A country stupendously rich in human and material resources on the world scale is virtually on the last scale of ladder of civilization and economic development.
Left alone to imperialist/capitalist analysts, Africa and Nigeria’s economy in particular are passing through the best of time. For instance, the Financial Times of London in its November 23, 2011 special edition on Nigeria reports: "African economies have been growing at their fastest pace in generations. For the most part, they resisted the global downturn better than expected. Since 2000, Nigeria’s economy, the second largest in sub-Saharan Africa, has quadrupled in size".
The same tune of "good time for Africa" was equally echoed by the Sunday Times of London in its February 26, 2012 edition: "The scale and extent of Africa’s economic boom is unprecedented – albeit from a barrel-scrapingly low base. Over the last decade, six of the world’s 10 fastest-growing countries were African. In eight of the last 10 years, Africa’s lion states have grown faster than Asia’s tigers. The fastest-growing economy in the world last year was Ghana – at a whopping 13% compared with barely 1% in most European countries and just over 1% in America. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Africa to grow by nearly 6% this year, the same as last year, with average income in economic leaders such as Nigeria expected to triple by 2030".
In the same vein, relevant authorities in Nigeria have for long been parading fictions as statistics, displaying figures that tend to suggest that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been growing between 7% and 8% per annum for almost one decade up till now. After a brief period of decline, partly due to the ongoing global economic recession and the armed agitations by the Niger-Delta militia for a bigger share of the oil wealth being extracted from the region, Nigeria’s crude oil production now peaks at about 2.68 million barrel per day (BPD).
However, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its latest report released in early February 2012, revealed a rather unflattering side of Nigeria’s supposed "good time". The report found that almost 100 million Nigerians were living in absolute poverty, that is to say, on less than a $1 a day in 2010. Assuming a population of about 150 million, the report said about 112.47million Nigerians were recorded to be living below poverty line during the period under review. The proportions of the extremely poor, moderately poor and non-poor Nigerians were 38.7 percent, 30.3 percent and 31 percent respectively in 2010. Poverty projection for 2011, ignoring any possible government palliatives, was set to rise further. The NBS report makes it quite clear that with more and more Nigerians being sucked into poverty, a second mishap is also waxing stronger – the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. This income inequality can be seen from consumption patterns. The top 10 percent income earners were responsible for about 43 percent of total consumption expenditure; the top 20 percent were responsible for about 59 percent of total consumption expenditure and the top 40 percent were responsible for about 80 percent of total consumption expenditure.
Despite holding the world’s 7th largest gas reserves which could be used to generate abundant power, Nigeria only produces enough electricity to power a medium-sized European city. More than half of the country’s estimated 170 million inhabitants live without electricity, while those could afford it rely on expensive and air polluting generators run on diesel and petrol. There is also absence or grossly inadequate basic services such as clean water, education, motorable ways and roads and functional basic healthcare for the vast majority of the population. According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, the GDP grew at 7.6% in 2011. But this growth is totally lopsided, largely based on export of crude oil and importation of refined petroleum products, and hardly has an effect on the internal economy. There has been a very, very little "trickle down", but this has not stopped the continuing collapse or relocation of many local industries.
Much has been made of the huge expansion of mobile phones vis-à-vis telecoms sector since 2001, but this has not led to rounded growth. As was recently pointed out "In 2011, a leading telecom company in Nigeria reported half year revenues of approximately N344 billion (on an annualized basis, that is $4.4 billion or 1.2% of Nigeria’s $378 billion GDP). However, the company required less than 2,000 permanent staff to achieve that revenue. Conversely, according to figures provided by Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), total production output in the sector declined by 10% to N165.7 billion in 2010 and capacity utilization dropped to 45%. The result is that today, manufacturing employs less than 1 million Nigerians." (nigeriaintel.com March 1, 2012). On a similar note Business Day reported that up to a million jobs in the leather and allied industries had been lost in Kano state alone (February 2, 2012).
This is why during the same period, 23.9% of Nigerians are officially said to be without employment. In fact, there is said to be 60% unemployment in Yobe State while Kano and Zamfara States unemployment is put at 67% and 42% respectively. Most significantly, about 24% of the people out of work have tertiary education while 40.2% were educated to secondary schools level.
