By Babatunde Jose
“The children of the poor you failed to train will never let your children live in peace” – Obafemi Awolowo
Historically, uprisings of the poor have occurred when economic hardship, social inequality, and political neglect converge. A notable example is the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 in England, also known as Wat Tyler’s Rebellion. It was fueled by socio-economic tensions following the Black Death, high taxation due to the Hundred Years’ War, and local governance instability. While initially seen as a revolt, modern historians often interpret it as a prolonged protest or rising, highlighting the poor masses’ demand for fair treatment and relief from oppressive conditions.
In times gone by, the poor have often been excluded from formal political power, but mass mobilizations have repeatedly reshaped societies. In the 19th and 20th centuries, mass political parties emerged to represent working-class populations, particularly socialist, communist, and fascist parties. Unlike elite “cadre” parties, these mass parties relied on large memberships, formal enrollment, and ideological discipline to mobilize ordinary people and influence political outcomes, marking a shift from elite-dominated politics to mass participation.
The poor have also risen spontaneously in response to crises or injustices. Events such as the 1789 French Revolution, the 2011 Arab Spring, the Occupy Wall Street movement, the 2020 Black Lives Matter and the ‘End SARS’ protests illustrate how millions can mobilize without centralized planning. Sociologist Benjamin Abrams describes this phenomenon using ‘Affinity-Convergence Theory’, which explains that people mobilize when a cause resonates with their pre-existing dispositions and structural conditions make participation feasible.
Despite being the majority, the poor often remain politically inactive and emasculated due to fear, oppression, and systemic control mechanisms. Revolts require overcoming these barriers, building solidarity, and creating a sense of collective efficacy. Media, social networks, and shared grievances can catalyze this process, enabling the poor to challenge entrenched elites.
In modern contexts, the rise of the poor masses can take both political and social forms. Religious bodies, NGOs, and grassroots organizations often play a role in advocating for the poor, providing material support, and empowering communities to engage in civic action.
For example, in Nigeria, religious institutions have mobilized to address poverty, unemployment, and social inequality, emphasizing both practical aid and advocacy for systemic change. But they stop short of being at the vanguard of a people’s revolt. The prosperity of the elite is the prosperity of the clerics.
The rising of the poor masses reflects both historical and contemporary struggles of marginalized populations demanding justice, resources, and social equity.
“And what is [the matter] with you that you fight not in the cause of Allah and for the oppressed among men, women, and children who say, ‘Our Lord, take us out of this city of oppressive people and appoint for us from Yourself a protector and appoint for us from Yourself a helper.’” (Surah An-Nisa 4:75)
In modern times, the poor masses continue to face systemic challenges. For instance, Nigeria has experienced a deepening poverty crisis, with over 150 million people living in multidimensional poverty, deprived of basic needs such as food, education, clean water, and healthcare. Economic reforms, such as subsidy removals and currency adjustments, have sometimes worsened conditions for ordinary citizens, highlighting the vulnerability of the poor when social safety nets are inadequate.
Religious and civic leaders often advocate for proactive measures to support the poor. For example, religious teachings encourage extending compassion and practical support, including food assistance, skills training, and advocacy for policies that prioritize the welfare of marginalized populations. These efforts aim to empower the poor, reduce inequality, and prevent social instability.
The rising of the poor masses, whether through historical revolts or modern advocacy, underscores the critical link between poverty, social justice, and political stability. Ignoring the needs of the poor can lead to unrest, economic stagnation, and weakened governance, while inclusive policies and community support can foster resilience and equitable development.
The openness of a society, its willingness to permit creative destruction, and the rule of law appear to be decisive for economic development: There is no doubt, it is manmade institutions, not the lay of the land or the faith of forefathers, neither is it Islam or Christianity that determine whether a country is rich or poor.
What are the constraints that keep us from becoming more prosperous? Is our poverty immutable, or can it be eradicated? A natural way to start thinking about this is to look at what common people are saying about the problems they face and why they need to revolt against the oppressive regimes. “We are suffering from corruption, oppression and bad education. We are living amid a corrupt system which has to change;” says the people.
Following moments of open class warfare in the late 1960s and early 1970s, battles against the political and economic order became fragmented, trade unions were attacked and rendered ineffective, the legacy of the anti-colonial struggles was eroded and the history of the period was recast by the establishment to undermine its potency.
In the post-‘Cold War’ era, a new phase of protest finally began to overcome these defeats. It was one of these putsches that terminated the rule of Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, one of the longest standing dictators of the post-colonial era, who ruled that country from 1966 to 1997: A one time ally of the United States, who at the height of their relationship once asked for a plane-load of Coca-Cola for his troops fighting the rebels of the Katanga province.
