Kehinde BAMIGBETAN

Description

WUSME AMBASSADOR IN NIGERIA

In 2007, Kehinde Bamigbetan developed a syndicalist movement in the suburban town of Ejigbo in the megacity called Lagos, Nigeria. It involved the weaving together of over 21 craft and tradesmen associations to use their unity to intervene in the governmental process. The local governments rely on revenue items such as shop rates, tenement rates, trade permits, tolls and levies. Most of these are paid for by members of the craft and tradesmen associations. Called the Professionals and Marketers Association, PMA, this association became the platform to engage the local government. Although Bamigbetan later ran for and was elected the executive chairman of the local government , this only created a better disposition to the association by the government. For instance, when the local government announced shop rates of N5,000 (100 dollars) in 2010, the association negotiated and persuaded the administration to reduce it to 3,500, about 70 dollars. The platform was also able to convince the local government to extend its social welfare programmes such as sponsorship of students for international examinations to the members. Equally, the association partnered with the government to ensure the direct contracting of projects such as the benches for pupils and school uniforms to the carpenters and the tailors in its fold. His experiment with syndicalism has encouraged his interest in the aims and objectives of the WUSME. Bamigbetan’s approach emerged from his pro-socialist background which sees the working-class, farmers and their allies as the driving forces of social change. He has to his credit, a book, “Teacher, Don’t Teach me Nonsense” and several publications in the public domain. Born March. 30, 1965, bamigbetan holds a bachelor’s in History & Political Science of the University of IFE and a Master’s in Political Science of the university of Lagos, Nigeria