EMBARRASSING PARADOX
All serious economic analysts including government spokespersons acknowledged that there is huge deficit between Africa and Nigeria’s potential and the reality of the economy and the people of Africa. On the one hand, Africa as a continent and its individual countries are stupendously rich in diverse mineral and human resources. Specifically, "Over 60% of Africans are under 24 years of age. If well harnessed, such statistics portend a boom in local private demand in decade to come". (London Financial Times February 2, 2012). Africa is home to nearly 1bn people but the continent share of world trade is just about 2%. In 2010, out of a total sum of $1.12trillion being foreign direct investment, sub-Saharan Africa received a paltry 3%.The reason for this grotesque situation is because the leading imperialists/capitalists countries of the world continue to treat Africa as a place to extract most maximum profit with little or no investment just as the situation under the hundred years of trans-Atlantic slave trade and the years of direct colonialism
Therefore, the basic question remains; how can Africa and Nigeria fully realise their economic potentials? Put differently, to what extent will the policies being implemented by the PDP and all other layers of the capitalist ruling parties reverse this historic deficit in economic potentials and the living reality of its perennially poor people.
ECONOMIC COLONIALISM
Sadly, the different layers of the ruling capitalist elite leading Nigeria and other African countries today are so deeply engaged in self-serving agenda of enriching themselves as quickly as possible at the expense of African masses and therefore are totally uninterested in policies and strategy that can make Africa’s natural and human resources to be properly mobilised to benefit the vast majority of Africans. To these capitalist elements and their lackeys, the brutal lessons of the ruthless and largely barren years under colonialism counted for little or nothing.
For instance, British imperialism colonized Nigeria formally and informally for a period of about 150 years. Most significantly by 1960 when Nigeria gained independence only one university, the University of Ibadan set up in 1948 as a college of University of London, with less than 1,500 students, had been established; and this was meant to serve not just Nigeria but all the other British West African colonies! In the immediate period after independence, the various sections of the ruling capitalist elements across Nigeria generally adopted the Keynesian capitalist strategy of public sector spending to fast drive socio-economic growths. This was made necessary because the over hundred years of British colonialism left no tangible economic foundations and sufficient number of rich individuals who could spearhead a private sector-driven economic order.
At that time, Britain and most other advanced capitalist countries were equally governed largely with the Keynesian strategy of using public financing to drive socio-economic growth. However, the coming to power of big business and right wing capitalist elements led by Margret Thatcher in 1979 in Britain and Ronald Reagan in the United States in 1980 sharply and brutally smashed the idea of using public funds to further development and also help to provide necessary basic social services for the working masses. This pro-rich, anti-poor, socio-economic dispensation was only reinforced when the economies of the former so called socialist countries collapsed and thereby provided ideological weapon against publicly run economic agenda.
Thus, from around mid-1980s when the prevailing global, profit-first, neo liberal capitalist policies became the norm, all early signs of national economic growths in Nigeria and other under-developed societies have become retarded or reversed. It is therefore nothing but a monumental tragedy that the leading capitalist elements in Nigeria and other African countries now believe and behave in ways that copy the colonialists’ rush for fast profits while also arguing that only by handing over the key economic sectors of Nigeria and Africa to the profit-driven capitalist/imperialist corporations can make Africa to flourish for the benefit of its people.
JONATHAN’S AGENDA FOR SECOND COLONIALISM
With false messianic zeal, President Jonathan and his leading advisers in the PDP government together with the leading politicians of the other capitalist parties imperiously travel across Nigeria preaching "transformation" agenda. Nigeria, a country stupendously rich in human and material resources on the world scale is virtually on the last scale of ladder of civilization and economic development. Therefore, every serious analyst will readily agree that Nigeria needs a transformation. But the critical issue is what sort of transformation is being propounded by the ruling capitalist elites.
According to President Jonathan and his leading economic advisers, they hope to trigger economic and industrial revolution through a private sector driven economy. To this end, they hope to handover the oil sector, the mainstay of the economy to so called foreign and local private investors. Under a complete deregulation regime, government hopes to increase Nigeria’s oil production to something like 3 million barrel per day (BPD) in two years time. Electricity, which is indispensable to any socio-economic development, is to be completely handed over to capitalist profiteers who are expected to generate about 16,000 mega watts by 2013. Key necessary infrastructure such as roads and rail development and social services such as healthcare and education are increasingly being abandoned in favour of a dubious strategy called Public Private Partnership (PPP), a sort of public con which uses public wealth for the primary benefit of the profit interest of a few capitalist elements.
