Omoyele Sowore is a Nigerian pro-democracy and human rights advocate. In 2006, he established the online news organization Sahara Reporters in New York City with financing from the Ford Foundation and the Omidyar Foundation to fight against corrupt and unethical government activities. Sowore was born on February 16, 1971, in Ese-Odo, Ondo State, Nigeria. He was one of 16 children reared in a polygamous household, and he learned to fish as a way to provide for them and pay for his own education. He has settled in Bergen County, New Jersey, with his American-born wife and two kids. His interest and ambition for journalism were both fueled by Nigeria’s period under military rule. In August 2018, he started a new party called the African Action Congress.
Moreso, He went to the University of Lagos from 1989 to 1995 to study Geography and Planning. His schooling was extended by two years because he was expelled twice for political purposes and student advocacy. He graduated from Columbia University with a Master’s in Public Administration. From 1992 to 1994, he served as the University of Lagos Student Union Government president, advocating for anti-cultism and anti-corruption campaigns. Later Sowore was taken into custody by the Nigerian SSS after he called for a protest under the banner “RevolutionNow”. The SSS accuses him of treason. Many times he was arrested during revolutionary demonstrations.
His presidential intention led to the creation of the AAC party.
Declaring his candidacy for the presidency of Nigeria in the 2019 election on February 25, He entered politics in 2019 after forming his own party, the African Action Congress (AAC), in August 2018. After presidential primaries at the AAC national convention went smoothly on October 6th 2018, Omoyele Sowore was declared the party’s Presidential Candidate. He visited the Emir of Kano and Wole Soyinka, among other Nigerian dignitaries, during his extensive cross-country journey before heading overseas for a global fundraising tour that took him to countries like Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. On November 10, 2018, he was in the town of Luton in England. For the 2019 election, He got 33,953 votes and came in fifth, ahead of many other new contestants to the election.
Furthermore, recent developments have seen the Publisher of Sahara Reporters re-emerge as the 2023 presidential candidate of the AAC party for the general election, with Haruna Magashi as his running mate. At the party’s national convention, which took place in Abuja, the delegates voted him to be the party’s flag bearer. Mr Sowore, who had become the chairman of the AAC owing to a court ruling, announced his resignation from that position prior to his appearance at the convention. After months of legal battles with the Leonard Ezenwa-led faction of the party, an Appeal Court in Abuja affirmed him as the functional chairman of the party. Sowore stated that his candidacy for party president would violate the party’s constitution, which prevents him from holding both positions at once.
Contributions were made to support the Sowore Campaign goal.
Many Nigerians, both at home and abroad, have contributed to the AAC Presidential candidate’s campaign in the months leading up to the 2023 election. The donations were made in a virtual fundraising event called the “Sowore Campaign Global Mega Fundraising.” The initial donation came from a man known as Folyjesus, a Nigerian living in the United Kingdom. Subsequent donations came from a man known as Papzo and several others. He commended them for their donations and mentioned that he was appearing on a presidential town hall series, which some of his supporters were watching while also making donations. He explained that they intended to run a campaign centred on the idea of liberty and that they intended to hand the reins of power over to the voters.
In an earlier speech this year, Sowore reminded his fellow Nigerians that they only got one opportunity to live and that it didn’t have to be full of suffering because of a dishonest government. The leader of the #RevolutionNow movement has urged the people of Nigeria to take action in the face of the problems that have plagued the country for so long. He explained that he had come before the people with nothing to hide and that he had never stolen from the country, lied to anyone, or stood in all four corners at once. He explained that he felt personally persecuted for the persecution of individuals from all over Nigeria.
Stolen funds are enough to fund free education – Sowore.
During an appearance on Channels Television’s program titled “Sunday Politics,” Sowore responded to viewers’ comments by stating that, should he be elected president, his administration will place emphasis on education and will work to ensure that it is available without cost at all educational levels. One of the most important promises in his party’s platform is that education will be free. He elaborated on the proposal by saying it applies to everyone at any level. He is well-versed in economic management, and the resources to do so are available in Nigeria. According to him, the funds that have been stolen from the government over the previous 16 years are enough to fund full free education for the next 50 or 100 years.
Related Link
INEC: Website
Snopes.com
