8/20/2019 The Left in Nigerian Politics and the Struggle for Socialism: 1945-1985

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The Left in Nigerian Politics and the Struggle for

Socialism: 1945-1985Tajudeen Abduiraheem and Adebayo Olukoshi

This paper is a brief historical overview of certain aspects of radical, Left-wingpolitics in Nigeria in the 40 years between 1945 and 1985 !t traces the origins,growth and nat"re of the radical str"ggle for so#e for# of socialist transfor#ation inthe co"ntry and atte#pts to identify the strengths and wea$nesses of so#e of theorganisations that were established at vario"s ti#es since 1945 for the attain#ent ofthis goal The #yth that there is as yet no Left politics in Nigeria is false %y the endof the &econd 'orld 'ar, when the nationalist str"ggle for independence attained itspea$, radical activis# both within and o"tside the trade "nion #ove#ent had startedin earnest and has been growing since then, ta$ing vario"s for#s, as thecontradictions of the capitalist develop#ent process in Nigeria deepen (s politiciansof all shades begin to gear the#selves in readiness for the proposed transfer of

power fro# the #ilitary govern#ent to civilians in 1990, the Nigerian Left can loo$bac$ to a heritage, with both positive and negative aspects, which we atte#pt to pin-point in the co"rse of o"r disc"ssion The cr"cial )"estion is how the positiveaspects of that heritage can be harnessed and e*tended in order to advance thestr"ggle for socialis# and how the errors of the past are to be avoided in the r"n-"pto 1990

The f"ll paper was p"blished in Review of African PoliticalEconomy , No + 'inter 198./ and is freely available fro#httpwwwroapeorg0+09ht#l