Theoretically, if the oil industry grows to a stage where it produces 3 million barrel per day and the electricity sector is able to generate 16,000 mega watts of electricity by 2013, then, there would be a better potential for socio-economic fulfilment of Nigerians. However, even if this becomes the reality in the next few years, the ordinary working class people, who constitute the vast majority of Nigeria’s population should not expect to automatically and significantly benefit from such a would-be better economic prospect. This is because the imperialist and capitalist corporations that are expected to spearhead such growths are never known for acts of charity nor as elements and organizations that would carry out development primarily for the development of society and its people.
Sadly, this is not a peculiarly Nigerian factor. It is the trademark of the unjust profit motivated system called capitalism all over the world. This is something that Ghana is about to discover as its oil production gets under way. "Ghana is the fastest growing economy in the world this year, expanding at a forecast 13.6 percent thanks largely to the onset of oil production. It is also the only mainland country in West Africa to have achieved lower middle income status on statistics revised last year to take into account a decade of rapid expansion in services. Yet, there is little sense of a boom. Three years into an International Monetary Fund-backed stabilization programme, businesses are impatient, while the crowded streets of poor neighbourhoods speak of frustration and hardship" (Financial Times (London) December 15, 2011).
From just this one example and Nigeria’s inglorious history, working class elements and youths must know that under the prevailing unjust capitalist disorder, the more money a country makes relatively the poorer the living conditions of the majority of the working masses. Unfortunately too, the little modest growth projected with respect to oil incomes and electricity will most likely not to be met. This is because capitalism, in its characteristic fashion, will never primarily make or undertake any form of significant socio-economic development purely from the point of view bettering the lot of the masses. Thus meeting the kind of modest growth stated above will largely depend on Nigeria’s willingness and ability to mortgage her resources and its people into second colonization.
"Although revenue from oil props up the economy, it is natural gas that could power it. The country has an estimated 187,000bn cubic feet of gas, the eighth biggest reserves in the world, which are largely untapped. But uncertain revenue streams and the billions of dollars in investment needed to channel gas to the nation’s power stations did not appeal to investors… Doubts remain, mainly because of politics. Analysts do not expect any final investment decisions to be made until the government clarifies the industry’s fiscal and operational terms". (Financial Times (London) November 23, 2011). With reference to Nigeria, Jon Marks, Editorial Director of African Energy Magazine recently declared: "Gas is the clean fuel that can clean up the economy". But on the basis of the usurious and exploitative conditionalities being put forward by international capitalist corporations, Nigeria’s economy should be expected to remain "unclean" for the next foreseeable years. The projection to up oil production to about 3 million barrel per day faces the same obstacle. Shell Nigeria Chairman, Mutiu Sunmonu recently claimed that up to $40bn of investment is waiting for project in deep water alone – such as expanding production at its huge Bonga Field. He also said that same is true for other ultra-deep water investments including developing Total’s potential 1mbpd Akpo Field and Chevron’s Agbami Field.
Unfortunately, however the same obstacle militating against the development of natural gas, quoted above from the Financial Times of London is also here at play: "Foreign companies do not want to put their money into an industry with an unsure tax structure, vague local processing requirements and a yet-to-be defined role for the national parastatal". Ask what would make this much sought after "foreign companies" to commit the much needed resources to the further development of oil production? And pronto you get the answer. Nigeria must, through the so-called Petroleum Industry Bill, presently being processed by the National Assembly, be prepared to fundamentally remove the titular control which the various capitalist governments have hitherto exercised over this all important oil. Presently, the multinational oil corporations enjoy an absolute monopoly over the technical exploration, mining and general processing of the oil resources; while Nigeria, through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), merely reserve the right to collect oil revenues periodically from the sales of crude oil or raw gas. But the oil majors want more. They are now saying that oil production is a capital intensive activity and that the perpetually corrupt capitalist ruling elites have always failed to come forward with its own share of development fund. For this reason they now want Nigeria to totally hands-off its limited control of the sector by replacing the NNPC with a purely private capitalist corporation that would have powers to mortgage Nigeria’s oil wealth at any time for supposed capital development of the sector.
