A group, the Big Tent Coalition has begun mobilization towards registering at least 10 million people in the Labour Party within the next six weeks.
The Big Tent convener, Prof Pat Utomi said the move is to checkmate what he said is Nigerians dangerous slide as a consequence of the 2023 flawed general elections and the concomitant actions of the clueless APC leadership.
According to the group, “the Big Tent Coalition wishes to alert Nigerians that it is now clear that the nation is in imminent danger of collapse if men of good will do not recognize strong institutions, the values of a society, and the quality of the human capital, as central to sustainable progress.
“We are alarmed that the leadership of both APC and PDP continue to act with disregard for the people and see the arena of politics as the domain of plunder as evidence is clear from the decisions of the national assembly in the new dispensation.”
“The Leadership of The Big-Tent, an umbrella body of professionals, civil society organizations, activists and Nigerians passionate for change but who do not ordinarily want to be in political parties which was convened in 2022, to boost the third force, that was being driven by the NCFront and the new Fabian society of the old concerned professionals, under the leadership of Professor Pat Utomi, in its recent meeting agreed that the time is now for massive mobilisation of Nigerians who care for a new order, in the face of the very obvious failings of the PDP, APC and even their attempts to rig elections in what many consider a coup d’état in Nigeria by other means in 2023.
Addressing the Leadership of the BigTent across the country, Professor Utomi said that “since the new order was inaugurated (on May 29) and in the careless decisions of the Government at the centre regarding the welfare, the well-being of the people as inflation hits the roof, they are distracted trying to crush coups in other countries, largely because they are afraid that people will realize that they too carried out a coup in Nigeria.”
“The Big Tent leadership members both at home and in the diaspora therefore called for a massive registration of Big Tent members in Labour Party so that the Labour Party platform can be energized as the authentic platform for rescuing the country.
“Prof. Utomi pointed to similar periods in British history when a group of intellectuals founded the Fabian Society, articulated Fabian socialism, founded the British Labour Party and the London School of Economics as platforms for rescuing Britain from the ills of laissez-faire capitalism.
“The leaders of the Big Tent agreed at the meeting that massive grassroots efforts using both the http://www.assembled.com platform, the physical coordinators of the Big Tent at the Local Governments, ward and unit levels should over the next six weeks strive to register at least 10 million people in the Labour Party. The meeting also agreed that social enterprise initiatives that can create jobs for members and create platforms for entrepreneurial support for members should be used to set example of the type of peoples’ capitalism that Labour Party government will engender, to move people rapidly from consumption to production.
“It is this production at the grassroot level to feed local industry and for exports with value added that will ensure that the exchange rate improves, inflation slows down and the quality of life of all citizens go up.
“Prof. Utomi stated that adequate preparations have been made for seamless collaboration between the Big-Tent and the Labour Party Chairman’s office whose combined efforts will provide the needed strong structure especially when effectively coordinated with the political commissions of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the network of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria.
“Prof Utomi assured the group that there is no room for going back because the consequences for Nigeria and for the next generation are too dire to even contemplate. He called on all the coordinators at every level to immediately activate stake holder meetings across the country for the purpose of engaging in finding both policy solutions and citizen involvement in solving the problems of Nigeria.
“He also enjoined all relevant stakeholders to create the kind of political Party structure that mobilizes citizens, educates them on citizens’ rights and duties and gives them a voice in deciding how the country travels with a strong commitment to elections being free and fair for the purpose of the upliftment of the people and the common good of all.
“The Big Tent convener, Prof Pat Utomi also used the ocassion to extol national icons who stood out in being focused on the future of Nigeria rather than distracting sentiments during the course of the 2023 elections. These include Chief Ayo Adebanjo, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mr Atedo Peterside, and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, amongst so many others.
According to Professor Utomi, “Nigeria will be liberated when people run away from the trap of emotions, and the gap between us and them generated by these emotions.”
