Open Letter To The MacArthur Foundation re Omoyele Sowore and Sahara Reporters

Dear John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Office of Grants Management mailto:4answers@macfound.org

I write to you in respect of Mr Omoyele and Saharareporters, ostensibly an online news website, which you have given a total sum of $1.3 million.

In giving the Sahara Reporters Media Foundation this grant, you indicated that Sahara Reporters were a non-profit media organization that works to advance transparency and accountability in Nigeria. 

This assertion concerning Saharareporters is not accurate. It is false, and I will now prove so with documentary evidence.

Mr. Omoyele Sowore, the founder of Sahara Reporters Media Foundation, uses Sahara Reporters as a medium to settle scores, blackmail political opponents and mislead the general public via the publication of outright lies that he knows to be lies at the time of publication. 

For instance, on July 11, 2020, Mr Sowore used saharareporters to publish a video interview featuring him, in which he libelled me by alleging that I had been fired by my then boss, President Goodluck Jonathan, as one of his spokesmen, for engaging in “many criminal activities.”

On the same day, President Goodluck Jonathan released a statement stating that he never fired me, and that I served as throughout his tenure with distinction and offered ‘meritorious’ service to Nigeria, and continue to enjoy his gratitude and confidence, as well as the good esteem of many Nigerian citizens. 

My record of service is with the office of the Secretary of the Government of the Federation of Nigeria, and I have my payslips until May of 2015 when my tenure lapsed. 

I am a number one bestselling writer, received at the highest level of governments in many democratic nations, as well as honoured as the Humanitarian of the Year, 2019, at the Hollywood Weekly Magazine Film Festival. I have never been arrested or charged with a crime in my life. Upon Mr Sowore’s claims, I am now in receipt of police clearance certificates from the Nigerian Police Force Headquarters, Abuja, Nigeria, as well as the UK Police, stating that I have no past arrest or convictions to my name. 

Mr Sowore is presently in Abuja, where the office of the Secretary of the Government of the Federation of Nigeria is located. He made no efforts to investigate or to contact me. He gave that interview purely out of spite because I had exposed him to the Nigerian public as a blackmailer.

This is because on February 14, 2015, two weeks to the Nigerian election, Mr Omoyele Sowore had caused Sahara Reporters Media Foundation to knowingly publish lies against me to the extent that I was an armed robber, who robbed a house and stole the sum of ₦25 million. 

He refused every legal and humanitarian overture to him to retract the story, even though he received irrefutable evidence, provided by me to him, that showed that his story was a lie. He maintained this stance until my New York-based lawyer wrote a letter to the Ford Foundation, which had also paid Mr Sowore’s Sahara Reporters Media Foundation, vast sums of money. 

He caused that story to be published to affect the outcome of the 2015 Nigerian Presidential election, in which his surrogate candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, was running. 

His actions caused me great embarrassment and financial plus emotional loss. Affected the building of an orphanage that I was building, and deprived orphans of the care and accommodation that they desperately needed.

Mr Sowore is now using Sahara Reporters Media Foundation to assassinate the characters of people of integrity that he dislikes such as Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, a current candidate for the esteemed position of Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, amongst many others. He has had a long history of publishing outright falsehoods against her. 

Below are 15 verifiable lies Mr Omoyele Sowore caused Saharareporters to publish, and the dates at which these lies were published. I urge the MacArthur Foundation to ask an independent media audit body to investigate these stories to determine if they were ever true and if Messrs Omoyele Sowore ever published a retraction after discovering that they were not true. 

* That former President Goodluck Jonathan Looted ₦32b From Bayelsa State, and is the ‘Richest President In Africa’ (Published on Feb 2, 2015)

* That the then First Lady of Nigeria, Dame Patience Jonathan caused the Dana Air crash, which killed 153 people, because she was wasting time landing in her Presidential Jet (Published on June 4, 2012 and then deleted without apology).

