Nigerian Peasantry and Impediments to a Socialist Revolution: Will the Military Support a Workers’ Insurrection?

The socialism so far propagated in Africa has not had as much impact as it ought to. There remains a lack of social consciousness among the majority of ordinary people. Granted that the capitalist mode of production inherited from colonialism is largely to blame, it is still important to mention that African politicians and their academic henchmen have subverted even the indigenous political system into a viciously exploitative and repressive one. This paper focused on colonial rule in Nigeria as the advent of capitalist exploitation and how it was sustained by Nigerian comprador politicians. It investigated the level of revolutionary fervour among the working class and identified worker alienation and the bourgeoning reserved army of labour as impediments to the dictatorship of the proletariat predicted by Karl Marx. The study also explored the potential involvement of the military in a workers’ revolution. It found that, despite the Nigerian military's historical ties to imperial control over civilians, its members are not insulated from the systemic injustices and poverty affecting society. Consequently, they might choose to align with workers advocating for socioeconomic change that could also benefit them.