Presently, the oil majors are identified as part of the main antagonists of why the Petroleum Industry Bill has not been passed by National Assembly. According to the media, their opposition is said to be based on the fact that they are expected to pay a slightly higher tax to the Nigerian government if this Bill becomes an Act. And also too, there are still ongoing disagreements among the various layers of the capitalist ruling class across Nigeria and within the Niger Delta region itself, all angling for juicy portions of the expected oil money/largesse expected in the wake of this essentially ’second colonialism’ legislation. But sadly, as on all other issues bothering on private profit accumulation and anti-poor policies, the various contending layers of the capitalist elites across the country are expected to "find a basis of unity" and work rapidly for the promulgation of the Bill into an Act. All this become a reality once acceptable terms are provided for them in the new private company expected to replace the NNPC and also for the local warlords and elites in the oil producing communities.
The so-called reform by the government of the electricity sector does not fare better either. Last year, amid much official fanfare, President Jonathan released the latest in a long series of "visions" for national development. According to him, "the strategic context of power in national development cannot be over-emphasized". Subsequently, his Minister of Power, Prof. Berth Nnaji in November 2011 came to articulate how this administration intends to further the development of power sector. He says: "We want to privatise power plants that are operating at less than half capacity, so that investment will help them recover. By privatizing the parastatals, they become credit-worthy– at the moment they cannot buy power from abroad – so it becomes a willing-buyer, willing-seller arrangement". (Financial Times (London) November 23, 2011).
On the basis of this profit-driven agenda, the publicly owned Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) has already been parcelled out to private profiteers. While at the same time, the government continues to assure that the poor layers of Nigerians will not be negatively affected if increment in tariffs is implemented! This of course, is an untenable assurance since he who eventually owns the company will dictate the tariffs and not government that had sold out its interests. Similarly, the expectations that there will now be massive increment in the quantity of electricity being produced will turn out to be nothing but a mirage.
Under the so-called present globalised world dispensation, the situation has hardly fared better. Beyond profit calculations, imperialist capitalist corporations will not strive to carry out better and commensurate developments of the economy, including the oil sector, the electricity, social infrastructures any better than they did under colonialism. While local processing of oil products may be desirable and advantageous to Nigeria’s economy and people, it is the profit prospect that determines how far foreign companies will go to help Nigeria to develop its own local processing industry. In reality they will see this as a needless process in the face of surplus capacities that these oil monopolies have internationally.
This is why, under capitalism, Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources, which could rapidly accelerate overall economic growth, count for little or nothing in the face of mass poverty that dominate the lives of the vast majority of Nigerians. For international capitalist corporations, profit calculations is primary, but financially poor population is regarded as a barrier towards adequate development of the sector which they feel will not be commercially profitable, especially because of Nigeria’s extremely poor infrastructure. At the same time Nigerian capitalists see no point in attempting long term investment; apart from a few sectors like food, they do not feel confident in competing with the domineering multi-national corporations. This is why the Nigerian ruling class sees no point in seriously improving the nation’s infrastructure except fronting infrastructure development through contract system as a means to loot.
As a big oil producing country, Nigerians should be able to enjoy access to oil products at affordable prices. However, on the basis of the warped logic of the profit-driven system of capitalism, Nigerians are instead expected to pay more for the oil products when the prices of these products go higher in the international market. Thus, what ought to be a natural benefit or comparative advantage are transformed into additional agonies for the masses and the economy in the name of ’deregulation’!
A FUTURE LADEN WITH SORROW, TEARS AND BLOOD
No matter what the capitalist politicians and strategists say to the contrary, the economy and the living conditions of the vast majority of Nigerians will only get worse under the prevailing global capitalist dispensation. Under the prevailing global capitalist crisis and recession, there is very little potential of fundamental economic development projects being carried out in Africa and most other under-developed societies. As have been shown so far, Africa and other under-developed societies should in fact expect a more ferocious exploitative drives by the international finance capital. So, far from Africa’s potential natural and human resources being adequately developed, the narrow profit consideration of capitalism will only deepen the current drive towards second colonization of the countries of Africa and its people.
