FEATURE ARTICLE

Sunday, December 30, 2018
[email protected]
Arizona, USA
SOWORE: WHEN TOMORROW IS NOT TOO FAR!

he sad reality in Nigeria today is that the Nigerian youths want tomorrow, but the true reality is that they aren't ready for tomorrow! They prefer to savor yesterday for today in order to jettison tomorrow.

When Omoyele Sowore came on board into the political scene in Nigeria, some of us in the diaspora were so excited that the Nigerian youth has come to rediscovering itself in the political landscape of Nigeria. This writer actually wrote a published piece at the time for our ailing president to serve one-term of his presidency. But to God be the glory, our Buhari has bounced back with a rejuvenated health.

Meanwhile, Sowore's indefatigability and agility encouraged us to draw a template with which the youth could take our country back from the claws of these men of yesterday. Sowore's movement momentum was so exhilarating and encouraging to us. The crisscrossing of amiable Sowore from continental to intercontinental travels became interesting and aspirational. As time progressed, Sowore veered away from being transformational messager to a transactional candidate whipping the mundane issues to get his good intentioned message across to the impatient Nigerian public. In the process, Sowore has lost most of us who could see, or had envisioned tomorrow (2023) in him.

I have been admonishing Omoyele Sowore consistently that he needs strategic approach and diplomacy to facing the Nigerian politics! His political immaturity and hydra-headed posture to tackling Nigerian youth problems can't work in our polarized and complex political environment. Sowore doesn't play politics tactically to deal with our complex and contradictory political clime. You can't disrespect a widely respected and loved president and expect reasonable people to wow and hifive you when you will most need them to achieve your political aspiration.

In recent times, instead of constructively criticizing Buhari's policies, Buhari's personality has been the target of rubbish by takeitback's supporters. If African Action Congress-AAC is strategic to face the national problems with its supposed transformational approach, the leadership of the party wouldn't be making so many gaffes like we have seen in the last few months. Sowore and Buhari have a lot of similarities in their intentions to tackling the nation's corrupt system. Sowore's prospect to succeeding Buhari was very high before he ventured into personal abuse of the popular president he helped assiduously to bring to power in 2015.

In politics, there are times you have to be calculative, diplomatic and be a necessary 'evil' in the interest of a nation. Your opponents are fallible and are prone to making honest mistakes. But smart people should be able to discern good intentions from honest mistakes. #Takeitback movement has been very transactional with glorified college or university activism, and with no transformational strategy in its approach to national politics. The Sowore's movement has championed mundane mission, and the movement continues to abuse and disrespect those who should be helping it to climb the ladder of success, and to achieving its historic movement and transformational agenda in the nearest possible future.

Nigerians are very sensitive to politics of emotion and selfish interests, and Sowore knows the contradictory nature of our politics in Nigeria. You cannot depend on the unending support of a typical Nigerian, you will be on-your-own (OYO) when the coast is clear! Majority of Nigeria play politics of instant gratification. History has exposed the nature of our temporal universe in Nigerian politics. The youthful Sowore has honestly played his role in our politics with indelible mark, but it is personally worrisome to me how he is going about his historic campaigns to realise his dream.

Meanwhile, Sowore should avoid playing into the noxious hands of his political distractors. Truth is a nuance that is very scarce, only the inquisitors are sure to finding the truth. It bleeds my mind to see how we covertly and overtly run down the brightest minds among ourselves in Nigeria. Omoyele Sowore needs to be schooled (I am sure he's already a student) in the department of African or Nigerian politics of bitterness! Sowore should know better and take heed of those who are singing his praises today. Tomorrow isn't too far for people to begin to show their true color.

I strongly empathize with Omoyele Sowore for failing to be methodical and strategic in his approach to germane political issues in Nigeria. My good friend has had two steps forward in the last one year, he should avoid taking several steps backward. Unequivocally, the indefatigable strongman Sowore has triggered a national conversation on how to review our attitude towards moving Nigeria forward.

The hateful dispositions of the cyborgs who constitute a chunk of the Nigerian youths is preposterous. Nigerian youths like to maim and resent the characters of the best among them. Today's Nigerian youths are quick to canonize the nihilists amongst them who are the representations of the ugly part of the Nigerian system. How we can advance to meet the rest of the world in this 21st century democracy is very daunting and concerning!

The naughtiness of the Nigerian cyborgs on social media is a great impediment to national integration, revival and development. The youth must begin to do a collective self-talk and jettison needless impulses and naughtiness. We must begin to identify with the progressive groups amongst us to expose the children of corruption. The issues that are of great importance to national discourse must be amplified. We must stop engaging in the wrong rat race to tomorrow; and the collective action of some of Sowore's supporters today makes tomorrow too far! While we are yearning for a collective tomorrow, these youths seem to be taking different bumpy and ignorant routes to getting to our collective destination! It must stop!


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