THE death of Prof. Eskor Toyo, a renowned Marxist scholar, economist, polemicist, labour activist and great thinker, has robbed the nation of one of its brightest minds. He belonged to the tribe of Nigerian socialists and intellectuals who committed their lives to the struggle to enthrone social justice and equity in the country through the revolutionary doctrines of Karl Marx. His contemporaries in the Marxist movement in Nigeria include the now deceased Dr. Bala Usman, Prof. Ikenna Nzimiro, Prof. Claude Ake and Comrade Ola Oni.
Since his demise on December 7, many Nigerians have eulogised Toyo for his uncommon commitment to the Nigerian masses. In a tribute to his departed colleague, Marxist scholar, Prof. Edwin Madunagu, said that Prof. Toyo belonged to a biological family but his primary family was the working people of Nigeria and the masses.
Similarly, the acting President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Peter Adeyemi, said that the deceased was a key ally of the movement who participated actively in mobilising Nigerians against oppression for decades. He worked with Nigerian labour leaders to organise strikes and other mass actions against the British colonial government in the struggle for the nation’s independence.
Many of those who have paid tribute to the late scholar affirmed that Toyo lived a life of sacrifice for the general good of the society. All his life, he advocated better conditions of service for Nigerian workers. He lived and died a consistent leftist.
Born in 1929 as Asuquo Ita, in Oron, Akwa Ibom State, the deceased had his early education in Oron, Calabar and Lagos.
Toyo passed the Cambridge School Certificate in 1945 in Grade One. He also passed the Cambridge Higher School Certificate. He got a Diploma in Public Administration and BSc in Economics from the University of London.
Later, he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in National Economic Planning, MSc in Economics and PhD in Economics from the University of Poland. His PhD thesis, “Macroeconomic Analysis of Marx and Keynes,” was published in 1977 by the Polish Scientific Publishers.
Prior to his going into academics, Toyo worked briefly as the Planning Manager, and Labour and Staff Manager, in Lever Broth- ers Nigeria and Manager, Supply and Distribution, for Esso West Africa.
He had taught Economics in Europe and Nigeria and was the Head of Department of Economics in the Universities of Maiduguri and Calabar at dif- ferent times. Toyo was a national trustee of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for nearly two decades as well as the Vice President of the Nigerian Economics Society (NES).
He was also a consultant on economic issues to several Nigerian agencies, including the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), and the Ghanaian government. He was highly instrumental to the formation of pro-people political parties in the country, especially the Labour Party.
Toyo was also a champion of progressive politics. He published many remarkable articles on Economics and Society in learned journals, books and other periodicals and also presented brilliant papers at many conferences.
No doubt, Toyo was a commit- ted Nigerian patriot and Marxist. He was unreservedly committed to doing whatever he felt was best for the country. We urge the government to immortalise this departed great thinker. Let our academicians and politicians emulate his shining example for a better Nigerian society.
We join Nigerian leftists to mourn the passing away of this great Nigerian and commiserate with his family on the irreparable loss. May God grant him sweet repose.
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