madunagu, edwin (2016) eskor toyo and the struggle for the working peoples

8/19/2019 Madunagu, Edwin (2016) Eskor Toyo and the Struggle for the Working Peoples

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Eskor Toyo and the Struggle forthe Working Peoples, By Edwin

MadunaguEdwin Madunagu wrote from Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria.

This is the Eskor Toyo funeral lecture delivered in Calabar, Nigeria on March4, 2016

Co!rade Eskor Eskor Toyo "as indeed an outstanding ande#ce$tional Mar#ist and %evolutionary &ocialist 'is co!!it!entto the ulti!ate eli!ination of o$$ression fro! the face of theEarth ( through struggle ( never "avered) and his faith in the*orking Class and *orking +eo$le as vanguard agencies for thateli!ination never declined

I Introductory Statements: Range of Eskor oyo!s RevolutionaryEngagementsOn Monday, September 20, 2010, Comrade Professor Eskor Toyo made whatmay turn out to be, on further historica assessment, his ast ma!or outin" asa re#outionary Mar$ist pubic inteectua in %i"eria& On that occasion hedei#ered the %i"erian 'oden (ubiee )ndependence *ecture tited +Pro!ect%i"eria The !ourney so far-& The e#ent was hosted by this institution.s

/epartment of istory and )nternationa Studies, and chaired by ProfessorOkon Edet ya& oth men are now ate&

The 345pa"e ecture was Eskor Toyo at his inteectua and ideoo"ica best, aon" !ourney throu"h the coonia, postcoonia and neocoonia sta"es of ournationa history& )t was radica, cate"orica, un6atterin", but passionateypatriotic& The #erdict which was aso the concusion was sad, #ery sad for aman who had been acti#e poiticay for more than 70 years& ut it wasstrai"ht5forward The !ourney had barey be"un, or put more charitaby, the

!ourney had been "rounded near the #ery be"innin"& eyond this, howe#er,the concusion was a ca on radica patriots, the workin" and toiin" peopesand, abo#e a, the workin" cass to rise and sa#e the nation by freein"themse#es& The workin" and toiin" masses cannot sa#e the nation assa#es, and yet they are the #an"uard of the peope that can sa#e the nation&)t is a historica parado$& ut a parado$ that can be broken throu"h stru""e&8nd Comrade Eskor Toyo beie#ed ti his ast breath that %i"eria can sti besa#ed& So do the comrades he eft behind&

Two days immediatey precedin" the ecture, that is on Saturday, September19 and Sunday, September 14, 2010, Comrade Professor Eskor Toyo attendeda %ationa E$ecuti#e Meetin" of the 8cademic Sta: nion of ni#ersities;8S< here in Caabar& =ou know the batte the union was then wa"in" forthe nation, for the education system and for its members& The batte is stira"in", e#en as ) speak& Comrade Eskor had been an acti#ist member of8S since its creation in 14>9 and a father5?"ure Trustee of the union since


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149@& eyond this, Comrade Eskor had been a eadin" partisan of 8S.spredecessors and teachers. unions "eneray as far back as the coonia eraand the Airst Bepubic&

(ust hours after the ecture of September 20, 2010 a #ery on" ecture,

which if ) remember we, he dei#ered standin" or party standin" Eskor Toyo, then an 915year od war5horse, entered a meetin" of %i"eria.sBe#outionary *eft, aso here in Caabar& The main item on the a"enda of thatmeetin", in fact the soe item, was one of the most diDcut and contentiousissues in the contemporary history of %i"eria.s Be#outionary *eft namey,party formation& The +bone of contention-, as they say, is not whether, inprincipe, a party of the workin" peopes is necessary or not not what it wido or shoud do or can do when formed& The +bone of contention- was aboutits timin" and pre5conditions, and abo#e a, its character, incudin" whetherit shoud be a mass party or a #an"uard party& )n short, the party.s strate"yand foundationa statement to the workin" cass and the nation&

