Capitalism has failed Nigeria, we must urgently embrace socialism — Hassan Soweto
In this interview with OLAMIDE FRANCIS, the national youth leader of the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) and member of the national executive committee of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), Comrade Hassan Taiwo Soweto, speaks to Daily Times on the need for Nigeria to shift from Capitalism to Socialism, the labour movement in Nigeria, Nigeria at 60 and other national issues.
Why SPN is centered around a shift from capitalism to socialism in all spheres? How has the party drafted out such agenda and why do they think it is the ultimate panacea for our ailing country?
The emergence is both a product of the economic and political development in Nigeria as well as on a global scale. What I mean is, what is happening in Nigeria and the world at large shows that capitalism as a socio-economic system doesn’t portray the interest of the collective. We reached the conclusion that public resources should be for the furtherance of the welfare of the masses. We agreed that there is a need to have a political party that stands clearly for socialism; to be formed and built for revolutionary change in the situation of things.
We had to take the decision because of the unfortunate reluctance of the leadership of the labour movement in Nigeria over the past decades to take this important step of forming a party for the ‘working class’. There have been several attempts to do this since 1989 when the Nigeria Labour Party was formed for a few months before it became defunct, after which there was another attempt under the Oshiomhole leadership in the early 2000s. It was subtly formed as what we now know as Labour party.
To our uttermost surprise, what we saw was that the Labour party was only ‘Labour’ in name, but in terms of its manifesto and what is stood for politically, it was more of a second eleven to the parties of the rich. This is why the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) took it upon itself to form a socialist party, not as an answer to the need for a workers’ party but as a step towards that direction.
We think that forming the SPN will serve as a template for the kind of political party required to begin to organise the ‘working class’ and youths to take political power in their own hands and begin to change the way society is being run.
Is SPN a party aimed at challenging for power or it is a mere advocacy organisation for the ‘working class’?
SPN is a broad political formation with socialism as its guiding philosophy and program. It has a single aim; to organise the ‘working class’ and youths’ to take political power into their own hands and begin to run Nigeria in the interest of the mass majority.
Do you think that the only available solution to our woes as a nation is to utterly reject capitalism and completely embrace socialism or an improvement on our capitalist system?
All points indicate that we need a total turn around. The current COVID-19 pandemic has further shown us why capitalism is a dead-end for humanity and why conversations around reforming capitalism are out of place at this crucial time. The capitalist system – which is based on profit – ensures that the most basic amenities to ensure the safety of humanity and a better life are rather not provided or provided in a way that it is only available to a minority of the population so that in case of national emergency like the Coronavirus pandemic, there won’t be a health system to absorb the crisis.
That isn’t just the case, if you remember a few years ago, there was a victory in Greece where a left-leaning party – Syriza – rose to power. The party came to power based on the anger and agitation of the ‘working class’.
Unfortunately, the party later abandoned the radical programme that ushered them into power and turned to capitalism in an attempt to reform it instead of breaking away from it. What we had at the end of the day was a situation where the Syriza as a political party, moved away from those radical and revolutionary programs that the party was known for. Today, the Greek economy, youths’, poor, oppressed and ‘working class’ is worse for it.
This example shows that for us in Africa, our starting point cannot be this failed example in an attempt to repair capitalism in an age where capitalism has largely exhausted its potential to further develop productive forces. Our starting point, not just in Africa, but for all working people across the world who have learnt the lessons of other countries where the working masses have tried to make changes but the leadership of the ‘working class’, instead of expressing the hopes and aspirations of these working people, tried to manage or reform capitalism is the 1917 October Socialist Revolution in Russia.
