By Sanusi A S. Maikudi FNIM
The intervention of Omoyele Sowore in the case of Maryam Shehu and one other the two Bayero university students detained for over a month close to the time of their examination period, and his recent presentation at the weekly webinar hosted by Pastor Iguah’s African Leadership Group, drew my attention to the man behind the successful activism Omoyele Sowore and to the broader nature of his activities. It also prompted me to reflect on the need to recognise, appreciate and document the contributions of Sowore and many others who, in their different ways, have chosen to step forward, challenge injustice and work towards making society a better place for all.
This encounter became the immediate inspiration for this reflection. It is not intended to be a hagiography of Sowore, nor an endorsement of every position he has taken or every method he has employed. Rather, it is an attempt to understand and appreciate the role of individuals who dedicate significant parts of their lives to the popular struggle for justice, accountability and the public good.
Sowore’s story provides an interesting entry point into a much larger Nigerian phenomenon that resulted in the emergence of citizens who refuse to remain passive in the face of governance failures and who are prepared to sacrifice personal comfort in the pursuit of a better society.
Nigeria: A Country of Great Potential and Persistent Underdevelopment
There is a broad consensus among public analysts that the level of Nigeria’s economic development and the standard of living experienced by the majority of Nigerians are not commensurate with the country’s enormous human and material endowments.
Nigeria possesses extraordinary natural resources, a large and youthful population, vast agricultural potential, significant energy resources, entrepreneurial citizens, intellectual capacity and a strategic position within Africa and the global economy. Yet these advantages have not translated into the prosperity, social security and quality of life that should reasonably be expected.
The gap between Nigeria’s potential and Nigeria’s lived reality is one of the most enduring questions confronting the country.
This variance is largely attributed to the quality of leadership and governance, as well as the economic models, political paradigms and public policies that successive governments have chosen to adopt and implement. The consequences are visible everywhere: persistent underdevelopment, poverty, mass unemployment, corruption, inequality, insecurity, weak public institutions, inadequate infrastructure and widespread social injustice.
These problems are not merely abstract indicators in economic reports. They affect real people and real families. They determine whether a young person can obtain a meaningful education, whether a graduate can find employment, whether a worker can earn a living wage, whether a family can afford healthcare, whether a farmer can safely cultivate his land and whether citizens can enjoy the dignity that should accompany responsible citizenship in a democratic society.
The central question, therefore, is not simply why Nigeria is underdeveloped, but also what Nigerians themselves are doing to challenge the structures and decisions that perpetuate underdevelopment.
The Society Produces Its Own Champions
History demonstrates that societies confronted with injustice and governance failure often produce individuals and groups who refuse to accept the prevailing conditions as inevitable.
They emerge from different backgrounds and operate through different methods. Some are academics, some journalists, some religious leaders, some professionals, some community organisers, some politicians and some ordinary citizens who simply decide that they can no longer remain silent.
In Nigeria, such people are popularly described as comrades, activists, reformers, campaigners or champions of the popular struggle even though I personally prefer the title of Active Citizen.
They frequently sacrifice comfort, security, professional opportunities and personal convenience. Some endure intimidation, harassment, arrest, detention, political exclusion, financial hardship and public vilification. Yet they persist because they believe that society can be better organised and that public institutions should serve the people rather than primarily serve those who control them.
There are many Nigerians who belong to this broad tradition. Among the contemporary voices are Dr. Dan Bello Galadanci, Dr. Abubakar Bukarti and Omoyele Sowore, among many others whose contributions deserve serious documentation and assessment.
They may differ substantially in their ideologies, methods, professional backgrounds and political strategies. They should not therefore be placed in a single ideological box. What connects them is a shared concern for the welfare of society and a willingness to use their voices, knowledge and personal resources to confront problems that many others would rather avoid.
This essay focuses particularly on Omoyele Sowore. The contributions of other individuals and groups in this wider tradition deserve separate attention and will be examined in subsequent reflections.
Who Is Omoyele Sowore?
Omoyele Sowore emerged from a generation of Nigerian students who came of age during one of the country’s most difficult political periods.
Born on 16 February 1971 in Kiribo, in present-day Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State, Sowore grew up in a large family and experienced the realities of economic hardship. His formative years coincided with Nigeria’s prolonged period of military rule and political instability.
He later studied Geography and Planning at the University of Lagos, where he became deeply involved in student activism.
His years as a student activist were particularly significant. He participated in struggles against military authoritarianism, corruption, cultism and the suppression of democratic freedoms. He eventually became President of the University of Lagos Students’ Union Government, serving from 1992 to 1994.
This was a turbulent period in Nigerian history. The annulment of the 12 June 1993 presidential election and the subsequent political crisis radicalised a generation of Nigerian activists. For young people such as Sowore, democracy was not simply a constitutional arrangement or an electoral ritual. It represented the right of citizens to determine who governed them and to demand accountability from those entrusted with public power.
