The Joint Action Front (JAF) held a public symposium in Lagos on Saturday, April 5, as part of its ongoing mobilisation against the anti-people policies of the Tinubu regime. This event formed a crucial component of the broader movement calling for urgent resistance to the neoliberal assault on the working masses — a system that continues to impoverish millions while a tiny elite class flourishes.

The symposium was well-attended, with over 75 persons physically participating and 35 online, participating. It provided a platform for voices of resistance to raise once again the urgent demand for system change — a shift away from the exploitative capitalist policies that have brought untold hardship to the majority of Nigerians.

As expected, the Tinubu regime, true to its authoritarian character, attempted to intimidate and suppress the programme. The symposium, originally scheduled to be held at the Textile Union building, was forced to relocate after police officers invaded the venue barely some few hours before the event. The police stormed the union hall, attempting to instil fear and disrupt preparations.

Undeterred by this act of repression, the JAF quickly made alternative arrangements, and the venue was shifted to the International Press Centre (IPC). However, even at the IPC, armed police officers in large numbers once again invaded the premises, determined to prevent activists and members of the public from assembling. Yet, in the face of this intimidation, the resilience and defiance of comrades ensured the event went ahead successfully.

The symposium featured several prominent activists and intellectuals. Dagga Tolar, General Secretary of the MSA and lead speaker at the event, condemned the government’s suppression of dissent and urged comrades in attendance to continue resisting the anti-people policies of the Tinubu regime. Barrister Femi Falana (SAN), the guest speaker, delivered a critique of the government’s anti-poor policies, calling for mass resistance and the building of an alternative rooted in the interests of the working people. Other speakers included Affiong Affiong, Dr. Dele Ashiru of ASUU, Debo Adeniran the President Committee for the Defence of Human Rights CDHR, all of whom condemned the Tinubu regime’s repression and reiterated the need for a genuine, mass-based resistance movement.

Whether speaking in person or virtually, contributors to the symposium unanimously agreed on the necessity of organising against the current corrupt capitalist order and fighting for a system planned around the needs of the masses — a socialist alternative that places public ownership, workers’ control, and democratic planning at its heart.

The symposium resolved to continue the mobilisation and education of the Nigerian masses. Participants committed to building a movement that can resist and ultimately defeat the present onslaught on the people. There was also a call to deepen engagement with trade unions, civil society, and grassroots organisations toward the building of a mass working people’s political alternative — one capable of championing the interests of the oppressed and fighting for system change.

The Movement for a Socialist Alternative (MSA), a member organisation of JAF, was well-represented at the event. MSA members intervened actively through political discussions and the sales of Solidarity papers and other socialist materials, helping to deepen the ideological content of the engagement.

Despite the police harassment and all attempts to frustrate the gathering, the April 5 symposium stood as a bold statement of resistance. JAF in going must continue to organise, both in the community and in the trade unions and with others seek to provide the leadership for the resistance against the anti people neoliberal policies attack of the Tinubu regime but as well as seek to birth the process that will lead to an independent workers led political platform for the working masses with the manifesto of Socialist Alternative.