* That former President Goodluck Jonathan gave out gold plated iPhones to guests at his daughter’s wedding (Published on April 13, 2014).

* That former President Goodluck Jonathan was too drunk to deliver his speech at the AU (Published on May 25, 2013).

* That $49 billion was missing from the Federal Government’s treasury (Published on various dates in February, 2014).

* That former President Goodluck Jonathan did not care about Chibok Girls and Rejected British Offer To Rescue Kidnapped Chibok Schoolgirls (Published on various dates and officially debunked by the British Government on Mar 8, 2017).

* That former President Goodluck Jonathan led a 600 man delegation to the UN (Published on September 22, 2013).

* That former President Goodluck Jonathan team threatened a blogger with death (Published on Apr 25, 2011).

* That former President Goodluck Jonathan was persecuting Rotimi Amaechi (Published on Oct 26, 2014).

* That PDP and former President Goodluck Jonathan were behind Boko Haram, a radical Islamic Terrorism group (published on multiple dates).

* That former President Goodluck Jonathan was a habitual drunkard (Published on Nov 22, 2013).

* That former President Goodluck Jonathan bribed pastors with ₦7 billion (Published on Feb 19, 2015). 

* That former President Goodluck Jonathan shared $1.1 billion between himself, Attorney General Bello Adoke, and several cronies and ministers (Published on May 27, 2012). 

* That former President Goodluck Jonathan and his cronies stole $20 billion in less than 3 years from just sales of crude oil alone (Published on July 12, 2014).

* That former President Goodluck Jonathan is Worth $120 Million Dollars! (Published on Oct 14, 2014). 

* That former President Goodluck Jonathan is the sponsor of Niger Delta militants (Published on multiple dates).

* That former President Goodluck Jonathan dishonesty shielded the Abacha family from prosecution after reaching a corrupt deal with them (Published on May 15, 2015).

Mr Sowore never retracted these stories or offered an apology. That he knowingly used them for political blackmail can be proved from an interview he granted on April 7, 2018, where in a fit of anger, he told the then Nigerian Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, as follows “I am the head of a media movement that brought the government that is sitting into power”. 

From the above, many Nigerians are asking if it is the MacArthur Foundation’s agenda to sponsor an undemocratic regime change in African nations using intense and sustained political propaganda and blackmail. 

Please use your good offices to look into these issues.


Reno Omokri

Gospeller. Deep Thinker. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years. Avid traveller. Hollywood Magazine Film Festival Humanitarian of the Year, 2019.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/07/open-letter-to-the-macarthur-foundation-reno-omokrii/

GOD bless you, Reno. Sowore is a roque.

Sowore should be ashamed. And the Mac Arthur Foundation should cover their heads in the sand for sponsoring such.

I wonder why they have chosen to fund Sahara Reporters, despite the number of credible platforms in Nigeria. Is there anything fishy?

And the bitterness goes on and on, Reno is just waking up, the bitterness is taking over him more

Sowore is a tool for anyone with big pockets. Mac Arthur come and clear your name if otherwise.

Truth always has the upper hand, and Reno has clearly lined them out.

Let's see how The MacArthur Foundation will address the points raised in the open letter.

We have always known Sahara Reporters as a media house which promotes lies, hate, propaganda and in turn sows seed of discord which threatens our unity as a people in Nigeria.

We are all aware of the negative manner Sahara Reporters media outfit was used as a tool to promoting negative propaganda in the country as a run up to the 2015 general election.

In the aftermath of the election and when Omoyele Sowore and his media outfit didn't get no recognition from the ruling All progressives congress, APC, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, he then turned on the government with continuous propaganda.

In all honesty, sowore is a propagandist who uses his media outfit to promote hate and lies.... and he getting sponsorship from MacArthur Foundation is an indication that MacArthur foundation is sponsoring propaganda, lies and hate which tend to promote disunity and chaos in the country.

