The one who has remained an irritant to power, Omoyele Sowore, came calling at The Farm today. Over cups of fresh palm wine, we shared laughter, memories, and a sober reflection on the worrisome direction our country is headed.
We last met in the United States in 2015, in Detroit — that historic city across the river from Canada, a place that has known both decline and rebirth, much like our Nigeria. Sowore had come in the company of the late Professor Pius Adesanmi, another restless spirit and luminous mind who, like Sowore, believed that Nigeria could still rise from the ruins of its contradictions. Sowore, ever the uncompromising activist, was already warning that “change” must be more than a slogan — it must touch the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
My association with him goes far back. I have known Sowore since his fiery student days at the University of Lagos, where he served as President of the Students’ Union. Even then, he was fearless — confronting military juntas, exposing corruption, and organizing mass protests at great personal risk. During our common struggle against military dictatorship, we collaborated closely. As a young freelancer, he wrote several earth-shaking reports for TheNEWS and Tempo, often sending in stories that rattled the powerful and gave voice to the silenced.
I still recall one of his visits to my office on ACME Road in Ogba, where I nudged him to quit Elendu Reports and start something of his own. A few weeks later, he called excitedly to announce the birth of Sahara Reporters. Not long after setting it up, he came visiting again — this time with a bundle of radical posters emblazoned with revolutionary images and slogans. He handed me a few as a gift. I framed some of them, and they still hang in my bedroom and library today — reminders of a time when conviction burned brighter than comfort, and words were weapons against tyranny.
After his student activism, Sowore’s defiance of power only grew louder. He went into exile in the United States, where he founded Sahara Reporters in 2006 — a pioneering online platform that became the bane of corrupt politicians and complacent officials. From New York, he wielded technology as a weapon of truth, publishing leaks, documents, and videos that forced accountability long before “citizen journalism” became fashionable.
For this, he has paid a heavy price. He has been arrested, detained, brutalized, and repeatedly charged with treason for daring to imagine a better Nigeria. Yet, after years of persecution and near-death experiences, he remains unbowed — one of the few who have refused to make peace with injustice or trade conviction for comfort.
Sowore is in town this weekend to participate in the Ikogosi 17-Kilometre Marathon — a fitting metaphor for his life: a long, lonely race against oppression, fatigue, and fear. Here’s wishing him a good run tomorrow — and renewed strength in his enduring marathon for Nigeria’s redemption.
May the spirit of Pius Adesanmi, who also ran his race with courage and brilliance, rest easy as Sowore keeps the torch aflame.
- Sen Babafemi Ojudu, CON
