By Prince Charles Dickson Ph.D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(\u2018A person is dead, but their spirit lives; if you poke the iris of their eye, they still come alive\u2019)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Democracy has a dream-like character. It sweeps into the world, carried forward by an immense desire by humans to overcome the barriers of indignity and social suffering. When confronted by hunger or the death of their children, earlier communities might have reflexively blamed nature or divinity, and indeed those explanations remain with us today. But the ability of human beings to generate massive surpluses through social production, alongside the cruelty of the capitalist class to deny the vast majority of humankind access to that surplus, generates new kinds of ideas and new frustrations. This frustration, spurred by the awareness of plenty amidst a reality of deprivation, is the source of many movements for democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Habits of colonial thought mislead many to assume that democracy originated in Europe, either in ancient Greece (which gives us the word \u2018democracy\u2019 from demos, \u2018the people\u2019, and kratos, \u2018rule\u2019) or through the emergence of a rights tradition, from the English Petition of Right in 1628 to the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789. But this is partly a retrospective fantasy of colonial Europe, which appropriated ancient Greece for itself, ignoring its strong connections to North Africa and the Middle East, and used its power to inflict intellectual inferiority on large parts of the world. In doing so, colonial Europe denied these important contributions to the history of democratic change. People\u2019s often forgotten struggles to establish basic dignity against despicable hierarchies are as much the authors of democracy as those who preserved their aspirations in written texts still celebrated in our time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The large mass demonstrations that laid at the heart of these struggles were built up through a range of political forces, including trade unions \u2013 a side of history that is often ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In much of the world (as in Brazil, the Philippines, and South Africa), it was trade unions that fired the early shot against barbarism. The cry in the Philippines \u2018Tama Na! Sobra Na! Welga Na!\u2019 (\u2018We\u2019ve had enough! Things have gone too far! It\u2019s time to strike!\u2019) moved from La Tonde\u00f1a distillery workers in 1975 to protests in the streets against Ferdinand Marcos\u2019 dictatorship, eventually culminating in the People Power Revolution of 1986.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Brazil, industrial workers paralysed the country through actions in Santo Andr\u00e9, S\u00e3o Bernardo do Campo, and S\u00e3o Caetano do Sul (industrial towns in greater S\u00e3o Paulo) from 1978 to 1981, led by Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva (now Brazil\u2019s president). These actions inspired the country\u2019s workers and peasants, raising their confidence to resist the military junta, which collapsed as a result in 1985.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fifty years ago, in January 1973, the workers of Durban, South Africa, struck for a pay rise, but also for their dignity. They woke at 3 am on 9 January and marched to a football stadium, where they chanted \u2018Ufil\u2019 umuntu, ufile usadikiza, wamthint\u2019 esweni, esweni usadikiza\u2019 (\u2018A person is dead, but their spirit lives; if you poke the iris of their eye, they still come alive\u2019). These workers led the way against entrenched forms of domination that not only exploited them, but also oppressed the people as a whole. They stood up against harsh labour conditions and reminded South Africa\u2019s apartheid government that they would not sit down again until class lines and colour lines were broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The strikes opened a new period of urban militancy that soon moved off the factory floors and into wider society. A year later, Sam Mhlongo, a medical doctor who had been imprisoned on Robben Island as a teenager, observed that \u2018this strike, although settled, had a detonator effect\u2019. The baton was passed to the children of Soweto in 1976.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The above ranting for me captures the frenzy in the lead up to the Nigerian General Elections next month, whoever it is one supports amongst the three musketeers, the fact is that not much will change because Nigerians still dey play… The Nigerian worker is at a crossroads, there is a potpourri, people who want to see real change. He is the one that will play a crucial role in the general elections by exercising his right to vote and selecting the candidate who they believe will represent their interests and address the issues affecting their daily lives. It is also important for workers to actively participate in election campaigns and advocacy for their rights to be recognized and addressed by elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sadly, at the other corner, countless corrupt Nigerian workers are engaging in unethical or illegal practices, such as embezzlement, bribery, or nepotism, for personal gain. This behavior undermines the integrity of the workplace and can harm the reputation of the organization and in this case (the Nigerian state) and the individual. It can also negatively impact the economy and society as a whole. The government and private sector have a responsibility to take measures to prevent and address corruption among workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But we dey play, the POS Operator is charging 2K for 20K if you want the new currency, no matter who wins the next election, we will remain the same, because Nigerians contribute to over 50% of their sufferings, like play we fundamentally exploit our crisis against the common man. The #endsars movement looked close but it lost steam and lacked leadership and as such the powers that be had loopholes to exploit and truth be told, we don\u2019t seem ready for a movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Listening to Hugh Masekela\u2019s \u2018Stimela\u2019 (\u2018Coal Train\u2019), the 1974 song of migrant workers travelling on the coal train to work \u2018deep, deep, deep down in the belly of the earth\u2019 to bring up wealth for apartheid capital. I thought of the Durban industrial workers with the sound of Masekela\u2019s train whistle in my ear, remembering Mongane Wally Serote\u2019s long poem, Third World Express, a tribute to the workers of southern Africa and their struggles to establish a humane society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 it is that wind<\/p>\n\n\n\n it is that voice buzzing<\/p>\n\n\n\n it is whispering and whistling in the wires<\/p>\n\n\n\n miles upon miles upon miles<\/p>\n\n\n\n on the wires in the wind<\/p>\n\n\n\n in the subway track<\/p>\n\n\n\n in the rolling road<\/p>\n\n\n\n in the not silent bush<\/p>\n\n\n\n it is the voice of the noise<\/p>\n\n\n\n here it comes<\/p>\n\n\n\n the Third World Express<\/p>\n\n\n\n they must say, here we go again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Here we go again\u2019, Serote wrote, as if to say that new contradictions produce new moments for struggle. The end of one crushing order will not herald a new beginning if we are not ready. It was the workers who brought us this democracy, and it will be workers who will fight to establish a deeper democracy yet. Here we go again, if February elections will change our play mode\u2014Only time will tell<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Prince Charles Dickson Ph.D. (\u2018A person is dead, but their spirit lives; if you poke the iris of their eye, they still come alive\u2019) Democracy has a dream-like character. It sweeps into the world, carried forward by an immense desire by humans to overcome the barriers of indignity and social suffering. When confronted by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":320,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n