His activism consequently became an important part of his political education.
From Student Activism to Citizen Journalism
Sowore later moved to the United States, where he pursued further education and obtained a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Columbia University.
But physical distance from Nigeria did not end his involvement in the country’s affairs.
In 2006, he founded Sahara Reporters, an online news and investigative platform that would become one of the most influential expressions of citizen journalism in Nigeria.
The significance of Sahara Reporters goes beyond its identity as a media organisation. It emerged at a time when digital technology was beginning to fundamentally alter the relationship between citizens, information and political power.
Sowore used the platform to expose allegations of corruption, misconduct and abuse of office and to provide a channel through which citizens could bring information about public officials and institutions into the national and international arena.
In that sense, journalism became an extension of his activism.
This was one of Sowore’s most important contributions: he demonstrated that information itself could become an instrument of popular struggle.
The ability to document wrongdoing, challenge official narratives and place uncomfortable issues before the public changed the dynamics of political accountability. Sahara Reporters became part of the emerging digital ecosystem through which Nigerians could scrutinise those exercising public power.
The Courage—and Controversy—of Confrontation
Sowore has never been a conventional political actor.
His public interventions have often been deliberately confrontational. He has consistently challenged governments, political elites and established institutions, and he has used strong language to draw public attention to what he considers failures of governance.
His supporters regard this uncompromising attitude as evidence of courage and principle. His critics, however, have questioned his methods and sometimes considered his rhetoric excessively radical.
Both perspectives deserve acknowledgement.
A serious assessment of a public figure should neither turn into uncritical praise nor dismiss the person’s contribution because of disagreement with his methods.
Sowore’s importance lies partly in his capacity to force difficult questions into the national conversation.
He has repeatedly challenged Nigerians to ask whether elections alone constitute democracy; whether economic growth without social justice is sufficient; whether political office should confer immunity from accountability; and whether citizens have a duty to resist policies and institutions that undermine their collective welfare.
RevolutionNow and the Struggle Against State Power
Sowore’s confrontation with the Nigerian state became particularly prominent with the #RevolutionNow movement in 2019.
The movement sought to mobilise Nigerians around demands for better governance, economic opportunity, social justice and fundamental political change.
His subsequent arrest and detention by the Department of State Services generated considerable controversy and intensified the debate over the limits of state power and the protection of political dissent.
To his supporters, the episode demonstrated the intolerance of the Nigerian state towards dissenting voices. To his critics, the revolutionary language raised questions about political strategy and the practicality of his approach.
Nevertheless, the episode reinforced Sowore’s place within Nigeria’s contemporary tradition of political dissent.
It also illustrates a recurring dilemma of popular struggle: how does a citizen challenge an entrenched system without becoming consumed by the confrontation itself?
From Protest to Electoral Politics
One of the most interesting aspects of Sowore’s political evolution is that he eventually moved from activism and journalism into electoral politics.
In 2018, he founded the African Action Congress (AAC) and subsequently contested the Nigerian presidency.
His presidential campaigns in 2019 and 2023 were conducted largely outside the traditional political establishment. Unlike the dominant political parties, he did not possess the enormous financial resources, entrenched political structures or networks of political patronage available to Nigeria’s major parties.
Yet his candidacies served an important purpose.
They provided a platform for citizens who were dissatisfied with the established political order and wanted a more radical alternative. His campaigns placed issues such as corruption, unemployment, poverty, economic inequality, institutional failure and political restructuring directly into the electoral conversation.
His electoral performance was modest when measured by votes. But electoral numbers do not tell the whole story of a political movement.
Sometimes the contribution of a political campaign is measured by the ideas it introduces, the questions it raises and the citizens it inspires, rather than simply by the number of votes it obtains.
Popular Struggle Is Bigger Than One Person
It is important, however, not to reduce Nigeria’s popular struggle to Sowore.
He is one participant in a much longer and broader historical process.
Nigeria has produced generations of activists, labour leaders, student leaders, journalists, intellectuals, human-rights defenders, community organisers and public-interest campaigners who have challenged different forms of injustice.
The popular struggle has also taken many forms: student protests, labour movements, civil-rights campaigns, pro-democracy movements, investigative journalism, community organising, legal advocacy, electoral mobilisation and digital activism.
Sowore represents one particular expression of this tradition.
His story therefore becomes more meaningful when placed within this broader context.
The fundamental lesson is that democracy is not sustained by politicians alone. It is sustained by citizens who are prepared to monitor power, question authority and defend the public interest.
The Public Good as the Common Denominator
At the heart of this discussion is the concept of the public good.
Government exists because society entrusts institutions and leaders with powers and resources that belong collectively to the people. Public office is therefore not supposed to be an avenue for personal enrichment or the exclusive advancement of political interests.
Where governance fails to deliver security, justice, economic opportunity, education, healthcare, infrastructure and dignity, citizens have a legitimate interest in asking difficult questions.
