By VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

UNITED Action for Democracy, UAD, has urged Nigerians to brace up for a ceaseless struggle in 2015 against austerity measures that could worsen the already excruciating burden of the working people, women and youth.

UAD, in a New Year message by Baba Aye, its National Convener, saluted the courage and perseverance of Nigerians who lived through this tumultuous year.

He said: “We equally remember those martyred by the debilitating state of existence in the country, including the victims of the ongoing war in north-eastern Nigeria.

“However, it is not for us to weep or agonise. The unfolding moment is one that calls for us to organise, organise and organise.

“It is only through struggle that we can overcome the state of hopelessness that the ruling elite in Nigeria is keen on throwing the immense majority of the country’s population into.

“If we rest on our oars, all hope is indeed lost. But if we dare to struggle, we dare to win.

We, the Nigerian people, must not allow ourselves to be fooled by politicians who seek to mobilize us around ethnic, religious and other mundane lines, when their sole aim is to retain or seize power.

“Our struggle in 2015 must be based on a concrete understanding of concrete reality with programmatic demands and mass action.

“UAD, as the pan-Nigerian coalition of pro-poor people civil society organisations, with a rich history of fighting against oppression and for democratization that prioritizes system change, will wage ceaseless struggle against austerity measures that could worsen the already excruciating burden of the working people, women and youth.

“We will work closely with organisations of workers, the urban poor, exploited rural folks and other change-seeking Nigerians to ensure that we are not made to bear the brunt of the economic cataclysm, which the bosses and their governments have plunged society into.”