The United Action For Democracy [UAD]; is a Pan-Nigeria
historic coalition of citizens’ organisations; a central social formation in
the anti military and pro democracy struggle that led to the birth of this
present republic; a core member of the Labour Civil Society Coalition which
coordinated our most recent epochal January Uprising; and an integral component
and driving force of the mass social movements and popular struggles in our
country.
The UAD conscious of the price in blood, sweat, and limbs
paid by ordinary Nigerian citizens in the struggle to end military dictatorship
and democratise all facets of our national life, is appalled by the current
state of the nation; the progressive decline in the quality of governance and
the management of our polity and collective resources since the 1999 return to
civilian rule.
We observe that over the past fourteen years, the only area
where our politicians have demonstrated expertise and competence is in the area
of treasury looting and political brigandage; a competence and level of
expertise that has now brought our nation to the brink of a catastrophic
collapse!
While according to this ruling class GDP has consistently
grown at over 6% annually, yet inspite of this growth, poverty has also
increased tremendously from 54% in 2000 to 69% in 2012; and so also has
unemployment – now almost 30% [particularly youth unemployment – now almost 50%],
homelessness and misery. And rather than build homes for the homeless, support
the livelihoods of the poor, and improve access to basic services; governments
at all levels and of all parties have together persistently demolish the homes
of the poor, evict the poor from cities, criminalise the livelihoods of the
poor, harass the poor when they are going about eking out meager existence, and
generally make life and living more difficult for ordinary citizens.
With specific reference to the scale of insecurity and armed
violence and insurgencies across the country; the scale and scope of the
quantitative and qualitative increase in poverty; and the shamefully and
dangerous dilapidated nature of basic infrastructures and services; we know
that this sorry state of affairs has arisen as a result of the combination of
the ineptitude of the ruling class, and the direct implication of politicians
in the competitive arming of youth groups and sponsorship of armed groups and
armed insurgencies. We also know that the increasing poverty levels, and the
rapidly declining levels of basic social services and infrastructures, despite
the increasing levels of national wealth generated by our collective sweat, and
the truly humongous scale of public investments over the last 14 years, has
been a direct consequence of the greed, monumental corruption, and rapacious
scale of treasury looting perpetrated and perpetuated by this thieving elite
bands in power serially gang raping our nation.
With level of human and natural resources we are endowed
with as a nation, there is no reason why any Nigerian should live in and live
with poverty. We therefore call on all ordinary Nigerians to get ourselves
readied and prepared for a strategic return to the barricades, with the aim and
goal of Reclaiming our Humanity, as we take our destinies back into our hands
and Take Back Nigeria! It is our country, let us collectively take it back from
these bands of treasury looting gangsters who have turned our country into a
giant battle ground as they wage low intensity proxy wars in their quest for
exclusive access to pillage our collective wealth.
If we must change our destiny in the 2015 general elections,
we must begin to organise ourselves now; and we must not allow ourselves to be
used as canon fodders by the various factions of the ruling class as they
battle themselves for the right to repress us and loot our resources.
The Future Starts Now!
Gaye Gaskia
National Convener
UAD
08033105107
Ken Henshaw
Gen. Sec.
UAD
08034053707
