SOCIALISTS LEAFLET BOUNDARY MARKET

 

On the very hour of 04:45pm on 12 May, 2016 (Thursday) at Boundary market, Ajegunle, one of the popular squares where families from
poor homes and different ethnic group, tribe and belief come around to survive, because of the economic hardship erected as crisis before them.

Socialists from an organization named Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) who reside in the slum community in their tinniest numbers, went down to the major road connecting to other neighbouring routes linking to areas like: Oregie, Alaba, Kirikiri axis etc to leaflet market people, youth, parents, and especially workers, who possibly were returning after the day's job.

(The leaflet they distributed was titled: REJECT ELECTRICITY TARIFF HIKE AND POOR POWER SUPPLY. Join the Struggle to stop it now! May 2016 publication issued by the Federation of Informal Workers Organization of Nigeria; FIWON)

At first, the response from the people wasn't encouraged when the socialists were giving out the handbill. It was very frustrating seeing people snubbing to collect it from them. But not mind the ugly attention given to them. They have to persuade themselves in order to exhaust the leaflet at their disposal, adopting a unique skill to circulate it. In fact, they began to echo slogans like:

Don't pay for darkness!

Reject crazy bill! 

Demand for free effective prepaid now!

Privatization enriches the profiteers! 

We must fight against it to support Nationalization of the power sector!

Organized your community with action committees to reject crazy bills!

Fight for a better living condition!

While doing this, they were able to patiently use it to convince people moving to and fro in that busiest hour (05:00pm) when workers and petty traders, artisans and secondary school students that the leaflet being distributed was majorly about the pressing issue in the country.

The issue of epileptic power supply in Nigeria, generally affecting a lot of people like the artisan, food vendors, etc whose livelihood depends on constant electricity supply to be able to live through the day and for their respective families, siblings who depends on them to get something to eat.

Interestingly, the socialist where they stood they decided to adopt a method of giving out the leaflet with the sharp slogan of: "reject crazy bill! Don’t pay for darkness!"  “Demand for free effective prepaid”. Some of the petty traders who engage their livelihood in the sales of phone accessories, assorted kind of fruits, cosmetic body cream and lotion, passer-by, commuters etc started stretching their hands to collect the leaflet.

One of the woman selling assorted fruits behind the motor park fence, whose age might possibly be between the bracket of 45 to 50, called the attention of one of the socialist in a native language (in Yoruba tune) in order to have a copy of the leaflet and knowledge of what they (the socialists) were busy giving out for almost forty-five minutes they stood at the side of the road, where the hoot of cars, buses of all kind and the general noise suppresses them voice.

While the response from those collecting the leaflets were encouraged juxtaposed with the discussion with people about the current issue on electricity. One of the socialist who attends to the woman gave her a copy of the leaflet likewise other market women sitting in pairs beside the motor park fence; explain in soft language to them what the issues raised in the leaflet was all about.

Saying that the government is responsible for the darkness we currently live into.

However, another of the trader (a male) selling phone accessories in the same spot others were hustling for their stomach came around to collect a leaflet.

He approached with interest for the leaflet, after seeing how others showed interest in it. This made him to come for his without being told the recent information around in town. Judging from the psychological approached of the guy. He needed to have a feel about what possibly is going on in the country.

After going through it (I mean the phone seller reading the leaflet). He was enthusiastic with the perspective raised in it, the flow of language literary and the simplicity implored to discuss the Nigerian electricity crisis and the company (GENCO and DISCO) drilling billion of naira from the consumers daily nationwide without adding to any megawatts to the nation's power supply. Instead, it has been darkness all through day and night in the various communities poor people reside.

And with the effort of him put to be able to read through the leaflet given to him by those socialists leafleting. This nay prompts him to approach the other socialist busy distributing the ones he has with him. He said (in the common tongue). "Please, can I have a copy of this other paper?“ (He was referring to the April/May, 2016 Social Democracy Bi-monthly Bulletin).

He continued. "I honestly like the way the points in the leaflet was laid out". In fact, he said. "They were points that nail the issues hardly without wasting time". Sincerely, he told the comrade holding the leaflet in one hand and the other the Social Democracy bulletin.

"Everything you people said are true". He continued. "Sound to me very appealing generally, suggesting what we people can do and the government failures to address the problem of electricity crisis we people have been suffering under for long now".

"My brother", he said. "I was so please with the way it was written. It really talked much about the problems and possibly raising some immediate solution". Mostly especially, the question I have been trying to ask about us paying for what we don't even use. And at the end of each month, NEPA will bring "high" bill. Bill wey tu much fo person to pay.

The comrade listening to him nodded his head and said. "My brother you have said the truth" in fact, he continued. "The Nigerian government is making billion of dollars from the sales of crude oil every day. Yet, the set of rulers we called government have refused to put tangible effort in place to improve on the power sector."

However, what we have seen so far, he said. It is a situation of government implementing policies of privatization in order to enrich themselves. Which in any way, he continued. “It doesn’t resolve the problem of darkness”.

Instead, what we have seen so far have been total darkness all these years in Nigeria. The comrade(s) who had exhausted more than two hours leafleting the boundary area, persuaded the guy to get a copy of the socialist bulletin, being that he had shown interest in the course of the discussion with them. And even invited him to attend their weekend meetings where they relatively discuss issued, politics, economics that generally affect the Nigerian society, and the possible way forward to these entire crises.

Fidel Davynovich