NIGERIAN SOCIALISTS
Ibadan
At a time when the crisis in Nigeria is deepening and the country stands on the brink of civil war, the Nigerian socialist movement suffered a grievous loss with the death of J.0.B.Omotosho on May 20.
J.0.B. as he was known to his friends and comrades was the founder and first editor of Advance, "The Nigerian Workers Newspaper." He was on the editorial board of Nigerian Socialist. He was president of the Nigerian Union of Democratic Journalists; and legal advisor to many trade unions, to the Nigerian Tenants Association and other peoples organizations.
J.O.B.Omotosho was killed in an automobile accident on the Ibadan-Lagos road. He was 48. His funeral was held on May 27 at Ipoti-Ekiti where he was the inspirer and organizer of a large collective farm and development project. His program of peasant organization was just
gathering momentum in the western region.
J.0O.B.Omotosho was an attorney
by profession, and was always to be found
defending poor peasants, workers and
those under attack by the government.
He was the advocate for Dr. Victor
Allen and others against false charges of
sedition and treason and was the attorney
who saved the life of Celestine Bassong,
a fighter of the Union des Populations du
Cameroun [Popular Union of the Cameroons],
who would have been sent to a firing squad
in the Republic of Cameroun.
At the time of his death, J.0O.B.
was a member of the Nigerian Academy of
Scientific and Technical Workers. His
last paper before that body was a bril-
liant piece on "Marxist Attitude to Law
in Developing Nations."
His death is a tragic loss to the
peoples and socialist movements.
THE "CULTURAL REVOLUTION" AND THE JAPANESE LEFT
By S. Okatani
Outside of China itself, the "cultural revolution" has had its greatest impact in Japan. This is not surprising, since Japan, for more than a thousand years has been under the cultural influence of China. Chinese characters are still in use in the language; and the ethical and moral precepts of Confucianism have left as deep an imprint on cultural traditions as Puritanism has in England and North America.
In academic circles, interest has been especially high. A symposium of leading "sinologists" on "The Era of the Mao Dynasty," attracted widespread attention. Among the participants was Professor Shigeo Kaizuka, a dedicated Maoist and author of Mao's biography.
One of Japan's leading physicists, Shorthi Sakata, known internationally for his work in nuclear research, caused a sensation when he stated that the young Chinese physicists would soon lead the worsd because they followed the teachings of O.
Effect Upon the Japanese Communist Party
But the most important effect of the "