AdbulMutallab

AdbulMutallab: Why Working Class Alternative Is Imperative

Ademiluyi Ayo

Much furore has been raised over the alleged terrorist attempt of 23-year old Nigerian, Abdulmutallab Farouk, son to millionaire banker and pupil to Al-Qaeda fundamentalist sect. Clearly raised in a largely-wealthy class ,young Mutallab’s strange link to the well-known anarchistic sect even raised the fears of his father which made him report the matter to US authorities .

On the Nigerian scene, the dephaxiating ruling class has been losing sleep over the matter as it considers its ubiquitous ‘’rebranding’’ project in the woods with the current Mutallab matter. United States in their usual imperialistic manner has been crying foul and ready to spill blood in revenge.

For what could be considered to be a turn of reaction to the Mutallab arrest, Boko Haram elements in Bauchi lit the tinderbox sending over 30 souls to the world beyond with reports that crisis is spreading to other usual trouble spots. Definitely, the Bauchi crisis is a blow out of the widespread plague of acute fuel shortage, neck-deep misery and apparent mass anger that attend even this season of yuletide.

What is clear is that ‘’Mutallab’’ incident is just one out of the one thousand and one others in the present crippling system –that seeks to react to the grave imbalances within the system. This speaks much of the immediate recur of another terrorist attempt by another Nigerian.

The current rotten capitalist system with its attendant crisis playing out in Nigeria has placed the collective wealth of the society in the hands of big-business family like the Mutallab’s with no direct total development of their offspring in the direction of changing society through genuine collective struggle .While a Mutallab raised in 2 million euro –mansion- which can cater for education and health of countless other citizens –seeks to express dissatisfaction to the brutish force of imperialism through terrorism ,genuine change –seeking youth must realize that only mass –based collective struggle can change society on collective basis.

United States, particularly its chauvinistic ruling class, is today’s crisis-engulfed imperialist state ,waging its big-business motivated wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and many other trouble spots in the world. It will take no time in sending its crack state security teams to Nigeria ,its third largest supplier of oil to dislodge fundamentalist groups ,as well as militants and protect its interests.

On the other side of the spectrum, the mass of working people has not had it more bad by the end of the year with a rudderless ruling class failing to give solution to the spreading crisis of widespread fuel scarcity grounding the entire nation already lacking both in infrastructure and amenities. Yet it continues to restate its readiness to deregulate-send the masses to misery.

Treacherously, the leadership of organized labour ,both the NLC and TUC maintain a volte-face on this issue,speaking with two sides of the mouth ,supporting government’s exploitative agenda of deregulation and ‘’opposing’’ fuel price hike .Without government’s bold declaration of deregulation, its ‘’reforms of the downstream sector’’ has made sure the price of petroleum products is above the reach of the masses. Despite the growing mass anger drawn on the reality that deregulation will only deepen the stagnation of the masses, labour leaders have refused to call out a minimum of two-day general strike action to send the neo-liberal policy to the dustbin.

This has only led to anarchy-as mass anger will be poured out one way or the other –as evidenced by the Bauchi crisis .As it has always been maintained, the worsening conditions of living for working masses has been the breeding terrain for endless extremist religious fracas. Only genuine working class movement ,which will channel the anger of working masses to their class enemy –the ruling class –to force it to use public resources to fund public needs can end this vicious cycle. This movement must also be politically organized to defeat the corrupt capitalist system and enthrone an egalitarian society .

Back to Mutallab, a product of the imbalanced class arrangement –which places a tiny rich few over the mass of working people –who is reacting to an higher class injustice –imperialism through terrorism, only the termination of the capitalist and imperialist system can ensure genuine justice the world over.Without it, one million and one ‘’Mutallabs’’ will be produced by the imperialist system.

It is on this basis ,that organized labour must close up its gulf with the mass of working people by organizing mass congresses –to give public hearing on deregulation as well as other issues ,collate positions from local through state to national levels and put in place a committee of democratically elected workers from schools,industries,banks and farms –to organize strike actions and other activities. This elected committee of workers must also be engaged in mass orientation of workers on issues of collective interests, lead struggles to force government to fund public amenities and ultimately be built as a political movement –on the platform of labour’s political machine (Labour Party)- to wrest power from the present corrupt ruling class and enthrone a democratic and egalitarian society where public resources will be used for public needs.

Really, the labour movement can only be able to sustain its crucial roles in working people’s struggles after the paramount roles the civil society groups played in the anti-military struggle by democratizing its decision-making organs and reaching out to its rank and file.Equally,it has to create a virile political base lest it returns to its former days of oblivion.

On this score, the need to reposition the Labour Party from its current deformed state of being a trashcan for capitalist parties to a genuine mass –based workers’ party is imperative . With the coming 2011 general elections ,workers will take the broad road to power with a repositioned Labour Party, taken over by trade unions, pro-labour organizations and the mass of workers, peasants ,artisans, market women and youth –as different from the present breeding terrain it is for widely-condemned capitalist politicians like Andy Uba in Anambra State.

Flowing from this, the more the reason for mass of workers, students, peasants and farmers with the trade unions to take over the party. This must be in full realization that the present Nigerian crisis can only be resolved politically –by putting in place a working class government –that will reorganize society on genuine egalitarian and democratic basis based on the interest of the overwhelming majority of the people. This will be the beacon to the mass of working people worldwide and finally terminating the current disorderly imperialist system.