Sowore, the candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections insisted that Nigeria should abolish its bicameral legislature and engage part-time lawmakers.
Human rights activist and convener of #RevolutionNow, Omoyele Sowore, has said that he has no regret embarking on the #RevolutionNow protest which led to his arrest and incarceration by former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Sowore, the candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections insisted that Nigeria should abolish its bicameral legislature and engage part-time lawmakers.
Sowore, in an interview with Saturday Sun, said he wished the movement had happened earlier as according to him, it started too late.
The activist who returned to the United States of America last week after spending almost five years in Nigeria following his travel restriction, further said he was happy that he enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime privilege to act amongst change agents in his lifetime, especially in a country in need of courageous and upright men and women to change its course of history.
Sowore, who also spoke on the recent move by the Nigerian government to implement the Steve Oronsaye Report, described the report as a distraction.
Describing his ordeal in the hands of the Nigerian government, Sowore said, “I have reached a point in life when I do not romanticise the fact that the system comes after people in my mould and character.
“I have a revolutionary spirit; it is a package that attracts severe reactions from cowards in power. So, my five-year ordeal is not extremely difficult to understand or explain. In a way, I am one of the lucky few.
“In the last nine years, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party has made Nigeria hell on earth for Nigerians.”
Asked if he regrets embarking #RevolutionNow protest, he said, “Absolutely no regrets. I am happy that I enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime privilege to act amongst change agents in my lifetime, especially in a country seeking courageous and upright men and women to change its course of history.”
When asked about his reaction to the comments of some Nigerians that his ordeal under the Buhari government was justified because he allegedly helped bring it to power, he said, “It is needless to address those who make such uninformed and outlandish claims. First, there is no truth or substance to it, except it serves those who have done a duty to self-perpetuate a narrative they knew to be false.
“Ask yourself if the majority of those who were massacred in the South-East through several criminal operations by the Nigerian Army ever supported Buhari’s elections.”
Regarding what he would have done differently concerning #RevolutionNow, Sowore said, “We started too late. I wish we had started earlier because Revolution Now emboldened a generation of youths that realized their potent powers to change the course of history. I hate to be self-serving, but I doubt that #ENDSARS would have happened had #RevolutionNow not shown to a new generation of youths that they could fight power.”
On what he missed during the years he was restricted in Nigeria and could not see his family, Sowore said, “Oh, I missed the solid growth of my kids. I left them both when they were practically toddlers, and I returned to them five years later to meet ‘adults’.
“They have grown into a world I am now trying to navigate. My daughter read a poem during my homecoming last Saturday; she was deeply introspective, and she captured my departure and return in ways I never thought she could.”
On how he would quantify his financial loss during the period of his restriction in Nigeria, the activist said it “wasn’t about finance”.
“My losses were beyond economic, and it is also fair to say it was a massive economic loss too,” he added.
On the loss of his loved ones, particularly his brother while in Nigeria, Sowore said, “That was a testy moment! I can’t describe it, it was very hard to get over it, and I doubt I will ever get over his death.”
According to him, he could not see the civil society organisations lifting Nigeria out of the woods.
He said, “I don’t see the solution as something civil society could resolve. By their very nature, ‘civil society groups’ have low bandwidth. They are not social movements, and they are also ‘limited liability’ groups that are largely risk averse.
“Nigeria’s problems have reached beyond what could be solved by or with civil society activism.”
On his experience in political participation and whether he will contest the 2027 presidential election, he said, “I have always stated that my political career is never tied to election cycles.”
Asked for his opinion about the planned implementation of the Oronsaye Report, Sowore said, “Orosanye’s report is a distraction at this time.”
On Tinubu’s support for state police and whether restructuring is gradually being achieved in Nigeria, Sowore said, “No, Tinubu doesn’t even believe in policing in the first place. He’s a lover, sponsor, and supporter of criminal and violent non-state actors.
“The gimmick he’s putting out about state police is to empower such actors, lawless and brutal non-state actors.”
When asked to share his thoughts about the planned constitutional amendment, he said, “How many times could a constitution be amended? There is no way an illegitimate ‘Constitution’ thrown at Nigerians by the military could be amended. The amendment of the Nigerian constitution since 1999 has become a drain pipe on Nigeria’s resources.”
“Nigeria must abolish the bicameral legislative system and engage part-time lawmakers to make laws. The Nigerian Senate is the retirement home of looters and criminals, mostly former state governors,” he added.
Sowore said that his message of hope for his fellow compatriots whom he left behind in Nigeria to return to the United States was that “I will be back!”