Eskor Toyo.s position, not by any means an isoated position, was for a partythat coud and shoud be formed immediatey, a re#outionary sociaist partythat woud be stron" and 6e$ibe enou"h to decide whether to take part ineectora contest or not and, abo#e a, a party that woud be undisso#abe byany form of bour"eois rue from #ariants of miitary dictatorship to #ariantsof ci#iian democracy& )t coud be caed a Sociaist Party or a Forkin" Peope.sParty or a *abour Party or e#en a Communist Party& istoricay andtheoreticay, the di:erences between *eft parties formed under these namesdo not reside in the names themse#es, but in their pro"rammes, rues andstrate"ies& The meetin" of the ni"ht of Monday, September 20, 2010, thou"h

turbuent as e$pected, mo#ed the debate a coupe of steps forward& 8nd theparty, the Sociaist Party of %i"eria ;SP%


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or"anisation, of re#outionary commitment and intransi"ence spannin" o#er70 years&

II Eskor oyo"Edwin Madunagu Meeting of Se#tember $%, $&%&:Criti'ue of t(e Nigerian )eft

Eskor Toyo.s ecture to me at his residence was not a criticism of the %i"erianstate or the %i"erian "o#ernment& That criticism is assumed as back"round ine#ery meetin" of the Be#outionary *eft& Fe are e$perts in radica andwhoistic criticism of this oppressi#e and sadistic system& Eskor.s insistencewas that we shoud not stop there& 8s the youn" Mar$ said +The weapon ofcriticism shoud be repaced or, at east, accompanied by the criticism of theweapon-& Comrade Eskor.s ecture to me was, rather, a critiGue of the%i"erian *eft The tra"ic faiure of %i"erian sociaists, o#er time, to o:er thetype of iberatin" eadership that the on"5su:erin", but stru""in", workin"and toiin" masses of %i"eria needed and, from time to time, demanded, in#arious ways the faiure of %i"erian sociaists to form and sustain a

re#outionary sociaist party factionaism and sectarianism confusin"utopianism with Mar$ism confusin" socia democracy with sociaisminteectua aHiness and poitica cowardice inordinate eadership ambitionsanarchist attitudes to democracy, +democratic centraism- and ma!oritydecisions and the amost chronic inabiity of %i"erian sociaists to reco"nise+re#outionary moments-& Aor Eskor Toyo, one of the most tra"ic and painfudemonstrations of the ast weakness in contemporary history of %i"eria wasthe faiure to channe the workin" cass5ed popuar protests under 'enera8bacha to remo#e the miitary dictator from power because, accordin" to ourdeparted comrade, 8bacha presided o#er the most isoated "o#ernment in%i"eria since independence&

Comrade Eskor Toyo made no mention of the situation in the country then& )nparticuar, he did not mention the preparations for the 2011 "eneraeections& e made no mention of it because his attitude to it which ) shared was cear& That attitude, once #erbaised by an 8S oDcia, can bedescribed ike this Suppose armed robbers in %i"eria incudin" the +wiin"-and +not5so5wiin"- are persuaded to accept free, fair and credibe eectionsin their ranks, how does that so#e the probem of armed robbery in thecountryI This was not an ar"ument a"ainst participation in eectora poitics,but it was a stron" statement both on ma$imum reaistic e$pectation whichwe coud aow ourse#es to entertain, and on participation in eectora

contests in which the workin" and toiin" masses and their parties areessentiay absent as a distinct and independent force&

Eskor Toyo did not aso raise the tripe sub!ect of imperiaism, neocooniaismand independence& is position, shared by the Sociaist Mo#ement, had beenre5stated in the ecture he dei#ered the pre#ious day, and that is +Thedistinction between sef5"o#ernment and so#erei"nty, on the one hand, andindependence, on the other, is ike the socioo"ica distinction betweenauthority and power& 8uthority refers to ri"ht power refers to capacity& )n thesame way, sef5"o#ernment, autonomy and so#erei"nty refers to the ri"ht totake one.s decisions whereas independence means the capacity to be reayfree from the power of otherJ To use autonomy or sef5rue to proceed toindependence, a country needs eaders who #aue independence and knowwhat it entais-&


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Eskor Toyo spoke to me directy as a re#outionary comrade and, throu"h me,to *eft tendencies identi?ed with me& Eskor Toyo, we shoud note, reco"nisedthe ine#itabiity of tendencies in the *abour and Sociaist Mo#ement, butabhorred factionaism in a *eft or"anisation once it has been formed and

procaimed abo#e "round or under"round& ) sha return to this point&

III Clari*cations in t(e sense of Eskor oyo: Ca#italism, Socialism,+orking class, +orking eo#le, t(e eo#le and E-#loitation

