there definitely was a feeling of upset but seemed a mild one. While discussing with T & E at the café though, I realised it was a bit more deep-seated. It seems Lara had tried to be sneaky about info on accommodation for those not on scholarship; particularly Tina, Elizabeth and Laura. She had sent pixs of her crib I gathered, trying to convince them to get it as sub-let! So these were already pissed with her and then the internship-fixing drama.

Anyway, Laura and Zach met us there and reminded me of the Cuban club flyer. I was game but first had to get back to my apartment to change into shoes.

The Cuban club turned out -very much unlike the real Cuba - to be a flop; some rat-hole of a cellar club for juveniles. We couldn’t say we had not been warned by an attendant at the Café, though. But the fun was yet ahead. We searched out The Mint club, which she had recommended, and it was groovy! Zach was however gated coz he had on sandals. He had to get to his apartment and back, to join us.

We had a wonderful time there (I gathered that the club is owned by a Naija bobo, made friends with the bouncers from 9ja, one of whom bears Adebola as his name). Left the club when it was winding up at some minutes past 4.00am and had a large Turkish meal somewhere on Hollandische Str., as we trekked back to Momba/H-H, base.

Sun., 15/09/08, Day 7; Team picnic
I surprised almost everyone by still being up on time to make the 10.00am rendezvous at the 5-girls hostel for us to make the picnic tour and men it really was some fun.

We were at the Wilhemshoe museum and the Hercules place. I posted something on it the following day on our blog.

I spoke with Lola, she had been quite ill since Thursday and didn’t tell me! I’m happy she’s getting to feel better. But ‘Deoba too is ill. He spoke with me on the phone and his voice -usually so full of live - was weak…I did cry. Spoke with momsie my mother-in-law and sister-in-law’s lines were not going through. Also spoke with my sister Tayo.

I had a relatively early night after that. But before getting to bed, I worked on the WAHSUN minutes. Didn’t finish it though.

At the Hercules place on the Picnic tour

Mon., 16/09/08. Day 8; Group meeting on internship
It was largely a quiet day for me. I spoke with Lola on her health and ‘Deoba’s. She seems to be getting better, but the poor boy couldn’t go to school. He was sleeping when I could, so I couldn’t get to speak with him.

I tidied up the WAHSUN minutes and e-mailed it later in the evening.

The main activity today was the meeting of the group over the internship issue. There are interestingly two other persons that could be interested in Brazil too, which is good. Lygia and Cintia said that shouldn’t be a problem, pointing out that there is another reputable institute for economics there that could be interested in interns as well as CUT.

I went to the groceries for some peppers and tomatoes and cooked what was left of the lamb meat I got the other day. No matter how much pepper I put in the cooking, the pepper here seems anything but hot!

I got first an sms and then a flash of a call from Che on problems with raising funds for the September issue of WPV and it brought a tug to my heart. I used the last credit on my phone -that I’d been saving for an emergency, so to speak- to send a text (I was doing that when the “call” came in). I can imagine what they are going through and it grieves me. But there is little I can do from here…especially with my own personal precarious finances! I however feel they should be doing more than texting the persons I mentioned at this time. A call could be worth a thousand text messages, when you really want some things done.

Tue. 17/09, Day 9; Registration & English class
I never imagined that the much talked about - with awe - registration would go so smoothly and quietly. We met at the Nora Platiel Str. 1 and filled our forms together with necessary guidance from Christof and then went to the admin. Office where we submitted and that was it! We were told to expect a letter from the university within ten days on how to go about paying the registration fees.

I guess the only other major highlight was my going for the English class for the first time. I was tempted by the Susan George paper enough to be lured to the class and Dawn who’d earlier said I need not come was not hostile, anyway. On the contrary, I guess my coming was good…and I enjoyed it.

Wed. 18/09, Day 10; Meeting on the Berlin trip +!
We met in the morning at NPS1 again. This time it was to discuss the Berlin trip. After much discourse, it was agreed upon that we leave Kassel on Thursday and while a few would come back on Friday, ten of us who could get some accommodation in Berlin for Friday night, could come back on Saturday.

Guess what the +! Is for? I got my internet connection today and ain’t I tripping!

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Happy New Year...in MAY!

Mon, 12 May 2008 17:12:52 +0200

Well, well, well: I wouldn't disagree if any one says May isn't the earliest of months to say Happy New Year! But abami eda of unblessed memory-Fela to the uninitiate- used to say, 'morning is when you wake up, not necessary the 00.00+ hrs dictated by one silly clock" or something to that effect.

Is any one greeting me good morning?...or happy new year?

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Ladi becomes NASU President!

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:26:12 +0100

To say I was elated would be stating the least. Comrade Ladi Ilya was elected in September 2003 at Bauchi as the pioneering Chairperson of Nigeria Labour Congress' National Women Committee. She then was the National Treasurer of the Non-Academic Staff Union.

Last week, her union organised its 4th Quadrennial National Delegates' Conference and she emerged as President from an electoral contest. I am very positive that this is a major step forward for the quest for gender equality in our unions. She will be the firts female President of NASU and presently in the country, the only woman (as President or General Secretary of a union) on the Central Working Committee of Congress.

I say kudos to her

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West African health workers unite

Sun, 11 Nov 2007 10:46:03 +0100

November 8, will remain a most memorable day in the annals of the West African sub-region. The quest for quality health for all took on added steam, when trade unions of health wokers from: Nigeria; Liberia; Ghana; Sierra-Leone & Tanzania (as observers) met at Abuja and resolved on the establishment of the "West African Health Sector Unions' Network" (WAHSUN).

