President of ASHE foundation, Prince Justice Faloye has raised concerns over debilitating policies by the Nigeria leadership over time, arguing that neoliberal political ideology has caused much hardship on citizenry.

Speaking to the press, Faloye who is the National Publicity Secretary, Afenifere stated that what Nigeria needs now is Social Democracy, giving reasons why neoliberalism has set the country backward for a along period.

He states:

The 2027 Presidential elections feels like a death sentence when one realizes that the three major contenders all support Neoliberalism, the political and economic ideology behind Nigerians’ poverty and underdevelopment ever since the former head of State, General Obasanjo started with the removal of education subsidies that led to the massive 1978 ‘Ali Must Go’ protests.

Since then, subsidy removals, devaluation and privatization has pushed two third of Nigerians into poverty, lowered infant mortality and life expectancy, as neoliberalism policies continued to kill the common citizens.

The only way out of this 50 year poverty trap is Social Democracy, which is basically capitalism with strong economic welfarism that subsidies not only fuel but unemployment, education, housing for or everyone, a railway in every local government. Subsidies are based on the simple Keynesian economic logic of providing income and employment multiplier effects across the economy, N1 subsidy multiplies several fold in income and jobs.

Without the social democratic values enshrined in Chapter Two of the 1999 Constitution that neoliberals breach, Nigerians will continue in poverty and die unnecessarily in large numbers. Only Social Democratic Parties do this across the world, and only Awolowo interpreted it into Afenifere and implemented it.

Neoliberal economic theory was built on fallacious free market principles by Chicago School of Economics Professor Friedman, and politically enforced at home and abroad by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and US President Reagan.

It is based on a mythical free market that exists nowhere, like claim the Naira should be floated in a free market when the government supplies 85% of the foreign exchange. In USA most businesses are oligopolistic.

Neoliberal politicians wrongly viewed fuel and education subsidy as consumption subsidies from an accountants perspective, ignorant of the Economist perspective that fuel subsidies had over ten times multiplier effects across the economy, which bags of rice and other palliatives couldn’t replace. Neoliberalism strategically destroys student and labor unions that can bargain wages and challenge the tyranny of the rich and powerful, so there can’t be a free labour market!

Neoliberalism paints its economic policies as natural laws and sells individualism, giving huge subsidies to the likes of Elon Musk, the trillionaire, like Chagoury given over twenty trillion Naira contracts while the masses suffer subsidy removal and devaluation. Rather than build massive social housing, they build luxury homes in Eko Atlantic. Instead of building steel mills in iron rich Anambra, they build beer breweries. That is the way of neoliberalism in our kakistocracy!

Though Neoliberalism was initially inspired against Blacks that had just won civil rights and independence, and being uplifted by the likes of Awolowo, it affected US and UK White working classes, as real wages fell.

The inefficiency of swapping subsidies from the masses to a select few in the military industrial complex enabled China to catch-up and overtake USA, while social democratic countries like Sweden, Germany, Norway have better quality of life and infrastructural development than UK and USA.

In Africa, neoliberalism has caused poverty, huge income inequalitity and ethnic conflicts especially in English speaking nations like Nigeria, South Africa etc While General Buhari was reluctant to implement the full range of neoliberal economic policies, General Ibrahim Babaginda overthrew him to introduce the full range of economic Reenslavement policies, known as Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) being demanded by UK and USA through the IMF and World Bank. President Babaginda fell out of favor when he allowed Social Democratic Party Chief MKO Abiola to win the presidential election. Chief Abiola, the social Democrat was killed, and Obasanjo, the neoliberalist was enthroned, and succeeded by other neoliberals.

At present, we have President Tinubu that has introduced neoliberal economic policies that has economically ruined Nigeria like no one like General Babaginda, who happens to be his protege. H.E Peter Obi is also a neoliberalist like Obasanjo his protege, while Abubakar Atiku takes after General Yar Adua. Unfortunately, the army state capture of the Sixties is still in place and they have built a neocolonial hierarchy and institutions controlling the media, public opinion, judiciary and all arms of governance and being, conveniently switching the focus from the economic Reenslavement ideology of neoliberalism to tribal, religious and personality issues.

It appears this 50 year bondage is unbreakable so many just pray to God for liberation, but the voice of Man is the voice of God. Plus there are signals that the end of neoliberalism is near in Nigeria, UK, USA, South Africa etc Only the Social Democratic Party presidential candidate Prince Adewole Adebayo and Afenifere are ideologically inclined to bring about free education, free healthcare, a house for everyone to stimulate the consumer market and railway in every local government to stimulate heavy manufacturing, all to bring about immense multiplier effects across the economy and lives of Nigerians.

Otherwise if the neoliberal rule continues, poverty will continue to increase, while the masses are distracted with tribe and religion that will engulf Nigeria in ethnic conflict. So if neoliberalism is not killed, Neoliberalism will kill Nigeria.