The sub!ect of this ecture is Eskor Toyo and the stru""e of the workin"peopes Forkers. Power, Popuar /emocracy, Sociaism& Aor a fairerunderstandin" and appreciation of Eskor Toyo.s ife5on" stru""e summarisedin these phrases, si$ particuar concepts that are ob!ecti#ey, historicay ando"icay reated, reGuire brief cari?cations not academic de?nitions here&

These are Capitaism, Sociaism, Forkin" Cass, Forkin" Peope, the Peopeand E$poitation& The irony here is that these cari?cations are necessary not

!ust for, or e#en primariy for, the workin" peope or the youn" ones students and youths but aso for the educated eite& 8s ate as 2011, )watched Comrade Eskor Toyo en"a"e a ni#ersity teacher in Socia Scienceson whether %i"eria is a capitaist country or notK Fhat Eskor Toyo and hiscomrades had to en"a"e was often as eementary as this&

8 country is not capitaist ony when the ma!ority of enterprises therein areor"anised capitaisticay, says Eskor Toyo in one of his unpubishedbooks, *hat s &ocialis!- +%either is a country capitaist ony when thema!ority of persons en"a"ed in money5makin" acti#ity are capitaist& 8country is caed capitaist when the ?rms or"anised capitaisticay, howe#er

few they may be, determine the direction of de#eopment of the economyand the society& 8nd they determine the direction when the poitica system isor"anised in their fa#our-&

)n his book, *age .ree/e in Nigeria written about @3 years a"o, Eskor Toyohad the workin" cass and students in mind when he de?ned e$poitation insimpe but heuristic terms +Fhen in a society a certain "roup of peope cathem 8 occupies a position of poitica, economic or cutura pri#ie"es orad#anta"es o#er another "roup ca them such that the peope in 8 areabe to en!oy an accretion of weath or income to them that ori"inate fromthe e:ort of those in , then 8 is said to be in a position of e$poiter of -&

That was Eskor Toyo e formuated his theses and propositions in such a waythat you must stand and ?"ht or #anish, not run away&

Sociaism is a new democracy, says Eskor Toyo& )n fact, to Eskor Toyo,capitaism is an impediment to democracy& Comrade Professor iodun (eyifo,?rst President of 8S, underined this insistence by Eskor Toyo in hisimmediate tribute when he earnt of the atter.s death& )n a pri#ate hand5written communication to me some years a"o, Eskor Toyo ur"ed Mar$ists to"o back to the basics, namey, that +sociaism is a new democracy based onsocia, that is, non5pri#ate ownership of the means of production anddistribution of income accordin" to socia needs and work ony that is, tothe e$cusion of any other principe& )t is a re"ime where e$poitation basedon the pri#ate ownership of the means of production and distribution is


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aboished-& 8d#ocates of sociaism must ne#er ose si"ht of, or stray from,this foundation&

)n The "orking class and the Nigerian Crisis, a hi"hy poemica but schoarywork written in 1473 durin" the crisis that e#entuay ed to the ?rst coups

and the ci#i war, Comrade Eskor Toyo described the workin" cass as the+#an"uard of the toiin" peope as a whoe-& e "a#e the foowin"substantiation +)n the ?rst pace, workers are or"anised for democracy intheir trade unions, and the trade unions are a powerfu instrument ofstru""e secondy, workers are better educated than the peasant and petit5bour"eois fractions of the poor and toiin" masses, and therefore ha#e, andcan ha#e, a better understandin" of pubic a:airs thirdy, workers are morediscipined, for they i#e their daiy i#es throu"h oDce, workshop or factorydiscipine the type of which neither the peasants nor the poor urbanbour"eois "roups know-&

)n the fourth pace, +workers can unite more easiy on the nationa e#e sincethe ma!or estabishments empoyin" them are nationa in character in the?fth pace, workers can mo#e easiy into action as a cass since owin" to the"rossy une#en de#eopment of the %i"erian economy, the workin" cass isconcentrated in few urban centres which are fairy we inked to"ether bycommunication networks by comparison the peasants are scattered inthousands of cans, #ia"es and isoated petty semi5urban centres throu"houtthe country& )n the si$th pace, workers ha#e an e:ecti#e weapon in thestrike, especiay the "enera strike, and of the use of the ast weapon the%i"erian workin" cass is a past master-&

