When you hear the name Omoyele Sowore, what comes to your mind? The former student union president of the University of Lagos, Nigeria? The publisher of Sahara Reporters? The Presidential Candidate of the African Action Congress of Nigeria in the upcoming 2019 general elections?
Sowore is all these and so much more and if this is the first time you are coming across his name, here are some facts about him that might interest you.
Sowore was born and raised in the Niger-Delta region of South-Western Ondo State, Nigeria. He is the first child out of 16 children who learned how to ride a motorcycle and fish at the age of 11. He was a beneficiary of the free education system introduced by the late Obafemi Awolowo. Through this education, he proceeded to the University of Lagos in 1989 with the view of obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Geography and Regional Planning.

That same year, he took part in student demonstrations protesting the conditions of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan of $120 million to be used for a Nigerian oil pipeline — the IMF loan conditions were to reduce the number of universities in the country from 28 to just 5.
In 1992, Sowore contested for, won and became the student union president of the University of Lagos until 1994. During his tenure as the president of the SUG, he was passionately involved in anti-cultism and anti-military government protests and activism which led to his expulsion and reinstatement twice. He led 2,000 students in protest against Nigeria’s notorious kleptocracy. Police opened fire, killing seven. Sowore was arrested, interrogated and beaten, but he refused to back down in his struggle for decent education in his country.
In 1999, he attended a peace conference at American University in Washington. Fellow activists recommended he seek help in the United States for the psychological aftereffects of torture, and one colleague put him in touch with the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture, an initiative that helps victims rebuild their physical and mental health. He had planned to go back to Nigeria, but doctors advised, for his mental health, against an immediate return. Instead, he sought political asylum in the United States and enrolled as a graduate student in public administration at Columbia University. Frustrated by his distance from his homeland, he soon realized that his re-entry into Nigerian political activism could come online.
In 2006, out of his desire to disrupt the media industry and promote free speech, he started Sahara Reporters, from his computer in a small room in Manhattan, NY. Sahara Reporters is an online news agency based that focuses on promoting citizen journalism by encouraging everyday people to report stories about corruption, human rights abuses and other political misconduct in Nigeria. A frontier news source for advocacy journalism Sahara Reporters has been referred to as the “WikiLeaks of Africa” by The Daily Beast. This platform has also been the recipient of grants from the Ford, Global Information Network and the Omidyar Foundation.
On February 25, 2018, Sowore declared his intention to run for the president of Nigeria and on August 15, 2018, he became the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, a registered political party in Nigeria. Up until his declaration to run for the highest office in Nigeria, Sowore was an instructor of Modern African History at the City University of New York and Post-Colonial African History at the School of Art, New York.
Now that you know some details about him, it’s time to discuss the 16 qualities that make him a rare breed and an exceptional Nigerian presidential candidate:

1. Passionate: Sowore scores extremely high when it comes to being passionate about the Nigerian project. When Sowore is in the room, you can’t help but feel the burning passion in him for a better Nigeria. In Sowore’s lens, the Nigerian project is a project of possibility. He has a rare yet unique way of lighting up a fire within you rather than lighting up a fire beneath you. His words carry power beyond the ordinary. It’s an indescribable feeling that should be experienced more than imagined.

2. Vision: If you ever take your time to listen to Sowore’s vision about Nigeria and the world in general, you’ll observe how he takes you on a special journey to see the glorious end from the beginning. He has a special ability to envision the future, bring it to your conscious and map out a pathway of achievement. Through his vision and leadership, he was the first to establish a thriving online news publishing platform, currently valued at $10 million, in Nigeria. Other initiatives include launching a media laboratory in Nigeria to promote investigative journalism and free speech.

3. Selfless: Each time you hear the name Sowore, selflessness is a word that will always stand out. His selflessness is evident in the way he attends to the needs of others, fighting for them and helping to restore hope, faith and dignity.

4. Disruptor: Sowore has redefined the way political campaigns are done in Nigeria. He’s the first presidential candidate in Nigeria’s history who has taken it upon himself to meet with, deliberate and listen to every Nigerian no matter where they are located in the world. In addition to this, he is also the one of the few, if not the first presidential candidate who honors ALL Nigerians no matter that socio-economic, educational, religious or ethnic status.

