Why I Write For The Working Class

President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Aliyu Wabba
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By Comrade Ogbu A. Ameh
I am a Creative Writer and Trade Unionist who has been an armchair critics and activist in our contemporary political space. I am on the editorial board of the theoretical organ of Socialist Workers League, (Socialist Worker). I do know that I am a writer who is always angry at the world, but never wants to die with my thought and perspectives on national and global topical issues. I want to immortalize my name through writing for posterity. I do know too well that artistry requires the writer universalizing his or her private experiences in life.
My perspectives on historical and contemporary socio-economic, political and religious issues are taint by my ideological depth and consciousness of the working class material realities in a bourgeois capitalist system. Reflections and distillations of my life experiences as active participant in the struggle of workers, students, peasants and the general members of the oppressed class find expressions loud and clear in my writings, especially my recent book; In The Struggle.

My book titled “In The Struggle” is a fusion of fact and fiction, a rare experiment in this genre of storytelling and narrative. It is called Faction in literary parlance; in the narrative, there are parts that are fictional but embedded in fact. It bothers on contemporary and historical issues nationally and globally. That was the force behind the inspiration as i tried to do something unique with my work. Inspiration for creative writers comes from divers’ sources, for me it is my senses and experiences in my society and the global world as it is today.
On what it takes to draw a line between fact and fiction, the protagonist life experiences fascinate me a great deal and I cast him as not only the central character but made the book his biography. His life story personifies the struggle of his generation in his country and the continent of Africa. The protagonist in my story tells his life experience where he also acted as an arbitrator, observer and critic giving his views on his observation in the course of the narration. A creative author tries to detach himself from his story; however, those he relates with in real life, the situations and environment are always parts of the totality of his muse.

For me, writing has always been an art, i write with greater ease and effortlessly. I possessed all the attributes of a writer, thus; keen sense of observation, ardent reading culture and the inner discipline to have a quiet time to myself. The challenges abound, but one must always find a way around it to achieve the objectives. I tried to conceptualize the lives of young people who move in drove from rural communities to urban cities for the fable Greener Pasture (better life). This segment of the society passes through the economic and social realities of the capitalist system that traps them in pathetic abject poverty conditions in the ubiquitous ghettoes that abound in various cities of Nigeria and other developing economies of the world.
My central character’s experience represents that of many struggling youths in Nigeria and the entire Africa. The struggle for emancipation of the working class is loud in my narrative, agitation, protest; symposium and tendency meetings are all parts of my life and were embedded in the central character.

My study across disciplines has equipped me to interrogate the multifaceted socio-politico, economic, cultural and religious issues in my society. Therefore, I have chosen to discuss these issues from inter-disciplinary and multi-level perspectives.
As a writer, journalist, social and literary activist, social critics, political analyst, generational shift and change advocate; I am grounded in the pertinent issues that militate against the supposed greatness of my country. Again, it will be part of my contribution to the nation building conversations dominating the public domain since our independence as a country. I have dared to ask many questions, criticized many anomalies and proffered workable solutions to these myriad man made problems through the character I created.
In my research for this book, I draw heavily from ideological discussions, interactive engagement on state of the nation to broaden my perspectives. In the course of my involvement in the working class struggle for a better or alternative social system, I read extensively and listened to more enlightened comrades.

The process and challenges leading to publishing a book varies from one writer to another. For me, putting my thoughts on paper has never been a challenge but rather a fulfillment. My greatest challenge lies with funding for publishing, as there are no longer incentives for budding writers in Nigeria. Unlike in the 50s, 60s and 70s when young Nigerian writers stepped into the shoes of colonial Authors.
The publishing industry since then has dramatically changed negatively like other industries too. The second part of the challenges is with the sales, which is a direct effect of the prevalent low reading culture among Nigerians of every age. School children, parents and workers alike shy away from the glorious reading culture even before the DotCom revolution of the early 2000 (YTK)

Of course, other competing daily life struggles and social roles definitely would rob any writer a considerable productive time from his or her work. However, for me like I did say earlier, it took a reasonable shorter time. Although little but significant aspect like; typing, proofreading and editing are to be taken care of before going to press.

The government as the machinery of state in some part of the world do not encourage high level of literacy among its citizens. Reasons abound; why and how covertly or overtly it is been done. However as a given, the place of education as a bedrock of any society cannot be ignored. The onus falls on the government to deplore it political will power to translate into concrete reality all hidden or forgotten laudable policies on education system reform in Nigeria.
The global world is in the age of Knowledge Economy and we must not allow our country to be locked in knowledge deficit. The way forward is; revival of traditional reading culture and discourage the emergent internet; browsing, skimming and scanning types of reading today. To liberate our minds and develop our collective consciousness as the working class, there are no two ways except; reading and be a good observer by deploying your senses to work. When you join a workers union, do try as a matter of necessity to embrace socialist tendency. Birds of a kind flock together, so keep this intellectual network for interactions and learning to deepen your class-consciousness.

When I muted the idea of my book, a lot was on my mind as ever because like Carl Marx rightly observed; the social material realities shape our consciousness as a people. I was born into this society and so, a social product of this same society. According to Robert Green in his bestseller book, “Art of Seduction” “childhood is the golden paradise we always consciously or unconsciously try to recreate. The natural embodies the longed-for qualities of childhood; spontaneity, sincerity and unpretentiousness. In the presence of natural, we feel at ease, caught up in their playful spirit, transported back to that golden age. Everyone has unfinished business from childhood, disappointments, lack, painful memories, etc”
What influenced my writing profoundly are the pain, bitterness and anger against injustice, inequality and oppression of the masses by people in power.
I did realize early in life that the society is an oppressive one sustained by the status quo through the instrumentality of coercive apparatus. People in the true sense of human greed tend to promote self-interest above collective interest. This tendency permeates the entire fabric of the society and human endeavour culminating in crass materialism and corruption.
As a chain reaction, the corrupt tendencies held the entire nation and government machinery by the juggler and development came to a standstill in all ramifications. I did realized early in life that the struggle of man begins at birth, the struggle continues outside his mother’s womb on earth from cradle to death. In this struggle, some fail while many others succeed and many are cut down in the midst of the struggle.
The struggle means different things to different people, to some; it is to attain success, riches, power, self-actualization and domination. However, to many of us, we struggle to free ourselves from limitations imposed on us by the system. We struggle to ask questions by interrogating the old order in order to change it. We struggle to provide a platform for mobilizing against the old order. We struggle to mobilize the people to become conscious of their social material realities and be part of a build up to the change from below.
We struggle to provide the voice for propagating the message of change that will lead to emancipation and liberation of our people. My civil society group “Generation for Revolutionary change from below” is focused on a synergy with the organized labour and trade unions towards ensuring that it provides the required leadership for the struggle of the poor masses.
I do know that the Nigerian working class and the youths built a common front to fight the military junta to a standstill and provided a platform that brought about this democratic dispensation. However, the dawn of liberal democracy and neo- liberalism has convinced us that what we need is a working people’s democracy. This can be enthroned only through the self- emancipation of the working class.
We have seen that capitalism, which underpins our socio-economic and production relations, promotes corruption. I have been an ardent student of Marxist socialist ideology as an alternative economic and political world order. I do believe that a new world is possible through revolution from below as power belong to the people. We advocate workers unity with students, peasants’ women and trades men to fight for this new alternative economic and political world order. I hope that through this work, the Nigeria’s working class consciousness will be more enrich to understand their relationship with the bourgeois ruling class. That relationship has always been that of the Oppressors and the Oppressed.
Ameh is Founder, Generation for Revolutionary Change from Below


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