Eskor Toyo wrote this more than 30 years a"o when he was about @7 yearsod, a hoder of a acheor.s de"ree in Economics by correspondence and aschoo teacher and principa& The thesis reGuires ony minima re#ision today&

Comrade Professor Eskor Toyo presented a paper he tited +*abour Mo#ementand 8d#ance to /emocracy in %i"eria- to the seminar on Ci#i Society andConsoidation of /emocracy in %i"eria or"anised by the )nstitute of PubicPoicy and 8dministration of this ni#ersity in 2000& )n that paper hee$pained that the term +workin" peope embraces a those whose principasources of means of i#eihood are work rather than property income or anyother pri#ie"ed income ike perGuisites of oDce& Such peope are wa"e

workers, peasants or sma farmers, saaried personne, artisans or smabusinessmen and women, and sef5empoyed professionas-& e insists thatthe core cass basis of a sociaist mo#ement is the wa"e workers but he asoe$pains that the +sociaist mo#ement aims at the re5or"anisation of thesociety as a whoe with the workin" peope not the wa"e workers aone asthe owners of the means of production and distribution-&

Be5or"anisation of society as a whoe around a new cass core, the workin"cass core that is what sociaism is, in the sense of Eskor Toyo& 8nd in oursense, aso&

Comrade Eskor Toyo aso pro#ides a simpe but ideoo"ica and heuristicde?nition of the concept of +the peope- or +the common peope- which isfreGuenty empoyed in Mar$ist and sociaist poitics& The concept can be


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distied into three stands economic, socia and poitica& Economicay, the+peope- or the +common peope- means those peope who do not e$poitother peope, but are themse#es e$poited sociay it means those whostand at the owest point of the socia adder and poiticay it means thosewho are competey e$cuded in the "o#ernance of their country& To this ) add,

in#okin" Lar Mar$, that the peope are those who are #ictims not of particuarsocia in!ustices, but of in!ustice in "enera peope who cannot thereforeiberate themse#es without iberatin" society as a whoe&

8s a footnote and to assist youn" researchers ) may insert here that )consider the )denti?cation and Cassi?cation of Socia Casses and istoricaMateriaism, that is, the Mar$ist Theory of istory, as two areas where Eskor

Toyo made the most si"ni?cant contributions to Mar$ism&

)n the eary days of the recent wa#e of capitaist triumphaism and imperiaistprocamation of the death of sociaism or communism, Comrade Professor

Eskor Toyo repeatedy diao"ued with the workin" cass and students, inparticuar, on a #ery simpe sub!ect the #arious ways in which the termsociaism is used, and can be used& )n the ?rst pace, sociaism may be usedto mean the +idea of a modern e$poitation5free society-& Secondy, it may beused to mean the +mo#ement ;that is, or"anisations and "roups< ad#ocatin"such a society-& 8nd thirdy, it may be used to refer to +the system that wasactuay bein" buit- by some countries& The triumphaists deiberatey mi$ upthe #arious senses& Fe must re5possess the distinctions& eyond this, it isimportant to distin"uish between a mo#ement and or"anisations of themo#ement and between or"anisations of a mo#ement and the eaderships ofthese or"anisations& Once you are abe to do these simpe anayses, you

reGuire ony a on" #iew of history and interest in what is happenin" beforeyour #ery eyes to see the "reat deception of the triumphaists&

Our position, the position of the Sociaist Mo#ement of %i"eria on this "obaGuestion can be re5stated before the word )f this panet Earth must bereprie#ed from sef5destruction, if this common homeand must be sa#ed forhumanity, the present oppressi#e and irrationa system caed Capitaismmust be dismanted and repaced throu"h stru""e with a rationa ande$poitation5free system that has "one by the name Sociaism for more than200 years& This repacement is a on" and arduous task that has within itsarticuation the means of sef5criticism, sef5correction and sef5renewa&

I Eskor oyo: / Revolutionary0at0largeEskor Toyo was an itinerant re#outionary, a re#outionary5at5ar"e, mo#in"from South to %orth, East to Fest, campai"nin" for workers. power, popuardemocracy, sociaism& e mo#ed by the cheapest pubic transportation,passin" the ni"hts with comrades or in the cheapest hotes, eatin"proetarian food& e was a ro#in" and tireess teacher, ambassador andcampai"ner of the workin" cass and its aies, incudin" students and youths&

