Sowore declares #RevolutionNow a reality

Activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore ignited a debate on Friday through his comments on ChannelsTV’s Politics Today program.

His statement declaring the “Revolution Now” movement a reality, even beyond his initial campaign, raised questions about its terminology, goals, and potential implications.

Sowore, known for advocating for systemic change, argued that the yearning for change transcends his specific campaign. He pointed to calls for parliamentary systems, bicameral legislature reform, and national restructuring as evidence of a broader “revolution” sentiment, even if not all share his specific vision.

“It is no longer a campaign. The revolution has become a reality now. Even those who were opposed to me in 2019 are now calling for a revolution. Anybody who is asking for a parliamentary system of government somehow wants to change Nigeria. It’s some kind of a revolution too.

“Those who are asking for two bicameral legislative systems to be shut down and combined into one, those who are asking for this country to be restructured, are asking for a revolution. Because all of this would have to change the Constitution.

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“And don’t get me wrong, that is not the revolution I am asking for. The revolution I’m asking for is for this system that is unjust, unfair and killing our people to come to an end, and that I’ve been clear about,” he stated.

Sowore’s statement may raise concerns about potentially conflating peaceful, democratic reform efforts with more radical interpretations of “revolution.”

Earlier on Thursday, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, had withdrawn the treasonable felony charges slammed on Sowore, by the immediate-past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mr Fagbemi discontinued the case via a letter filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, ending a trial that had floundered without any tangible progress for more than four years.

“By the power conferred on me under Section 174 (1) (c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, Section 107 (1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and all other powers enabling me on that behalf, I Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, SAN intend to discontinue Charge No: FHC/ABJ/CR/235/2019,” the letter of discontinuance dated 14 February 2024 but filed 15 February 2024 read.