The lesson that should be learnt is that capitalism cannot be reformed. What we need is to start a revolutionary process that puts the wealth of society in the hands of the working people and begin to use it to provide for the needs of the mass majority – this is a process that leads away from capitalism towards socialism. That is the focal point of the Socialist Party of Nigeria; a party that understands the need of Nigeria. More of capitalism or less of it will not do the job, but rather a move away, a complete turnaround, a revolution, economically and politically, with the ‘working class’ coming into power, to form workers and poor people’s government, which will take steps to begin to reverse all the liberal policies of the past regime, including the privatisation of our collective wealth across all sectors to be entrusted in the hands of the state and under democratic workers’ control and management.
This is the only thing that will ensure that the wealth of Nigeria in the hands of the few is taken away, expropriation of the big monopolies with compensation paid only on the basis of proven needs; that is the starting point of the socialist movement under which we can be sure that the resources of this country is utilised to create the best of life for everyone. This is what the SPN stands for as a political party.
What’s the certainty that what we saw in Greece won’t repeat itself if the SPN takes a hold of power? And do you think your party has the structure to take power and retain the socialist ideology?
To be candid, the SPN isn’t yet at a position where we can boldly say it has an adequate structure to be able to do what it aims to do. We are still completely far away from that. We don’t yet have the support of the majority and backing of the ‘working class’ and oppressed masses. Also, the membership of the party is still very small. These are the realities of a party like the SPN today.
However, the situation of things can change quickly on the basis of a sharp turn of events in the political and economic situation of things, especially the current period we’re currently going through, where people are getting angry about the anti-poor policies of the government, like the increase in electricity tariff and hike in fuel. The government came in years ago with a promise of change but has succeeded in doing otherwise.
These waves of anger are part of the material conditions upon which a party like the SPN can grow in leaps and bounds from a few hundred members to tens of thousands of members with a bigger prominence in the media with huge followership. All these that I’ve mentioned are supposed to be the role of the labour movement.
The labour movement has the highest concentration of the ‘working class’ in Nigeria. The workers at the base of the labour movement are quite radical and always open to revolutionary ideas but the leadership is mostly very reactionary, pro-state and bureaucratic. Because of this, the movement has incessantly been held down and not allowed to move in the direction where it ought to move.
If the labour movement decides to adopt a party like the SPN; a political party that best expresses the desires and aspirations of the working people for a better society, we’ll be talking about a party with automatic membership of hundreds of thousands. And that will put us in a stronger position to move towards the direction of taking political power when the conditions are ripe for it.
So, it is still a long process. The time cannot be ascertained. We could say it would be short and then it takes longer. It depends on how we can ride on the sharp turnings of events. This is what a pre-revolutionary and revolutionary situation is, similar to elements of what we have had in Greece. The same situation almost happened in the UK with Jeremy Corbyn and in the US with Bernie Sanders. Such a situation can accelerate the historical development of what we thought could take decades to happen in a short time. What is certain is that the increasing contradiction of the capitalist system will make people search for alternatives. With a party like ours, we can leverage on that. We will build consistently until out time come.
The lesson we’ve learned from Greece is not to attempt to reform the capitalist system. They tried it in Greece and it led to the fall of the party in Greece. We can also take a cue from other revolutionary movements, like the 2011 Arab Spring, a movement fervent enough to topple a decade-old dictatorship in Tunisia, Egypt and other places. These movements showed the revolutionary potentials of the ‘working class’ everywhere, not just in the advanced capitalist countries, but also in the colonial world.
Another lesson we learned was that if the ‘working class’ isn’t organised in terms of its program and structure in a struggle to liberate itself, then, it is likely going to get duped at the end of the day. What we saw in Egypt was not the fall of the capitalist system, but rather a regime change due to the fact that the ‘working class’ didn’t have a vehicle to challenge for power. It was the capitalists in military attire who rode on the mass movement to bring themselves to power.
Something similar happened in Nigeria too during the anti-military struggles in the 90s. The students and ‘working class’ for decades fought against the military, but when it finally came to fall in 1999, they lacked the effective organisation to leverage on the collapse of the military system. This failure of organisation made the civilian wing of the capitalist take power for themselves.