Reno ,the envious speak from the heart about morality; they are consumed by hunger and begrudging. They tolerate, when no one else listens; and with the spur of spite, they applaud another's prosperity.

All envy is proportionate to desire; we are uneasy at the attainments of another, according as we think our own happiness would be advanced by the addition of that which he withholds from us.

Sowore has reconciled with his puppeteer thiefnuubu.
Expect more political journalism from sharia reporters in d coming days.

From all indication, the truth about OMOYELE SOWORE and SAHARA REPORTERS have been exposed through RENO OMOKRI's open letter to MACARTHUR FOUNDATION.

We will calmly monitor the outcome of everything.

My only question is where does Reno O. get the money to sustain his family abroad if he is not a pen robber and money launderer.

Give Sowore or Sahara reporters money, you ultimately controls them. They collected huge sum of money from Tinubu and the APC in 2015 and were used to manipulate and deceived many Nigerians to believing lies and deceit... while promoting hate among Nigerians.

MacArthur Foundation should be aware of such negative antics in order to protect the integrity of their foundation... my thought though

Jydology:
I wonder why they have chosen to fund Sahara Reporters, despite the number of credible platforms in Nigeria. Is there anything fishy?

Beer parlor news sharing journalism of Nigeria, please name one credible news platform that differs from Sahara Reporters? Useless omokri joker.

MacArthur Foundation should be aware of the fact that Nigerians are not all daft.... if they continue to Sponsor Sahara Reporters or give whatsoever donation to Sowore to continue his lies and propaganda, a time will come when the people will rise up and demand for justice for sponsoring negative propaganda aimed at creating hate and disunity among Nigerians.

AdamuKabir:
Give Sowore or Sahara reporters money, you ultimately controls them. They collected huge sum of money from Tinubu and the APC in 2015 and were used to manipulate and deceived many Nigerians to believing lies and deceit... while promoting hate among Nigerians.

MacArthur Foundation should be aware of such negative antics in order to protect the integrity of their foundation... my thought though

Sahara Reporters deceived you in 2015?, I guess it is the same way you will complain in future that Nairaland deceived you in 2019, into believing Baba Atiku will win the election? Please study to get an opinion of your own, not just following the crowd, like the childish cliche” Edo no be Lagos”.

The OP is Reno Omkri....KikBuhari2Duara is one of his numerous handles on Nairaland...


All the responses that follow this topic are all owned by Reno and His WhatsApp Group members...

Reno Is a shameless lying he goat..

Reno has always exposed lies....

Everyone knew that Sahara Reporters were only a political tool in the hands of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to promote lies against the former president Goodluck Jonathan which led to the removal.

so, for MacArthur to continue to donate to sahara reporters, it goes to show that they are indirectly sponsoring fake news which is against our law.

The international community should call MacArthur to order as Nigerians have seen them as a major sponsor of fake news and propaganda geared towards disintegration in the country.... and which is unacceptable.

Reno Omokri please lets chat. This is my email goodsandservicesabode@gmail.com.

I know you are kikbuhari...

Sowore no doubt is not clean from all these allegations, however, he should be caution not to go beyond his limit.

Sowore is still a man I prefer as a president to clean all the rubbish

McArthur Foundation shall be aware that all what Nigerians are going through today be it good or bad Sowore and his media contributed to it significantly.

Its very unfortunate how Sowore is using his media Sahara report to sell lies and fake news.

Reputable foundations like McArthur Foundation supposed to be there is not link in between them with blatant liars.

It's a clarion call to McAuthur Foundation to in look into the activities of Saraha Reports and Sowore who only deals with fake news, series of accusations, lies and blackmailing.

Sowore and his media has already become a monster used to blackmail people for a self political gain.

The very first point about the robbery case and Reno claiming was the reason Goodluck list the election makes his writing lack credibility. How many of the polity read news online?

Mtchewww

Someone should surmise