Under the economic pressure and prodding by imperialism, Nigerian government hiked the price of fuel in January 1, 2012. Based on their bitter experiences with such policy in the past, the Nigerian working masses responded with a big general strike and mass protest to get this anti-poor/anti-economic growth policy reversed. Faced with the mass fury of Nigerian masses, the Jonathan administration was initially forced to beat a slight retreat by partially reducing the fuel price hike with promises to implement some program that can also ease the plight of the working masses. However, barely less than two months after, the same government has openly suspended the implementation of the limited "palliatives" measures proposed in this respect. The new argument being that those "palliatives" were predicated on the assumption that government would be able to totally stop its so-called subsidy of the petroleum products. In other words, since the working masses’ struggle prevented the planned rise of the petrol price from N65 to N141 and limited the hike to N97, the government could therefore no longer "save" enough resources to implement all its "palliatives" policies.
On the other side of the spectrum, the major world’s oil corporations and oil marketers have started to create crippling shortage of oil products by refusing to import products as and when necessary. From past experience, this is being done to create an unbearable situation in the country to force a mood of social helplessness wherein people may begin to demand oil products even at higher prices. So sooner than later, Nigerians will be faced with another fuel price hike with its attendant colossal reduction of their living standard.
Similarly, the proposed privatization of public electricity supply and increment in tariffs will not necessarily bring better electricity supply for the adequate use of the economy and the Nigerian people. At the best, this profit-driven strategy would only deepen the kind of situation that prevailed under colonialism wherein electricity will be guaranteed for a few that can pay with the vast majority of the people left in stone-age conditions. This will equally be the case with infrastructural development. The private sector and its dubious Private Public Partnership (PPP) may strive to carry out limited developments of roads and rail network in areas where that become necessary to deepen their profit quest, but never sufficiently from the point of view of the needs of the society and the economy as a whole. While the PPP strategy can be used to try to build few roads that are potentially profitable, majority of roads and waterways will be left in their present state of decay.
In 1961, one year after Nigeria regained independence from British colony, she was responsible for 27% of the world’s total of palm-oil export trade. At that time, Nigeria was also responsible for 18% of all world’s cocoa supply and 42% of groundnut exports. Apart from these prodigious agricultural exports, Nigeria was self-sufficient in locally consumed food. Sadly today, all these promising potentials have turned to their opposite. By 2008, Nigeria only accounted for 0.07% of world’s palm oil export. According to the Minister of Agriculture, Nigeria now yearly spends over N1trillion on the importation of rice, wheat, sugar and fish. But the ability to import food depends upon oil and gas exports. So long as capitalism retains its grip the danger is that when the oil and gas starts to run out, as one day it surely will, food will become even more of a luxury as money to pay for imports runs out. Already now there is relatively little in Nigeria to show that for the huge income from fuel exports. The ruling class have looted and squandered the bulk of the income rather than invest it in the people, economy and infrastructure.
Characteristically, the global financial sharks and capitalist profiteers are already salivating and licking their lips in anticipation for the huge profits they can make from this social tragedy of present day Africa. Predictably, their strategy is for big capitalist corporations to take over Africa’s land from their peasant owners with a false pretence of organizing large scale modern farming that can meet the food needs of African population when their main aim is to profit from food exports to the rest of the world.
THE CORRUPTION BOGEY
Most bourgeois strategists and commentators would not agree that all their socio-economic strategy can only lead to greater disaster for the economy and masses’ living standard. However, most of these elements will readily agree that Nigeria’s economic situation can be straightened up and made to prosper if the ruling elites can substantially tackle what they called "official corruption". Yes, there are too many cases of outright theft and looting of the country’s resources going on in all spheres of governance. For instance, Nigeria is said to be losing N2.5b daily to oil theft by the various mafia controlling the oil sector. In late February 2012, one of the Nigeria’s ex-civilian governors and former governor of Delta State, Mr. James Ibori pleaded guilty in London to stealing of about $35million. After pleading guilty, Mr. Sahsha Wass (Queen Counsel) prosecuting the case have this to say of Ibori: "He was never the legitimate governor and there was effectively a thief in government house. As a pretender of that public office, he was able to plunder Delta State’s wealth and hand out patronage". (BBC News, February 27, 2012).
