AS tension mounts over the proposed mass protest by Nigerians against President Bola Tinubu’s administration over ravaging economic hardship across the country, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has criticised a former presidial aspirant and one of the protest conveners, Omoyele Sowore, for his absence in Nigeria.
Sowore had granted an online interview on News Central Television from New Jersey, the United States of America, three days ago, where he was questioned on his availability for the protest.
While he did not directly respond to the question, Onanuga posted on his X account on Saturday, July 27, that “Omoyele Sowore is mobilising the gullible for protest in Nigeria as he sits pretty in his home, with family in New Jersey, United States. Be wise, the easily excitable Nigerians!”
However, The ICIR reached out to Sowore on the telephone for a reaction to Onanuga’s post.
He said his location during the protest is irrelevant, adding that he could participate in the demonstration from anywhere.
The renowned activist and good governance crusader said that he was in the US, stressing that his location was irrelevant as far as the planned protest is concerned.
“I have participated in 200 protests between 1989 and now and in many of them I was not physically in the country. Therefore they are just dwelling on irrelevance to incite the people against the protest,” Sowore said.
According to him, in 2012, he mobilised the ‘Occupy Nigeria’ protest from New York.
While insisting there was no going back on the planned protest, Sowore said: “The government is the one inciting the protest through hunger, unemployment, insecurity, corruption and poverty.”
He also dismissed the threats by security agencies, including the military, police and DSS, saying: “How many are they compared to the people? We are their employers.”
The ICIR reported some Nigerians have been mobilising for nationwide protests scheduled for the first week of August.
The posts and tweets on the protest carry different hashtags, ranging from #RevolutionNow, #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria, #TakeItBack, #DaysofRage and #TinubuMustGo.
State actors, including the military have warned against the protest.
The ICIR reported Tinubu’s closed-door meetings with the traditional rulers, and governors.
Meanwhile, the former candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 presidential election, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, cautioned Nigerians against the protest, urging the citizens to prepare to vote out the government in the next election.
Kehinde Ogunyale tells stories by using data to hold power into account. You can send him a mail at [email protected] (jameskennyogunyale@gmail) or Twitter: Prof_KennyJames