5. Innovative: When you talk about being innovative, it’s impossible to ignore him. He is the first presidential candidate to have raised almost $100,000 transparently through the crowdfunding online platform, GoFundMe and counting.
He’s one of the few presidential candidates, if not the first, to give a clear proposal on how to increase power generation from 7000 megawatts to 24,000 megawatts within four years, the use of technology to fight corruption, the exportation of cannabis to generate revenue and so much more.

6. Orator: Sowore is truly a great orator at heart. He has a rare way of engaging his audience from the heart, often times holding them spellbound. His speeches are mostly unscripted, articulate, and not only great in depth but also well thought out in breath.

7. Compassionate: He’s one of the few Nigerian presidential candidates that have demonstrated clear compassion to the plight of the Nigerian people. In June 2018, Nigeria overtook India to become the poverty capital of the world, with about 87 million Nigerian citizens living in extreme poverty.
His proposal to pay 100,000 NGN as the minimum wage of a Nigerian Federal worker, though criticized by the current establishment, is a welcome development to all workers and their families who find it hard to feed daily let alone provide for their basic needs. Furthermore, his inclusion of the accommodation for people with disability, a bloc that has been totally ignored by other presidential candidates, in his plan, is highly commendable.

8. Energetic: When it comes to being energetic, Sowore is a rare breed which makes one wonder where he gets his energy from.
He travels almost daily, holding multiple events and never seems to get tired. He streams most of his meetings live and answers every question from every Nigerian both old and young without holding back or mincing words.

9. Ready: While many Nigerian leaders wait until they assume leadership positions to know what is needed to transform the country, Sowore is one of the extremely few who has demonstrated that he’s ready.

10. Clarity: He’s the only Nigerian leader I have seen in recent terms whose sense of clarity is mind-blowing. In the course of his bid to become the next president of Nigeria, he has been asked over 5000 questions and has successfully answered every question with clarity, poise and tact.

11. Resourceful: He’s the only presidential candidate thinking about using the resources Nigeria currently has to transform it into the country everyone would be proud of.

12. Motivator: There’s something extraordinary about Sowore that is not found in a typical Nigeria. He’s blessed with a unique ability to motivate others into not only believing in themselves but also motivating them into action.

13. Intelligent: There’s no question about Omoyele’s intelligence. He understands Nigeria as a pastor filled with the holy spirit understands the bible and explains it to his congregation from a unique perspective. Many of his followers have coined the name IOS for him, meaning Intelligent Omoyele Sowore.

14. Courageous: If you are looking for qualifying words that sum up the totality of who Sowore is, one word that will keep recurring is courageous.
He’s not afraid to speak his mind no matter whose ax is gored. He’s one of the few, if not the first presidential candidate, to have led countless protests against oppression, high-handedness and ineptitude of the Nigerian leaders and in the process, puts his life on the line. He is a pro-democracy campaigner and human rights activist that gives voice to the voiceless, decimated, forgotten and the oppressed even if those actions will cost him his life.

15. Incorruptible: Each time you think of the word, incorruptible, all you need to do is to think of Omoyele Sowore. While he was the student union president of the University of Lagos, he stated that he was offered and rejected the gift of a brand-new car from the then military President Babangida. Also, due to his works and the fight against corruption in Nigeria, people with special interests continue to try to entice him with “thank you money.” He has stated numerous times that he consistently rejects these types of enticing offers even when they appear like the right thing to do. Not only has he made this claim, but he has also repeatedly challenged anyone who thinks otherwise to provide evidence to disprove him. Till date, there has been no concrete evidence to counter his claim of not receiving any “thank you money” from anyone.

