The Nigerian Scam

Hello there! The crew got together a few weeks ago to react to the Edo state elections and its outcomes, the aftermath of the #EndBadGovernance protests and the lead up to the #FearlessInOctober protests and Dangote's antics with regards to fuel pricing and logistics. In this current affairs episode, we delved deeper into the politics of vote buying, the intricacies of the electoral process, and m...

In this episode we are joined by Ibrahim Wali and Comrade Hamza of Ranters HQ @rantitoutspace to talk about the birth of the platform, its evolution and the objectives of the #RANTitOut movement. This bleeds into a conversation on the rise of anti-establishment sentiment and radicalism in Northern Nigeria. We also share perspectives on the newer class of Northern technocrats, comparisons with thei...

Prior to his having been declared ‘wanted’ by the Nigerian authorities, we converse with the Iva Valley bookshop owner, Drew Povey on 31st August 2024, about the #EndBadGovernance protests and the invasion of his bookshop and the NLC headquarters. We talk about the terrorism and espionage charges, details of the case with regards to his wife, comrade Yomi, the assets that have been seized or ransa...

In another film club special, Commander Matrix @_missward and Comrade Pedro @pedro_omolola join us in reviewing Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti's biopic. What were the general reactions to the film? Does Bolanle Austen-Peters do justice in her take on the life of the Lioness of Lisabi? What is the place of class within feminism? How did colonialism contribute to the misogyny that permeates Nigerian soc...

In the heat of the ongoing #EndBadGovernance protests across the country we voice our early observations and assess the response of the Tinubu administration so far. While discussing possible fissures and tendencies in the political elite as well as the masses, we also ask what strategies the current administration has employed to deal with the protests, what demographics are represented in the cu...

In this episode we discuss a few recent political developments across Africa, their budding effects and their possible outcomes. How might we assess the fate of ECOWAS and West Africa’s international relations in light of the rise of the Alliance for Sahelian States (AES— or ASS depending who you ask)? What do we know about the recent #FinanceBill and #RutoMustGo protests in Kenya? What have they...

In our first of many conversations with Baba Aye ( @BabaAye ), a revolutionary trade unionist, historian, and theorist, we discuss the origins of neoliberalism in Nigeria and how it shaped and was in turn influenced by the development of the Nigerian Left. To what extent did resistance to Structural Adjustment allow the Left to reconstitute itself in the 1980s? How is the Left responding to the de...

In this episode, we sit down to talk to Comrades Fatai and Sango of the Movement for African Emancipation (MAE). Amongst other things, we get a feel of its organisational mission as it builds on the work of Late Comrade Baba Omojola. Also, as part of our What is Left of the Left series, we discuss the bolt and joints and other mechanics of the ongoing project of digitizing the Baba Omojola Memoria...

Nigerian politics is certainly more and more comedic - but can Nigerian comedy be more political? In this episode, we spoke to Dexmond, a budding act in the Nigerian comedy scene. We briefly discussed his entry into comedy, the evolution of the industry, and its peculiarities in the social media era. Naturally, we also examined the status and role of comedy in the context of Nigerian politics. Is...

Hello there. We've been on a health break. But we are still here. We still pod. We've got a new episode for you. In our latest episode and the first of a new and exciting mini-series (henceforth WLNL) on the actually-existing Nigerian Left, we have a chat with Comrade Chido Onumah, a journalist and archivist, about the Socialist Library and Archive (SOLAR) Calabar, and its ongoing digitiza...

In light of the recent #EndHunger Protests around the country, we talked to one of the organisers and director of the #TakeItBack Movement ( @AyowoleSanyaolu ) to assess the politico-economic conditions leading up to the mass action, historic (in)actions of the Unions and its effects on the citizenry. We also discussed possible actions that could reinvigorate mass consciousness and deepen on-the-g...

In our latest episode, we examine the Vietnamese socialist project in a lighthearted conversation with Taofeek ( @afolxbi ), a young Nigerian communist who visited recently. Amongst the many things we looked to learn, we were curious to know if and/or how, decades after their protracted civil war, a 'unified' Vietnam is moving on. We also covered issues around attitudes towards (economic)...