The activist plays an important role in this process.
The activist reminds society that what has become normal may not necessarily be acceptable.
The activist challenges citizens to reconsider political assumptions.
The activist brings hidden problems into public view.
The activist reminds government that power is ultimately held in trust.
And perhaps most importantly, the activist gives voice to people who may otherwise have no effective platform from which to speak.
This is the broader context in which Sowore’s contribution should be understood.
The Limitations of Activism
Yet popular struggle must also be subjected to critical reflection.
Activism alone cannot build roads, schools, hospitals, industries or functioning institutions. Protest can expose injustice, but sustainable transformation requires competent institutions, sound policies, economic strategy, organisation and effective governance.
Similarly, political conviction does not automatically translate into political effectiveness.
Sowore’s experience demonstrates this tension.
His courage, persistence and willingness to confront powerful institutions are notable. But the limited electoral reach of his political movement also demonstrates the enormous difficulty of translating activist energy into broad-based political power in Nigeria.
This should not necessarily be interpreted as failure.
Rather, it should encourage a deeper conversation about how popular movements can evolve from protest to organisation, from organisation to policy, and from policy to institutional transformation.
The ultimate objective should not merely be to change the occupants of political offices. It should be to change the structures, incentives and institutions that reproduce poor governance.
A Gift to Nigeria’s Democratic Development
What, then, is the gift of popular struggle?
It is the refusal to surrender.
It is the insistence that Nigeria’s present condition is not necessarily its permanent destiny.
It is the courage to speak when silence is more comfortable.
It is the willingness to question powerful people when doing so carries personal consequences.
It is the belief that public resources belong to the public.
It is the conviction that political leaders must be accountable to citizens.
It is also the recognition that citizenship is more than voting once every four years.
In this respect, Omoyele Sowore’s journey offers an important lesson.
From student activism to journalism, from citizen mobilisation to electoral politics, his career demonstrates several ways in which an individual can participate in the struggle for social change.
His story also reminds us that political transformation is rarely the work of a single person. It is built by generations of citizens who make different contributions at different moments.
Appreciating the Comrades
Perhaps Nigeria needs to develop a stronger culture of appreciating those who contribute to the public good.
We are often quick to celebrate political office holders, successful businessmen, celebrities and people who have accumulated wealth and influence. But those who spend years confronting injustice, exposing corruption, defending vulnerable citizens and demanding accountability frequently receive recognition only after considerable personal sacrifice.
This should change.
Those who engage in the popular struggle should not be romanticised or placed beyond criticism. They should be appreciated, documented and constructively challenged.
Their successes should be acknowledged.
Their weaknesses should be examined.
Their mistakes should be lessons.
And their sacrifices should not be forgotten.
This is particularly important for younger Nigerians who need to understand that the rights and freedoms they enjoy did not simply appear. They were secured and defended through the struggles of previous generations.
Beyond Sowore
Omoyele Sowore is therefore not the beginning or the end of Nigeria’s popular struggle.
He is one chapter in a much larger story.
There are many other Nigerians who have made, and continue to make, contributions to the public good through activism, scholarship, journalism, community development, human-rights advocacy, professional service and political engagement.
People such as Dr. Dan Bello Galadanci and Dr. Abubakar Bukarti, among many others, represent different dimensions of this broader phenomenon. Their stories, approaches and contributions deserve to be examined on their own terms.
This essay begins that process with Sowore.
Other individuals and groups will be considered in subsequent reflections, because Nigeria’s democratic and developmental journey cannot be properly understood without recognising the citizens who have consistently challenged the failures of the political and governance systems.
Conclusion: The Struggle Continues
The story of Omoyele Sowore ultimately raises a question much larger than Sowore himself:
What kind of Nigeria do we want to build, and what are we prepared to do to make that Nigeria possible?
A country with Nigeria’s human and material resources should not have to accept mass poverty, unemployment, insecurity, corruption and institutional failure as permanent features of national life.
The responsibility for changing this reality belongs primarily to those who exercise political power. But it also belongs to citizens.
Some will serve through government.
Some will serve through business.
Some through professional excellence.
Some through scholarship.
Some through journalism.
Some through community development.
And some, like Sowore, will choose the difficult path of activism and popular struggle.
The methods may differ. The political philosophies may differ. The personalities may differ. But where the ultimate objective is justice, accountability, human dignity and the advancement of the public good, these efforts form part of the larger democratic project.
The gift of popular struggle, therefore, is not simply the emergence of individual heroes. Its greatest gift is the creation of a citizenry that refuses to accept injustice as normal and refuses to surrender the future of society to those who exercise power.
Omoyele Sowore is one expression of that spirit. His story deserves to be told, examined, debated and appreciated—not because he is without flaws, but because Nigeria’s journey towards a more just and accountable society requires citizens who are willing to stand up and be counted.
And the struggle, inevitably, continues.
The author is an entrepreneur, politician and Active Citizen based