In the declaration of the Network which it issued after its inaugural plenary session, the collaborating unions will embark on a "Campaign for Quality Health for All West Africans" with mass opening events on April 7 (World Health Day), 2008, in the capital cities of all the participating countries.

I was elated to be part of this making of history and indeed to have been its scribe.

Well....this is just the beginning, I guess.

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Etteh to Bankole...all about house matter

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:57:04 +0100

One of my earlier posts (when I started and used to post regularly) was on the then beautician-turned-Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives Patricia Etteh and the then brewing "Ettehgate" scandal which eventually blew her out of the office but which she saw then as a storm in a tea cup.

The "kasalla" as attimes we could call troubling circumstances down here, was about renovation of her official quarters at a stupendously silly cost - just after celebrating her birthday with a distastefully ostentatious bash in America- The banana peel that had to do with "house matter" got her off the most exalted seat in the house.

The new speaker, my age mate - that tells u he's relatively young!- is by name, Bankole. Literally this means "build the house for (or with) me"

There is a belief where I come from that Shakespeare might not exactly be correct, when he felt there is no big deal about a name; if u like call a rose hibiscus or rosemary... We believe that names of people somehow affect their ...well whatever. Like all beliefs, u can believe anything u like about the belief.

I hope the new speaker will concentrate on building the collective house that is - at least deemed to be- representative of our federation and not his own official or personal ones.

As an eligible bachelor - and not a bad looking one at that- it might be sort of tough, but he's just got to "do it, do it, do it right"

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Vienna's 'underbelly'

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 00:40:02 +0200

the quoted word is actually Jenny's. Jenny is a wonderful petite Australian grandmother who coordinates PSI's international solidarity programmes at Ferney-Voltaire, France. I first met her in Nairobi four years ago and we have come to be excellent friends since then.

I had mentioned to her that there doesn't seem to be a strong pub culture here. She then told me that her son - who is a musician in Japan - had lived in Vienna for six years and she assured me of a bubbling subterranean bohemian dimension to the city.

The explorer that I am...I did go around! I enjoyed the Bermuda Dreieck (triangle) area the most - lotsof pubs, discotheques, etc. And once I'm thru with this keyboard, I'm heading for Flex; I learnt it's DA very club, rocking the city tight presently; if u know what I mean.

I wish I don't miss my flight tommorrow ( or later this ) morning...and I guess I have to thank Nyala once again, I could just have checked my box and then hit the road to catch some fun...skipping blogging.

Till I'm back in 9ja once again,

adios amigos!

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swell time so far in Wienner

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 01:02:41 +0200

I've been off blogging for a while as a personal protest of I to me...it seems. It gets boring when friends don't have anything to say about anything one says. At times silence could be louder than the most boisterous of noise.

Anyway, I've been at Vienna for some days now. It is great to be part of history here as the Public Services International marks its Centennial as a fighting organisation of workers of all lands.

...it's also been fun in more ways than one.

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Back, live and direct in 9JA!

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 13:32:56 +0200

Home really is so, so sweet! I'm quite happy to be back home and I'm revving to go!

It's going to be quite a busy week for me in so many ways and since I'll soon be travelling out again, I still have to find enough QUALITY time to spend with my beautiful wife and the wonderful kids we have.

Many a time I wonder if they ( especially her) do beyond tolerance...understand.

But mes amies, yes I must say...9ja dun gan! ie Naija is very sweet! and I'm back to be back here on the block.

Voila!

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Wow! at last!

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:07:08 +0200

its like the feeling you get of finding water - and a very cold one at that- in the desert.

I have been in Benin since saturday and its my first time of being on-line!

We arrived in cotonu saturday afternoon after an interesting drama at the border- I will be telling that story later- and on Sunday we were shipped down here. And where is here u might ask? The rustic town- quite more like a serene village- is some two hours drive from cotonu on the way to Lome, Togo:

It really reminds me of high school. The hotel is quite okay for study, no distraction of tv - except u speak french! no intercom, with a small table u could put ur laptop on and work

The discussions have been robust and the facilitator is quite intelligent, though I think he is not quite of the school of thought of participant-driven active learning process.

I have had to check my mail and postings here from yemmy that has been faithful with my blog- thanx comrade- before posting this, and we have a film show on globalisation in barely fifteen minutes time. The cybercafe being quite a walk from the hotel - today has been the only sort of low pace day, that gave the room for discovering it- I just have to run now.

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Wow! at last!

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:06:07 +0200

its like the feeling you get of finding water - and a very cold one at that- in the desert.

I have been in Benin since saturday and its my first time of being on-line!

It really reminds me of high school. The hotel is quite okay for study, no distraction of tv - except u speak french! no intercom, with a small table u could put ur laptop on and work

The discussions have been robust and the facilitator is quite intelligent, though I think he is not quite of the school of thought of participant-driven active learning process.

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Che gets blogging too!...as I get set to travel

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:07:49 +0200

I'm quite happy that even if he doesn't pick the water-pipe or the havana cigar, he joined in blogging! That's Che, he was with me last night and actually I cut short being here for being with him. And this morning I got his invite.

I will be travelling quite shortly. I hope the keyboards of pcs in Porto Novo would be in English not French! But who knows, as with most hotels now, the venue of the conference could be on wi-fi and I can then use my laptop. Beyond blogging, I'll really need to do some work on line.

For now though, to you all who bother to visit here -doesn't yet seem to be much at the last count! -

Ciao,

Baba Aye

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