With Uche Nnadozie
If you have known Omoyele Sowore in the last 20 or more years, you will agree that the man has always talked about a revolution. Let us put it as it is: he wants a bloody revolution. He talks it and means it. No beating about the bush. In fact in his notices for a revolution beginning from today, he talked about revolution that will upend the structures and personages we have around the country. He declared that he doesn’t want mere protests but a revolution. The man was being himself. That is who he is. That is what he has always talked about.
At some point in the late 1990s he envisioned launching a bloody revolt from Ghana. That was during the military.
With his activities as the Students Union president of the University of Lagos in the past, and some baptism of fire he received which threatened his life, he was to exit Nigeria to the United State. Of course living there and seeing the conditions of their social and physical infrastructure strengthened his resolve for this “revolution” or so I think. He was to return in mid 2000s to launch another brand of revolution, that is, Sahara Reporters; an online newspaper which pioneered online publishing in Nigeria. The idea behind the online newspaper was to give rise to thousands of online ventures which have transformed lives and reorder how we live our lives.
Today Sowore is in a run in with the authorities. He says he wants to lead a revolution. The same thing he has talked about for over 20 years. I agree with him, but I can easily see that the emotionalism of his belief does not allow him use his reasoning faculty. The truth is there is no revolution greater than the ballot box. We just came out of a bruising electoral contest which Sowore himself participated. He lost miserably. He tried to initiate another revolution through the ballot box; it was dead at the stacks. It was ill conceived and even worse, it was poorly executed. It is like in spite of his brilliance and can do spirit he does not understand the social make up of this country. You can’t successfully lead a mass movement from abroad in Nigeria.
To mobilize Nigerians to come out in their millions to cast their votes is a revolution. When you have a mass base of people who talk politics all day but never come out to vote, people who prefer corruption to accountability and a mass who prod you to act, but hide when needed most, you need to do more talking to get them to move their butts for a “revolution”. Although Sowore likes to talk, fact is he hates it. He wants action, he wants a revolution. So it is not enough to mouth the word and look up on all manner of characters to join a revolution that leads to nowhere. Yes we have had revolutions in Africa in the last decade or so starting from Tunisia where a young man torched his own body. This sacrifice forced a spontaneous reaction around the country which toppled a long standing regime. It was unprecedented.
Copy cat revolutionaries soon emerged mostly in the Arab world in what is called the “Arab Spring”. About half a dozen other nations tried, most of them ended in chaos. Some have been in war ever since- Yemen, Syria, and Libya. Others like Egypt had to return to pseudo military regimes. Even in Zimbabwe which did not benefit from the Arab wave, their long time ruler, Robert Mugabe yielded space for his comrade, his trusted army general who has transmuted into a democratically elected leader. So I want to understand what other revolution discards a democracy, if not that it will certainly elevate the same community of elite that you fight against. They always have a way of manipulating the system to get back to power.
In Nigeria, elections are due in 2023. I feel it is better to build a consensus around a political party and possible candidates that will challenge the status quo in an open revolutionary election. Buhari did it and was successful. Another person can too. Therefore terming a disappointment of the political class of which you are one a revolution is tantamount to playing into the hands of the government.
Not because of the word a lone but the much advertised meeting Sowore held with fugitive Nnamdi Kanu of the outlawed IPOB. Holding such elaborate meeting in the United States some weeks ago lonely to return to Nigeria to talk revolution leave security agents a few things to chew and the chewing will have to start with you. Otherwise they will be shirking in their responsibility.
We have security challenges. It is important all patriots find a space within the legal prism to advance their political preference.
Promising violence and regime change at a time security agencies are at their wits end engaging to stamp out insecurity occasioned by corruption, greed, bad leadership and impunity by security agents themselves, it is taking your luck too far to worsen it by attempting social upheaval called revolution. No patriot will preach about that at the time we are in. it clearly appear you are trying to worsen security concerns, stretch them and leave gaps for agents of destabilization to exploit. Every Nigerian has a right to protest, not to announce a revolution. But Sowore has always wanted a revolution.
How do we find a balance between a dated revolution and a termed democratic government? All the Middle Eastern countries that had a “revolution” had at least two characteristics in common: tyranny and long one man rule.