To the best of my knowed"e Eskor Toyo did not miss a sin"e Forkers. May/ay ray and did not fai to address any of such raies from the time ) mysefentered the mo#ement more than 0 years a"o unti he was struck down bya succession of strokes from mid52012& There is no trade union, no federationof abour, no popuardemocratic formation, no anti5staGuo "roup withpro"ressi#e outook in %i"eria that Eskor had not addressed more than once


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in con"ress or in specia conference& e was acti#ey and prominentyin#o#ed in popuar5democratic mass protests, as we as in or"anisedworkers. strikes& e participated in stru""es where bi" "rammar is used, aswe as in stru""es where the state is simutaneousy hed at the throat andthe testices& e was found abo#e "round where the mood and power of the

masses are tested and demonstrated as we as under"round where there#outionary machine rooms are ocated& 8 eader of the 8cademic Sta:nion of ni#ersities ;8S< said that Eskor Toyo i#ed his ife for 8S from aparticuar date to the end of his ife&

) added that, in fact, Eskor i#ed his ife for the workin" cass of %i"eria and itsmo#ement throu"hout his conscious poitica ife&

(eory and olitics of Eskor oyoFhen Comrade Professor Eskor Toyo died as the sun went down anddisappeared on Monday, /ecember >, 2013, ) returned to the 8rchi#es

hodin" his works and works on him& Fhat ) found amaHed me athou"h )paced them there& efore me was a massi#e coection datin" from theeary 1470s to !ust two years a"o made up of books, pamphets, academicpapers, inteectua disGuisitions, mobiisationa papers, pubic ectures,artices, essays and e$tended inter#iews in newspapers and !ournas, Guasi5ecture notes, study notes, persona communications, poitica disputations,party pro"rammes, interna party memoranda, scores and scores ofunpubished manuscripts, etc& Truy intimidated, ) simpy took away !ust onedocument my 144 tribute, )n praise of Eskor Toyo, which was pubished inmy The uardian coumn of (uy 29, 144& ) read that tribute which ) wrote 21years before his death a"ain and a"ain, and concuded that ), in fact, had

nothin" substanti#e to edit, nothin" substanti#e to subtract, but accounts ofmore re#outionary work to add&

Eskor Toyo, a professor of Economics, is an accompished Mar$ist inteectuaand one of the best the word has produced since Ford Far ))& e became aeadin" theoretician and partisan of the workin" cass in %i"eria on" beforehe read for hi"her academic de"rees and became a uni#ersity teacher& ewas a uniGue or"anic inteectua of the workin" cass of %i"eria in the senseof 8ntonio 'ramsci& ) con?rmed this a"ain to mysef on Aebruary 7, 2017when ) re5#isited and istened to his *ar"er Aamiy at Oron&

Fith a on" e$perience as a teacher and administrator in post5primaryschoos in the Fest, in the East and in the %orth of %i"eria, risin" to a schooprincipa, and with "oundin"s in economics, history, socioo"y, anthropoo"y,poitica science, the natura sciences, mathematics and o"ic, and withpractica in#o#ement in proetarian poitics spannin" about 72 years, Eskor

Toyo comes forth as a #ery #aued teacher, e#en when en"a"ed in poemicsa"ainst an opponent within or outside the mo#ement&

Eskor Toyo was to Mar$ist poitics what Nik was to bour"eois poitics a ?rstcass poemicist, merciess and tota& e deat with an opponent as if askin"him or her to shut up for e#er& Some indeed shut up, others said +for whereI-e was ri"orous, but ucid proi?c, but uniformy deep and serious& e was acapti#atin" speaker, an orator& is command and depoyment of the En"ish*an"ua"e "reaty assisted his presentations& *ike Lar Mar$ and adimir


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*enin, he returned his readers, o#er and o#er a"ain, to the fundamentas andike Bosa *u$embour" and *eon Trotsky, he took them throu"h broadhistorica sweeps& Eskor rises to his best, to his most passionate e#e, whendefendin" Sociaism, Mar$ism and the Forkin" Cass&