They looked like they were fighting for the ‘working class’ but they were the military government in civilian uniform. That’s why since 1999 when we began a fresh start to civil rule, much more oppressive programs have been launched on the people than we have seen in the military era. So much so that many have looked back to say that Nigeria was better off with the khaki boys. The implications are what we still face today where we continue to see the succession of government who have continued to unleash pains on the masses. This is what happened in the Arab spring.
Only the ‘working class’ have the aspiration to hold political power without exploitation. Any other class will continue to exploit the people and the ‘working class’ will continue to experience hostile and anti-poor policies.
Nigeria is philosophically deficient. Beyond the physical change, we need a change of mindset too. How can that be achieved?
The point is of consciousness building. It is the work of political parties, political organisations and the labour movement. It’s an issue of politically educating the ‘working class’ to fight for their rights. It’s the process of breaking the political prejudices that have been formed in the mind of the ‘working class’ to create a new being. It will not be a straight forward movement where everyone will come to the conclusion at the same time that ‘now we are a new being, no greed, no selfishness, we are all committed to the struggle to bring forth a new society.’ It will never be so.
For example, in the Russian revolution of October 1917, we learned from John Reed’s account in “10 days that shook the world” how the red guards penetrated the fortress of the winter palace which was the seat of the Tsars in Russia. The winter palace, after the fall of the Tsars, became the seat of government of the Kekrensky and co who were moderate socialist and were in charge of political power from February when the Tsarism fell. In this account, the red guards gained entry, toured the palace and were bewildered by the concentration of wealth in those edifices including gold, artifacts, trinkets, and other substance the long-suffering Russian masses didn’t know existed. At some point some started to loot, but it is to the eternal glory of the Russian October revolution especially from the existence of workers’ democracy that it had the capacity to correct itself from within to avoid been soiled. The lootets were stopped, the treasures retrieved in and they became the property of the Russian people and was protected. Any attempt to loot it became a crime to the Russian people itself. An inventory of all items found was also taken for preservation and accountability.
Under the furnace of a revolution, a new humanity will grow and will unite Nigeria on the basis of programs to ensure that the collective wealth of the people is utilised for the good and interest of all.
How far is SPN to realise the goal of the masses and these things you mention?
It’s hard to say. One will have to be a soothsayer to put a date to something as a revolution. There are so many factors, objective and subjective, that gives birth a revolution, all of which we cannot predict how they can come together at a particular stage. But we can say that capitalism as an economic system – upon which the Nigerian ruling elite have based themselves – is completely failed, rotten, and has completely exhausted its potential. It has failed to push humanity forward, not just here but from all over the world.
It is like a collapsing edifice that will fall at some point. Its fall can also be accelerated if the workers’ movement get their acts together and express the real state of mind and aspirations of its members. The leadership needs to be rebuilt and replaced by militant trade unionists who understand the ideas of Marxism and are ready to lead the struggle of the ‘working class’, not just for its economic interest but also for political changes in the way things are being run.
We must begin to build a mass workers’ party. There is no need to postponed this to the foreseeable future. The situation Nigeria is today requires that the labour movement come together, call a conference of everyone interested in a revolutionary change in Nigeria to see how we can build a mass workers’ political party in the interest of the masses, not just to vie for political positions in elections but also to lead the working masses in a joint struggle to overcome capitalism.
If all these things are provided; a militant trade union leadership, a mass workers’ party armed with socialist programs, then, we will be ready for a successful outburst at any time. The objective situation is ripe to the extent that a little push will bring the capitalist system crashing down. Based on these factors, the socialist movement can ride on the basis of the movement of the masses to come into power. I urge all socialist to keep on working. We cannot predict when the revolution will come exactly, but we must not stop working and continue to prepare our forces.
Nigeria’s population comprises of Youth. How is SPN running a youth inclusive party?
