NLC and TUC Must declare a 24 hours Nationwide Strike/Protest Against Insecurity and Poverty

For Self-defense militia democratically controlled by the working people in all affected communities.

PRESS RELEASE:

The recent news of the brutal killings of over 200 individuals in Benue State is not only devastating but deeply provoking. Once again, this tragedy underscores the root cause of Nigeria’s worsening insecurity, the corrupt and profit-driven capitalist programme pursued by all regimes since the beginning of this so-called democratic dispensation.

That these killings have continued for several years without any meaningful solution is clear evidence that the working masses of Benue and across Nigeria must begin to organise and seek a lasting alternative outside the current exploitative system. We must reject a system built solely on profit, and instead struggle for a planned economy that puts the needs and lives of the majority—workers, farmers, herders, the poor—first.

The people of central Nigeria, particularly in Plateau, Kwara, Benue, Taraba, and Nasarawa—have remained at the epicentre of repeated attacks, often downplayed by state authorities as mere “farmers/herders clashes.” But the facts speak louder. According to Amnesty International, at least 10,217 people have been killed in just two years since this government came to power. Out of this, over 6,896 deaths were recorded in Benue, and 2,630 in Plateau alone.

The Nigerian Constitution clearly states that the primary responsibility of government is the protection of lives and property. What we are witnessing today is a total negation of that. This is why the Nigerian working class must rise, not just in anger, but in organised resistance against a system and government that has plunged the masses into this sorry state.

And it is in this context we applaud the example of working class who trooped out in their hundreds in Makurdi to condemn the failure of the state to come to their aid and demanding that the Tinubu regime take drastic action. Like one of the protesters pointed out the police are quick to respond to protesters, combat ready and fully armed to teeth,  with teargas to disperse a peaceful and civil protest within minutes but are no where to be seen when these invaders come into the community carrying out their killings on innocent people and dastardly destruction of life and properties for hours unend.

The MSA fully lends its weight to the call for the right of self-defense as a democratic right not only in Benue but as well for all communities under attack by insurgents. The poor and defenceless communities have cried enough. They must take their security into their own hands. But such a self-defense militia must however be under the democratic control of all key democratic institutions of the affected communities, among which should include the trade unions (playing the leading role), youth organisations and all other working people associations in the community.

This is why the Labour movement must go beyond merely issuing statements and act. Indeed the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) must step it up to take action against the killings, hunger, and mass suffering inflicted on Nigerians. Mobilising for 24-hour general strike as a warning action and Solidarity with Benue communities against the unending massacres and other communities across the country facing similar attacks, and as well as the economic hardship the Tinubu regime has forced on the people.

With the 2027 election cycle still two years away, it is now the main focus of the Tinubu regime and the opposition parties and candidates. Meanwhile, the working people are left to fend for themselves. Only the independent initiatives and mass actions of the working class can force any real change. For the blood of the innocent to stop being the price we pay under this capitalist system that values profit over people, the working class must get organised, not just to express their anger, but to take bold action and fight to overthrow capitalism.

Signed

Aj. Dagga Tolar

General Secretary, Movement for a Socialist Alternative MSA