The ran"e, Guantity and Guaity of Eskor Toyo.s academic and poitica worksare, indeed, prodi"ious& e has authored enou"h books, papers, mono"raphs,essays, artices, ectures and speeches to occupy a research institute oftheoretica and appied Mar$ism& Aor introduction to the Mar$ism of Eskor

Toyo, a researcher may refer to three of his books The *orking Class and theNigerian Crisis ;1473>< and ;149>51440>< and the editor durin" its second appearance ;149>51440


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To e$pain the stru""e between the #arious factions of %i"eria.s ruin"casses, Eskor Toyo takes us back to the concept of primiti#e capitaistaccumuation which he de?nes as the +sum tota of economic and associatedsocia processes by which a capitaist cass emer"es and matures in a

country-& e insists +ness one understands the essence, processes,contradictions, historica pressures and cutura emanations of primiti#ecapitaist accumuation in %i"eria, one cannot make headway inunderstandin" her poitics&-

+)t is not enou"h to be poitica scientists-, he continues& +)t is not enou"h toreco"nise that %i"eria has ethnic "roups, is a neocoony and isunderde#eoped, or e#en that she is rued by a bour"eois cass withunspeci?ed character J&- Eskor Toyo is con#inced that if one does notunderstand that the miitary coups and other poitica con#usions that ha#eshaken %i"eria since independence are crises of the poitics of primiti#e

accumuation in a neo5coonia and muti5ethnic nationa settin"-, his or heranayses and ad#ice either to the "o#ernment or to the opposition wi beuseess&

Fere Eskor Toyo ai#e and conscious today, he woud ha#e responded to thecurrent +war on corruption- in simiar terms, namey, that the ne$t "enerationwi witness another war on corruption !ust ike the ast one and the onebefore it uness the probem is tacked from the roots& Put e$picity Fe mustapprehend the connection between the department of corruption now bein"fou"ht the department which ) mysef in 1492 caed the Poitica Economyof State Bobbery and Primiti#e Capitaist 8ccumuation, which some

Mar$ists aso ca Primary Capitaist 8ccumuation& This is where the %i"erianSociaist Mo#ement is summoned by istory to formuate that ink and enterthe current batte as an independent or"anised poitica force and not asindi#idua cheer eaders&

Once one "rasps Eskor Toyo.s thesis on the ink between primiti#e capitaistaccumuation, state robbery and the poitica crises, one wi be abe tounderstand why he did not re"ard the nationa Guestion or ethnicity as anindependent phenomenon, but rather insisted on the buidin" of are#outionary workers. party whether the state appro#es of it or not andenterin" the poitica stru""e with it under the banner Forkers. Power,

Popuar /emocracy, Sociaism& This proposition is cear, bod and serious&Besponses to it whether in a"reement, in disa"reement or in modi?cation shoud aso be at that e#e& That is the demand of Comrade Eskor Toyo.sre#outionary herita"e&

) wish to say, with a seriousness, and in tribute to Comrade Eskor Toyo thathis theses on the %ationa Question, amon" some other important Guestions,reGuire responses, robust responses and bod discussions, the type ofdiscussions that adimir *enin and Bosa *u$embour" initiated !ust before theAirst Ford Far but which the "oba *eft a"ain ne"ected after the BussianBe#outionJ ony to pay a #ery hea#y priHe for that ne"ect from the ate1490s& The %i"erian Mar$ist *eft is sti timid before the %ationa Question,afraid to discuss it, et aone take a concrete rather than abstract, position onit&


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I Eskor oyo and Intra01rou# Struggle That Comrade Eskor Toyo abhorred factionaism in Forkers and SociaistMo#ement does not mean that he shied away from ine#itabe and oftennecessary interna stru""es which ironicay coud ony end in factionaisation

or iGuidation of one or both sides of a dispute& Eskor Toyo wa"ed internabattes, epic battes, in his on" re#outionary career& ut his positions wereaways cear and principed, and, of course, aways articuatey andpassionatey ar"ued& 8nd he respected principed positions and ar"umentse#en when he was in disa"reement& =ou cannot earn Eskor.s respect simpyby supportin" him& That was one of his stren"ths& 8nd the Forkers. andSociaist Mo#ements bene?tted immensey from that attribute it pre#ented,in particuar, the emer"ence of what in the history of re#oution is caed the+cut of personaity- either around him or a"ainst him& Our history shows howdama"in" to the stru""e the +cut of personaity- coud be& 8nd, con#ersey,how hepfu its absence coud aso be& ) de?ne the +cut of personaity- simpy

as fanatica hero5worshippin", automatic support that rues out, ab initio, theneed for debate, the possibiity of error& The %i"erian Sociaist Mo#ement isfortunate that Comrade Eskor Toyo ne#er attracted that phenomenon, astowerin" as he was& *et me pro#ide a factua iustration&

