Pro-democracy campaigner and human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore sits with Chude Jideonwo, host of #WithChude and founder of Joy, Inc. to discuss what his activism has caused him, his experiences with loss, and his decision to keep at his fight for Nigeria despite all the circumstances around him.
Sharing on the interview, Sowore says: “It was a hard decision to make because I knew the dangers involved to continue to feel free and continue to do what I believe to be right. I could have decided based on the circumstances surrounding me to hide inside a room, to never go out and never talk again. Or try according to their machinations to appeal or apologise to them or switch over to the wrong side.”
“If the ‘Kanu’ strategy were to work, I could have left. But, I am here because I believe in Nigeria. I don’t want to go and save another country, I want to save my country. And, I have always understood that it will take a sacrifice to do that,” he added.
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One of such sacrifices, according to Sowore, was when he wasn’t allowed by the government to see his son. He said: “most people didn’t think I had a family until I got arrested and then they saw my wife then they saw that I had kids. Activism had made me get used to walking a lonely path. But in the end, the truth is that you have a family. You have people that are categorised as loved ones.”
When asked about his thoughts about Nigeria and his expectations, the 51-year old campaigner said ” Nigeria is a religion of oppression, subjugation, and deception. The revolution I want to see in Nigeria is clearly defined. I have told anyone who cares to listen that this country needs to experience an uprising. For it to happen people need to abandon the fear they have of the system and the people driving it to accept that people can enter the revolution process from their different levels of consciousness.”
“Everyone does not have to be Sowore, they don’t have to be as aggressive as I am. But, for everyone to have the understanding and consciousness that without this uprising happening we are going nowhere,” he concluded.