The SPN has always been a youth-centric party in terms of the composition of its membership and leadership. Apart from being the national youth leader, the acting national chairperson of the party is a youth and many other members of the national executive of the party. But it is not to say we debar those who aren’t youth. For us, the major basis of the membership of the party and taking roles or responsivities in the party is to understand what the party stands for, then, a commitment and readiness to be forward when the party calls.
We understand that any political party that’ll succeed based on the current population of the country must have an orientation toward the youths. Every one of our programs is targeted at ensuring that young people realise that they have a role to play in the struggle to rescue Nigeria. That’s why the SPN always has a role to play in every struggle of the youths’ especially students to play a part. If we continue this way, we would be able to attract more young people into the party.
As we attract young people, we are also deepening our internal mechanism of political education to ensure that as young people come to the party, they come under the influence of our different ideas and programs so that they can become energetic organisers and agitators for the party, since the attribute of youths’ today is the energy and enthusiasm they attach to whatever they believe in. Such courage and interest young people infuse in what they do is what we need as a party that is seeking to bring a revolutionary change. So, we cannot neglect the need to include young people in our programs.
Is the SPN playing any role in the Edo and Ondo elections?
No. We don’t have an organised presence in Edo and Ondo states.
How do you intend to sell to the youths’ that PDP and APC are not the only functional parties in Nigeria?
There are no two ways about it, we have to keep on talking and preaching like I am doing now. We have to double-up with publicity. Educate the people and help them draw conclusions from what is happening across the country in terms of political and economic development. We have to keep organising our meeting and holding public events both online and offline to ensure that our message reaches every nook and cranny of the country and a vast majority of the youths.
Through all of these, alongside the reality of the failure of the capitalist system, people will eventually draw conclusions – it might not be at the same time – as long as they can see for themselves. We can see a lot of people today ready to oppose and resist the Buhari regime, but some years ago they were campaigning for the regime as a representation of the best thing that will ever happen to Nigeria. Six years after, many of those illusions have been broken. The majority of those still in the illusion are beneficiaries of the government or are been paid as social media influencers to put forward some of these opinions. We can see that their words no longer excite people again. We can’t say that six years isn’t enough to demonstrate a meaningful thing.
That, for me, is a clear sign that the reality of the Nigerian situation and the capitalist system will prove that we have been saying the same thing all along. When their eyes ate opened, they’ll eventually turn to us. So, we must keep building and talking. Consistency and sticking to what we know to be true is vital.
What’s your thought on Nigeria at 60?
For the ruling elites, the occasion of our sixtieth anniversary will be a day of false celebration of non-existent progress, non-existent nationhood, a non-existent unity, and non-existent peace. They will celebrate because they desperately need to celebrate something. It is evident that all of their promises to the people have turned to dust.
Unfortunately for them, a lot of people have woken up to the reality that they just want to celebrate something to give themselves a non-existent joy. It’s quite unfortunate that nobody can deprive them of the right to deceive themselves. it’s a typical characteristic of ruling elites that in the time of uttermost disaster, they are skillful at finding something for themselves to take their minds off the problem the people are facing and give themselves a sense of false security that nothing is happening. When Rome was burning, Emperor Nero was playing music. This is still something that happens with many oppressive leaders today. That’s why they’re always surprised when a sudden change happens and they are suddenly out of power.
My advice is directed to workers’ and the youths’. Let’s get our act together. We need to use this sixtieth anniversary to pledge not only to Nigeria but to our interest as a class; to say that on the sixtieth anniversary of this country, we will begin the process of organising and mobilising ourselves, no matter how long it’ll take, to fight and bring down this fortress of exploitation and oppression, and bring forth a new Nigeria upon which the collective wealth of this country can be utilised for the interest of all.
We must also pledge to not be weighed down by any obstacle until it is achieved. To transform our organisations and institutions to play the role that will birth the change we truly need. To act on the basis and example that we’ve seen of our brothers and sisters across the world over the past decades and centuries. This should be the vow the workers’ and our youth should take on the occasion of our sixtieth anniversary.
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