The Caabar 'roup of Sociaists ;C'S< was formed in 8u"ust 14>> by ei"htre#outionary sociaists ;four inteectuas and four workers with #aryin"back"rounds and e$periences


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etween that epic stru""e of %o#ember 14>> to 8pri 14>9 and his deaththree months a"o a period of @> years Comrade Eskor Toyo wa"ed manyinterna stru""es but attracted no +cut of personaity- either around ora"ainst himsef& This was e$tra5ordinary for a re#outionary of his staturein6uentia, committed and deepy respected& Arom history we ha#e aso earnt

that he had a simiar record in his earier days before Caabar, before theCi#i Far&

II Eskor oyo and 2istory of t(e Socialist Movement)n the ast decade of his ife, Comrade Eskor turned some attention to aspectsof the history of the *eft *abour, Forkers. and Sociaist Mo#ement& ecompeted se#era manuscripts some of which are autobio"raphica, othersreati#ey detached, but a rich, thou"h combati#e& *ast month at theObafemi 8woowo ni#ersity, )e5)fe, durin" the >0th irthday 8nni#ersaryConference in honour of Comrade Professor iodun (eyifo, ) renewed the caon *eftist inteectuas to start researchin", coatin" and writin" the history of

their mo#ement& They shoud start by puttin" to"ether materias that e$isttoday, incudin" Eskor.s manuscripts& They shoud not aow the ruin" cassesand those they sponsor to write their own history and then write ours& ) amrepeatin" that ca here in the name of Comrade Eskor Toyo&

III Eskor oyo: 3n t(e nature of Mar-ism+8s far as science is concernedJ the essence of Mar$ ies in his method,-Comrade Eskor said in a re#iew of an essay on Mar$ian Sociaism many yearsa"o& +is propositions are otherwise empirica propositions to be uphed orfasi?ed by e$perience& is paradi"m o#era theoretica #iew and method,that is, o#era approach is powerfu and the best in socia science J& ut the

correctness of the paradi"m does not #aidate e#ery particuar propositionassociated with it-& ) added on the mar"in Or ese, Mar$ism becomes arei"ion, which it is not&

I4 Eskor oyo: / 5ialectical Criti'ue)n pri#ate ife, Comrade Eskor Toyo was strict, but humane, humorous, and"enerous within the imits of his austere circumstances& )n internare#outionary poitics, he often appeared o#erbearin" and intimidatin", butthis arose not from so5caed natura incination, but from a combination offactors incudin" his inteectua con?dence and poitica bodness, ourmo#ement.s defecti#e or"anisationa structure, with no cear ines between

or"ans accordin" to the principes of democratic centraism, and sometimesthe timidity of others in the face of a repressi#e state apparatus and a #iciouscass enemy&

ecause he was such a knowed"eabe man, disa"reements with ComradeEskor Toyo were, some of the time, reso#abe, not in theory, but in practice&ecause he ooked and saw #ery far in both directions he sometimesmissed the contradictions !ust before him& ut Comrade Eskor Eskor Toyo wasindeed an outstandin" and e$ceptiona Mar$ist and Be#outionary Sociaist&is commitment to the utimate eimination of oppression from the face ofthe Earth throu"h stru""e ne#er wa#ered and his faith in the Forkin"Cass and Forkin" Peope as #an"uard a"encies for that eimination ne#erdecined&


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4 Eskor oyo: 5e#arting Message+)n the ?na anaysis-, Eskor Toyo tod me in a pri#ate communication, +wemust remember that history does not "uarantee anythin"& )t ony opens uppossibiities which become actuaities throu"h stru""e-&

madunagu, edwin (2016) eskor toyo and the struggle for the working peoples

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