Back from the January Hiatus, we discuss recent developments in the ongoing Ecowas crisis. Why is Ecowas in crisis? Were the junta run countries of the Sahel right to (ecow)exit the regional body? What is Ecowas actually good for? Should the body even exist? Also, if you stay till the end of the show, you'll hear about our exciting new partnership (not with Wagner group, but...) Photo credit:...

As a year end bonus, we decided to release this slightly controversial, somewhat theoretical debate we had about the pitfalls of 'independence' and the possibility that the very notion of a post-colonial nation-state -- i.e. national liberation -- was the foundational scam. Is there anything to be said about the argument that independence was, in some cases, premature? Was there ever a cha...

In our final recording of the year, we consider a little-remembered institution that laid the foundation for many state-led scams to come: the colonial and post-independence era agricultural produce marketing boards. We discussed why they were founded by the colonial state, why they became indispensable to the post-independence regional governments, how they (sort of) ended, and whether they are i...

We discuss the short-lived general strike -- possibly Nigeria's first in a decade -- to understand it's links to the ongoing economic crisis. What caused the strike and why did it end so quickly? What led to the assault on Comrade Joe Ajaero, the NLC president? Did the strike contribute to rebuilding Labour's waning public legitimacy, or to further undermining it?

You might already know: we've been running a reading group on Nigerian Political Economy. This episode reviews some highlights from our first three sessions which covered the development of capitalism in pre-colonial, colonial, and pre-civil war Nigeria. Spanning over a millennia of West-African history, the discussion was, to say the least, ambitious. But we were greatly aided by Bobby (@iyi_...

We discussed the protests that accompanied the passing of the Afrobeatz recording artist, Mohbad, as well as the dark side of the Nigerian music industry (and discovered how this intersects with the origin story of @OAG). Was there ever a pseudo-anarchist character to Naira Marley, as some observers (see references) proposed? Amid the current economic crisis, could one argue that 'the youths&#...

We explore the origins of Nigeria's fuel subsidy and popular resistance to its removal, aided by sociologist Camilla Houeland (@CamillaHoueland) -- a researcher at the Fafo, Norway, and associate professor in Sociology and Human Geography at the University of Oslo. Have Nigeria's Labour Unions given up on resisting the removal of the subsidy? What should we make of environmentalist critici...

We review the state of debate about the removal of Nigeria's fuel subsidy. Our own debate quickly turns to examining whether the Tinubu administration's sudden 'Subsidy ti lo' approach to announcing the subsidy removal on his inauguration day was either a 'gaffe' or an effective ploy to impose austerity and enrich the ruling-class while demobilizing popular forces -- i.e. &...

In this episode, we try to think through the unfolding regional crisis brought about by the (latest) coup in Niger. What do we know about the coup so far? Why is Ecowas beating the drums of war? Should these recent coups give us hope for the future of popular sovereignty and socialism in West Africa? Some readings: Alex Thurston on domestic dynamics of the coup in Niger:  ⁠https://sahelblog.wordpr...

" The parable of the drum as the voice of the people" Another one for the film heads -- our review of Tunde Kelani's classic Saworoide (1999). Is this the first (and only) Nollywood film to advocate for popular resistance to capitalist environmental degredation? Is the 'traditional' aesthetic of the film distracting or inspiring? Does the film ultimately succeed as an effecti...

This is the first of a two-part episode examining what the Nigerian Left learned from the Obidients. To tackle this, we review a series of articles about the Labour Party and Peter Obi that were written by Nigerian Left essayists and organization both before and after the elections. Check out our Patreon page to listen to the extended conversation. The "before" pieces: https://socialistl...

In this episode, we put @SaeeduH on the hot-seat to discuss his recent article for @Africaisacountry on the ideological and economic legacies of the Buhari administration (we also challenge @SLASHER_OAG on whether Buharism and the Lagos Model suggest that the ruling classes have adopted a more complex mode of legitimation than the classic you chop, I chop model). Is there a perspective from which...

In the second volume of our 'scam hall of fame' mini-series, we explore a classic Nigerian haux that might not have been the most daring or expensive, but was certainly the weirdest: the time Kwara State came up with the ingenious idea of importing white Zimbabwean farmers (along with tons of cows and machinery) ostensibly to set up commercial farms in the state. Now a decade after the far...