16. Emancipator: Omoyele Sowore has special abilities to free people from any type of mental and self-imposed bondage. He speaks with power, poise and wisdom such that you can’t but be liberated from whatever is holding you back.
With these exceptional leadership qualities, Omoyele Sowore is a rare breed which separates him from among the pack of those currently vying for the office of the president of Nigeria. Here’s wishing him astounding success in his bid to become the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria come February 16, 2019, which coincidentally is the day he turns 48 years old.

https://theonpointsuccess.com/the-16-qualities-that-make-omoyele-sowore-a-rare-breed-and-an-exceptional-nigerian-presidential-candidate/

He's a vote splitter

We can't afford to do trial and error now. We need a tested and trusted hand. Sowore should go and try his luck in Ondo, his home town.
Buhari we know, Buhari we trust. Atiku only wants to come and sell NNPC to his proxies

Change the tittle to "16 things every single candidate in Nigeria has that Buhari doesn't "

Even the local government councilor candidates will defeat buhari in a debate or when compared side by side with these metrics

Click like for Sowore.
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the best man for the job

Please make he wait atiku will hand over president for him

He should start from PG in his village

The 17 quality: He should get Atikulated and not walk to the next level so that nigeria will'work again'

Sowore is a good man! But let him wait till 2023, Atiku is the one for now.

I am a web designer, check my signature for my contact

Sowore has lost his memory. At his age, he forgot when he started and graduated.

The same person who said he started his tertiary in 1999 and graduated in 1995.

The emergence of buhari come next week will give him greater chance in 2023. But if the thieving Atiku wins, it's over for him and other viable candidates who can lead this nation better.

I listened to a lot of Fela today and it's kinda crazy that the same awful events during his time are still happening in 2019. The same thieves that Fela cried about are the ones we are still celebrating in 2019.

Did you know Obasanjo ordered 1,000 soldiers to beat up Fela and his family, burn down his house, rape his wives and in the scuffle, they threw his mother out of a window. All of these simply because a man sang about our soldiers/police acting like zombies(which they are).
This same Obasanjo is being celebrated. Some call him Baba. Some call him the Father of Nigeria. A thief is endorsing another thief and we see nothing wrong.

What Sowore is doing is not easy. It takes courage, it takes a certain level of TRUE love for your motherland, it takes integrity too. Fela sang that "my Nigerian people no won talk! Them no won fight for their happiness!" Someone as influencial as Fela sang that we should fight our corrupt government like every other country did yet NOTHING happened. Instead, we even fell deeply in love the corrupt ones. So it's not surprising that Sowore wouldn't stand a chance. It's not surprising at all! Fela sang and didn't act but he said we should act but we didn't! Now, Sowore is doing all the work and acting on behalf of us, SIMPLE FOLLOW! SIMPLE FOLLOW! WE CANNOT FOLLOW!

Only illiterates will make the "he should start from somewhere" or "he should remain an activist" or "he can't win" comments. If he should run as even a governor, he'd not still win. There are thousands of him; people with good intentions for Nigeria - that have tried to run for governor but nobody even cared. For you to cut down on corruption, you have to start from the top. For the ones that say he should remain an activist, if he does he'll remain an activist like Soyinka and nothing will change till his death. Now the classic "HE CAN'T WIN", y'all don't know the power you carry. You say there are too much people in the north. If you truly love Nigeria you'd do all you can to spread the word. Nigeria is not that big! And we all want something in common. A good country for good people!

Therefore, I've come to the conclusion that majority of Nigerians, even the educated ones are still in love with their oppressors because they wish to be oppressors themselves!!

The guy is better as an activist than administrator

Sowore is the kind of leader Nigeria has been looking for so far

My president. You sure have my vote. I refuse to be fooled. Thank God Nigeria still have men like you. There is still hope for nigeria.

This same guy that gave us Buhari? Anyone that partook in the occupy Lagos during GEJ and has not so much as occupy ojota is just not different from Buhari. This guy won't let us hear word (though he was right) during GEJ tenure. During Bubu time he was more or less no where to be found.

He is not yet ready

also Sowore Follows Seun Osewa On IG

Good one. Unfortunately, Nigeria is not yet ready to have a dynamic leader. All they want is just an old recycled politician who can't even read a page a day.

Sowore is the next president on 16th February 2019

Mumu

Praktikals:
We can't afford to do trial and error now. We need a tested and trusted hand. Sowore should go and try his luck in Ondo, his home town.
Buhari we know, Buhari we trust. Atiku only wants to come and sell NNPC to his proxies

Voting for that idiot is as good as voting for Buhari

He can't even win his LGA against a dead buhari..

Only Atiku can challenge Buhari

Youths, this is your chance!

This Unilag thug

Atikulated slaves and buharideens will not see this one is old fulani men's ass they'd be kissing upandan.

He is intransigent.