Who Is Omoyele Stephen Sowore Beyond Sahara Reporters

Omoyele Stephen Sowore is not new to the Nigerian system and its establishment, he knows the system, and the system knows him. Omoyele Sowore has been consistent with his ideology since his university school days at the University of Lagos, UNILAG where he studied Geography, and was also the Student Union President as far back as 1992, and never for once flinched, but always on the side of the people.

He was rusticated from school due to his activism against the Nigerian military and the university, Jailed, and imprisoned, but later reinstated. Sowore is the founder of the first online main stream news media, Sahara reporters, with it headquarters in the United States of America. Sowore began Sahara reporters has a a media channel in 2004 to air, and write against bad Government in Africa and corrupt leaders in Africa, Nigeria in particular.

Sahara reporters became a household name first in 2011 after it revealed first that late President Umaru Musa Yaradua was dead, which helped former Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to secure the role as Nigeria’s President, despite the plots by the cabals to prevent that from happening. Secondly was in 2015 during the presidential election as the then President Goodluck Jonathan government was doing everything in its power to overturn the election result before it was announced to the public. Sahara reporters and it founder Omoyele Sowore who led a team of Journalists working for SR to capture the event live. At the time many Nigerians and Tv stations were uncertain of the election result, also Prof. Jega the then INEC chairman was publicly threatened from announcing the result, it was Sahara reporters that did the maths and made the pronouncement of the election result to Nigerians. This move many said closed the door to a likely chaos that could have burnt down the country.

Worthy of note is the systemic gaslighting of Sowore by the government agencies and medias. Yele, a man who has refused to receive many awards in his name, a once lecturer in two well known institutions in the US. Years back, Sowore launched a training academy for Jounalist, this was set up in Ikeja Lagos, and was fully functional until the government froze the account of the academy.

In 2005 Omoyele Sowore launched the SOWORE FOUNDATION to immortalize his father who was a teacher and philosopher in Ondo state. Since 2005, Sowore have been sponsoring and giving students from Ondo state scholarships, and has also sponsored many youths to study abroad. Beyond academic scholarships, Sowore has by himself with his resources and team of lawyers has secured the release of many citizen illegally detained in Jails, and fought to free many that were unjustly kept in prisons without trials. Some of the recent ones are #Endsars, #RevolutionNow, and #EndBadGovernment protesters.

Omoyele Sowore joined politics in 2018 when he contested in the 2019 presidential election in Nigeria, same in 2023. Omoyele who has been a residence of the US for over 20 years refused to obtain the US citizenship despite qualifying for it, and also his family, wife and children being citizens of US. Sowore choose to remain citizen of Nigeria only due to his Pan-Africanist ideology towards having unbiased approach fighting for a better Nigeria. Sowore contested under the AAC party, Africa, Action Congress, a party established by him to stand as the true opposition party against the ruling parties.

Many Nigerians still wonders why the Nigerian government and DSS are always worried and in a state of disarray whenever Sowore calls for a movement against the government, as some considers him to be irrelevant. But for students of history and those who aligns with Pan-Africanism ideologies laid by our ancestors, the likes of Kwame Nkrumah, Fela Anikulapokuti, Thomas Sankara, Kwame Toure, Marcus Garvey, etc. It is certain Omoyele Sowore is in the right path. since 1993 till this day, Sowore’s consistency remains a FORCE to be reckoned with. Enough of the mobilization, all that is left is the mass organization of Nigerians to support the Social Pan-Africanist ideology Sowore represents. A support for Sowore is a support for your freedom as Motherland people.