Introduction 

For the Brazilian bourgeoisie, the economy is not in dispute in the elections: whoever wins will confront the problems of neoliberalism with more neoliberalism.

Let us begin by quickly recalling two bits of Nigeria’s recent history. First, at the close of 1983, a military junta overthrew and supplanted the elected civilian government of Shehu Shagari, the first and only president of Nigeria’s Second Republic (1979-1983).

This is not the old style political colonialism, but the one we call “commercial colonialism”: the control exercised by powerful foreign (mainly Western and Chinese) commercial and financial interests across Africa.

We are lucky and very fortunate that the members of the ruling class are fighting among themselves – conspicuously at the national level, which has percolated through to the states of the federation.

On 30 July 2018, Zimbabweans went for the much-awaited harmonised elections after the removal of Robert Mugabe from power by the 18 November 2017 revolution.

I cannot now remember exactly how I first encountered this phrase: “In defence of history”. But I think it was during my days on the Editorial Board of The Guardian newspaper, between mid-1980s and mid-1990s.

Early in the morning of Thursday, 9 August—about 48 hours after armed detachments of Nigeria’s Secret Service operatives took over the National Assembly complex in Abuja—I sent a text message to a number of activist Nigerian Leftists.

Dear Mr. President,

I am addressing this open letter to you as a citizen by birth of this great country Uganda!

Introduction