If the truth must be told, what Queen Counsel (QC) Sahsha Wass said with respect to Ibori will most certainly to a larger, equivalent or lesser extent apply to most other prominent politicians from presidency to the lowest official at local councils level. Aside from this, the few thousand elements occupying political offices across the country currently consume, as salaries and allowances, including the civil service bureaucracy and parastatals about 83% of Nigeria’s annual budget. At the moment, the entire activities of the oil sector, the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy is shrouded in opaque corruption. Therefore, to successfully root out corruption from the economy and polity, is a fundamental task that goes to the root of the prevailing unjust economic order. It is an assignment that certainly goes beyond the scope of periodic but highly expensive prosecution of a few individuals which is the stock in trade of capitalist government in the world over. The ongoing probe of the petroleum sector including the privatization of public companies, have proved beyond reasonable doubt an important point. And that is that capitalism is at heart a system of wholesale organized corruption. To therefore stamp out what is called "official corruption" the prevailing profit-driven capitalist system wherein a few handpicked bureaucrats control production in the interest of few has to be dismantled.
REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALISM
The two main economic problems ravaging Nigeria i.e. the problem of massive underdevelopment of the economy and agriculture, together with the huge cost and corruption of public officials could only be ended by revolutionary socialism. This will politically mean an economic order wherein the commanding heights of the economy including banks and finance institutions together with the major resources of nature within Nigeria are commonly owned, planned and democratically run with the primary objective of meeting the socio-economic needs of all Nigerians and not just only rich Nigerians as under the prevailing capitalist dispensation. On the basis of the abundant material and human resources that exists today in this country, there is no justifiable reason for the prevailing mass misery that envelopes most people within the country. If properly harnessed, the gross under-development and poverty of the masses, which unfortunately are the main feature of Nigeria and Africa today can be substantially wiped out within a short period.
And here lies the essence of revolutionary socialism- to bring about the kind of a society wherein the needs and interest of the majority of the population drives the essence of economic activity and governance. Economic and political strategies of necessity have to be driven by the needs of the people and not primarily by how much profit an economic or social venture can generate for a few capitalist elites. Presently, Nigeria has an abundant quantity of oil products including gas, which under a people oriented economic arrangement, can be used to fast-drive the development of Nigeria’s economy in its entirety. Sadly however, under this "profit-first" dispensation, there can never be sufficient and adequate development of these resources due to the poverty condition of most Nigerians who are therefore regarded by the capitalist elites as no better than economic waste.
Therefore, the creation of an economic order wherein the needs of the society and the people constitute the central basis of governance is the socialist aspect of the needed programme. The revolutionary aspect of the programme is borne out of the fact that the working masses need to fight and politically get organized to remove the few capitalist beneficiaries of the present profit-driven dispensation from political power in Nigeria and other African countries.
To achieve this end, the working masses must be prepared to wage protracted and determined mass struggle until the government of capitalist exploiters is totally defeated and replaced by a government of representatives of the working people. And as have been graphically demonstrated in the last general elections and during the January 2012 general strike and mass protest against fuel price hike, the building of militant/combative trade unions and a mass political party of the working people and all oppressed masses have become an urgent necessity. It is only combative trade unions with class conscious, militant leadership that will appreciate that, as a rule, only consistent mass actions can win concessions of improved better living conditions for the people from profit-driven capitalist elites. However while mass struggle can win temporary concessions, the fact is that capitalism cannot "afford" to give such limited concessions for any lengthy period of time and therefore the question is posed of the revolutionary transformation of society. The January 2012 nationwide general strike and powerful mass protest by workers and youths paralysed the entire country in united protest. The government could do nothing, it was suspended in mid-air. Yet, despite this, the strike did not achieve total reversal of the price hike that originally provoked the struggle because the pro-capitalist union leaders in the leadership of the movement lacked both a working class political alternative to capitalism and the determination to struggle for change.
Only a revolutionary mass political party of the working masses can draw together under a political umbrella the different segments of the economy and the people to ensure a harmonious development of the society. But to learn from the failure of collectivized economy of the former Soviet Union and allies as well as contemporary failure/bankruptcy of the capitalist state-run ventures, it must be unquestionably accepted that the kind of socialist economic revolution being envisaged can only flourish if run and controlled by the elected representatives of workers, youth, students, professionals, administrators, etc. These elected representatives must never earn more than the average wages of the working people themselves, and in addition, they must be subject to instant recall whenever they are found wanting by their electors. To attain this end, the socialists and all genuine working class activists must regard as priority the task of intervention within all masses organizations especially the trade unions, students movement and community based organizations with the primary aim of winning the rank and file members of these organizations to a revolutionary perspectives totally different from their current leaders who could not offer or envisage an alternative revolutionary programmes and policies.
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