The global anti-war movement of the new millennium led to the biggest coordinated demonstrations in the history of protest on 15 February 2003, in which millions of people demonstrated in over 800 cities, creating a crisis of democracy around the US and UK-led intervention in Iraq.
In the years leading up to and following the banking crisis of 2008, food riots and anti-austerity protests escalated around the world in what became known in Africa as SAP Riots (protests the IMF induced Structural Adjustment Program). In parts of the Middle East and North Africa, protests achieved insurrectionary proportions, with the overthrow of one dictator after another.
After the Arab Spring was thwarted by counter-revolution, the ‘Occupy movement’ and later ‘Black Lives Matter’ gained global attention. While the public urban square became a central focus for protest, social media became an important – but by no means exclusive – organizing tool.
The protestors today are speaking about the corruption of the government, its inability to deliver public services, and the lack of equality of opportunity in the country. They particularly complained about repression and the absence of political rights. People now see their economic problems as being fundamentally caused by their lack of political rights. Today, the army of unemployed youths has discovered its historic mission: ‘Vanguard of the coming uprising’.
All the economic impediments they face stem from the way political power is exercised and monopolized by a narrow elite. This, they understand, is the first thing that must change. The ‘Lions’ of Bourdillon and Queens Drive, Tigers of Malali, Leopards of Minna and other fat cats of the ‘Animal Kingdom’ must be tamed and chained. Their chokehold on our people is one main reason why we are not making progress. Not being captains of industries or commerce but a rentier class, and exploiters of the commonwealth, they have no visible investment in the welfare of society: One word describes them, Parasites.
In fact, Nigeria is poor precisely because it has been ruled by a narrow elite that have organized society for their own benefit at the expense of the vast mass of people. Political power has been narrowly concentrated and has been used to create great wealth for those who possess it, such as the owners of the ‘Hilltop’ Mansions, ‘Bullion van’ owners and the ubiquitous tax collectors. The losers have been the Nigerian people.
Though Nigeria became independent in 1960, one set of colonial masters were exchanged for internal colonizers. In consequence, the basic structure of society did not change, and we stayed poor.
As we move towards another general election, fear is that if we do not get it right and the nation succumbs to the ‘Charlie Charlie’ of the warring elites, we might unwittingly precipitate a rising of the poor massed that would make the past uprisings seem like a scouting jamboree. When the poor have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich.
Government’s ability to safeguard national stability and prosperity rests squarely on its commitment to addressing the needs of the poor and vulnerable. “A country that cannot provide for the poor cannot protect the rich.”
We need inclusive governance, accountability, and people-centered development. Ignoring the plight of the majority poor could fuel social and economic instability, undermining peace and security; the government must remain conscious of its responsibility to reduce poverty, bridge inequality, and ensure that national wealth benefits all citizens.
Our citizens expect more than speeches; they expect action. The survival of our democracy and the stability of our nation depend on how we treat the weakest among us. History has shown nations crumble when the majority feels neglected, and social unrest is never far away when poverty deepens.
The policies of the government, no matter how well intentioned, have produced the opposite of good governance. Good intentions have turned into ashes. The nation is divided and thoroughly frightened. People are suffering. Many are dying avoidable deaths in the hands of agents of darkness. Hope is withering and disappearing from most lives in violation of the government’s mantra of ‘renewed hope’. – Chidi Amuta
Forty-five years ago Awolowo addressed the Shagari government thus: “Our ship of state is fast approaching a huge rock, and unless you, as the chief helmsman, quickly rise to the occasion and courageously steer the ship away from its present course, it shall hit the rock, and the inescapable consequence will be an unspeakable disaster such as is rare in the annals of man.” That proverbial ship is today a few yards from hitting that rock.
“Only the deep can call to the deep.”- Awo. The men of God and those from the ancestral groves have been speaking truth to power but they have been labeled ‘weeping Jeremiahs’. But let it be said that ‘when the come comes to become’, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Those who have ears should listen now.
Pope Leo XIV celebrating Mass to mark the Jubilee of the Poor, urged “leaders of nations to listen to the cry of the poorest, saying they remind us that there can be no peace without justice and the poor remind us of this in many ways, through migration as well as through their cries, which are often stifled by the myth of well-being and progress that does not take everyone into account, and indeed forgets many individuals, leaving them to their fate.”
Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Blot out our sins, and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. Thou art our Protector; Help us against those who stand against faith (Quran 2:286)
Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend
