Celebrating the inimitable Omoyele Sowore at 51 -By Sesugh Akume

Two days ago, on 16 February, he turned 51. When we were together some time towards the end of last year reflect on these plus more :

1. Buhari and his idolaters hate him because he demystified their god who insisted he’d be in jail till the end of the regime.
   He defied the deity and proved him and and ordinary human subject to the laws of the and not only came out he brought out Dasuki (a prince of the Sokoto Caliphate, if you understand what I mean, and immediate past NSA) along with him.
2. On that day he was particularly upset because earlier he was having a conversation with his wife and the line just cut off and couldn’t connect again.
   It was deliberate.
   He confirmed to me that the regime hated his wife more than him, and I understand why.
   I explained to him that when he was away in captivity his wife was ‘terrorising’ the dumb Nigerian regime making the world see the injustice that her husband, a journalist, was in detention in Nigeria for simply doing his job.
   The more the regime and its trolls made the point about the use of the word ‘revolution’ in Sowore’s #RevolutionNow campaign the more silly they sounded.
   ‘How do you detain someone for simply saying “Revolution Now”?’ all reasonable people around the world wonder.
   The more the regime and its vuvuzelas spoke all the world heard was a totalitarian regime in Nigeria ruled by an ex-military dictator incarcerated a journalist for doing his job! 🤣

Where the handshake was beginning to reach the elbow was when she was organising the US Congressmen to get Sowore designated by the UN as a prisoner of conscience. At that time the regime simple had to release him. The baggage and damage was too much.

The more I was laughing the more upset he was at the call they cut off the call with his wife.

3. On his refusal to become a US citizen, Sowore is just too stubborn! He narrated to me how he’d be travelling with his family, they would be allowed to pass with their American passport, on sighting his Nigeria passport he’d be pushed aside and grilled with time wasted along with all manner of humiliating enquiries. So embarrassing and annoying. Simply because of his passport! The Nigerian green.

His wife has pleaded, begged, cajoled, all go no end. He refused taking the US citizenship.
Stubborn people as him get more energised to work to make Nigeria a great country and passport respect with every such experience as their resolve is rekindled each time.
Talk of walking the talk!

4. The memorial held in his honour in New Jersey when he was in captivity with residents wearing orange and tying orange ribbons on trees must be first time in US history this honour (usually given to US troops’ homecoming) was given to a non-citizen.
5. Sahara Reporters disrupted journalism in Nigeria as the premier online newspaper, our own WikiLeaks giving information that the traditional papers would never ever report, especially as media like TELL, TheNews, and other newsmagazines of genre had waned with the growth and ubiquity of the Internet.
6. The man has the heart of a lion, fears nothing. His courage is simply super human, so is his conviction.
7. When I saw his wife on TV, for each time she referred to her husband, whom she affectionately called ‘Yele’ he face lit.
   I could tell a woman in love.
   The public image we have of revolutionaries is that of stern uncompromising critics even at home everybody is scared of.
   On the contrary he seems to me a romantic his wife is fond of and supports all the way.
   Who thought a married man would take the risks he does?
   And you’d think his wife detached from what he does as he’s refused to ‘grow up’ and settle down.
   Never judge w book by its cover.
8. Each time someone recognising him came to greet he stood up to warmly greet them.
   Gave them his full attention and for those they shared any past together he had a recollection for each and every one who reminded him of the circumstances of their meeting.
   First, I can’t stand each time to greet, and it’s not about pride.
   How many times can one stand up?
   The man is that humble and down to earth he didn’t do any of those consciously.
9. Many seek fame, others a means to having a share of the pie, it’s why people turn to different things over time.
   This gentleman has been doing and saying one thing for more than 30 years CONSISTENTLY.

Once in a while we should pause to celebrate the true heroes.