Sowore: When truth Is bitter!

Sir: I wrote an op-ed recently in the Nigeria world website and posted it on social media to explain the SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat) of Sowore’s 2019 campaign organization.

In the piece, I advised Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of African Action Congress-AAC about the way forward.

What I received in return from Sowore’s followers were threats and hurl of insults for telling Sowore and his campaign organization the home truth on how to predict tomorrow in order to create it!

The administrator of “Sowore 2019: Take it back movement” campaign on Facebook platform even removed the posted article when it was gaining traction and going viral to conscientize the public.

I see the takedown of the article from their platform as very juvenile behavior and an act of political amateurism.

Those who are close to this writer know that one of the ways you’ll know he likes a man is how he constructively criticizes his muse when the muse errs. But unfortunately, most people in Nigeria are used to apparent conditioning or being deceived with carrot and stick treatments.

Sowore’s undisputed antecedents in the struggle to emancipate Nigerians from the claws of oppressors and ghouls of Nigerian politics should be commended.

His fearlessness and doggedness should be his political leverage and asset, not his encumbrance.

Sowore has sacrificed part of his life and time to ensure equity, justice and fair play reign supreme in Nigeria. His place in Nigerian history seems positively assured.

But, instructively, like I have previously stated in my various articles about him, Omoyele Sowore should thread it smartly and be cautiously optimistic to avoid the contradictory nature of Nigerian polity.

Consequently, in reality, Sowore seems to be transactional. He is reducing his political leverage through the movement on a platter of hardline temperament and political expediency.

I feel personally concerned for Sowore’s political career in the nearest future if he allows his campaign to continue in this manner.

The well-intentioned people Sowore’s campaign organization is impugning and denigrating today has army of supporters, all across the geopolitical spectrum of the country.

These people could be Sowore’s collective encumbrance or impediment tomorrow when the historic chance finally opens to him to clinch the mundane Nigerian presidency.

Expectedly, our expectation when Sowore began the disruption of the political landscape in Nigeria was that, Sowore would tap and take a cue from the political populism spreading all across Europe and America.

I specifically wrote an article that Sowore should borrow from the campaign books of President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012.

The decorum and smartness of the historic campaigns launched Obama to limelight and endeared him to the hearts and consciousness of the American voters, his opponents and the world.

Obama smartly won and defeated his political rival, and still maintained his coolness, grace and integrity throughout his unique and tumultuous two terms administration in the White House.

Seriously, if Omoyele Sowore had listened to honest advice to criticize Buhari administration’s policies instead of impugning Buhari’s personality and family, I guarantee you, through our political permutations, Sowore would’ve favorably been on his way apparently as the heir apparent to Buhari after 2023. He seems to be squandering away all the untapped goodwill.

Yahaya Balogun wrote from Arizona, United States of America.

It would have been a smart politics if Sowore had toned down his vituperations on the president’s personality and his family. Sowore’s supporters have continued to dump unprintable recriminations and trash on the people that supposed to be his political ladder and catalyst to climb to the top in no distant future.

Meanwhile, Nigerians are expected to overwhelmingly be rallying round Sowore in the nearest future, but Sowore’s political strategy now might be his burden when the coast is clearer after February 16, 2019! History is bunk! Politics goes beyond activism and hydra-headedness. Today’s politics is intertwined with strategy, synergy, smartness and seriousness with diplomacy to sway and win majority of the people. There are too many divergent views and opinions in national political conversations. As a serious contender and prospective leader, Sowore must walk a fine line to integrate the interests of followers, independent and political opponent in order to leverage their support for him when he will need those most. Sowore’s incubating African Action Congress-AAC party has prospect for the politics of Nigeria in the future, but my hope and fear is that, the team Sowore will see this piece as an honest warning and candid advice to return to decorum and with every sense of decency to capture the auspicious tomorrow. It is not too late for Sowore’s movement now to re-strategise with diplomacy to bring everyone along in its campaign to realize Omoyele Sowore’s political aspirations.

Tomorrow isn’t too far at all!

Yahaya Balogun wrote from Arizona, United States of America.