After Calling Him A Skit Maker On TV, Sowore Shares Old Photo Taken With Ajibola Basiru In 1998

Human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has responded to a recent verbal attack by All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Ajibola Basiru, who dismissed him as a “skit maker” during a television interview.

In his response, Sowore shared a photograph of himself with Basiru taken in 1998, reminding the APC official of their shared history of activism against military dictatorship. He accused his former associate of abandoning the democratic principles they once championed in pursuit of political power and its associated benefits.

Basiru had made the controversial remarks on Wednesday while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, hosted by Seun Okinbaloye. During the programme, he discussed President Bola Tinubu’s prospects of winning re-election in 2027 and questioned Sowore’s political relevance.

The APC chieftain argued that Sowore needed to demonstrate his electoral strength by winning a seat in a state House of Assembly before he could be regarded as a serious political contender.

“ Sowore is a skit maker. Let him struggle to even get a seat in the House of Assembly as a politician, and then people will begin to take him seriously,” Basiru said.

He also claimed that the number of rejected ballot papers in the 2023 presidential election exceeded the votes secured by Sowore’s party.

Responding in a social media post, Sowore revisited their shared past, explaining that the photograph he published was taken when he headed the Congress of Progressive Youths (COPY) and both men were actively involved in the campaign against military rule.

“I am presenting here a photograph I took with Ajibola in 1998, when I led the Congress of Progressive Youths (COPY), and we were both in the trenches fighting against military dictatorship,” Sowore wrote.

The activist also recalled Basiru’s academic journey, alleging that he joined the University of Lagos after being expelled from the University of Ilorin in 1992 over his involvement in student activism.

According to Sowore, he received Basiru alongside Kunle Adegoke, popularly known as K-Rad, who later became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). He claimed that they helped both men gain an opportunity to study Law at the University of Lagos, where they eventually graduated.

Sowore expressed disappointment over what he described as Basiru’s departure from the ideals they had defended during their younger years. He suggested that the APC official’s current political position had influenced his outlook on the principles of justice, freedom and democracy.

Emphasising his position, the AAC presidential candidate argued that the pursuit of fundamental human rights and democratic governance should never be trivialised as entertainment.

“The struggle for justice, democracy, freedom and the preservation of human dignity is neither skit-making nor comedy,” he stated.

Sowore further maintained that political power and government appointments were temporary, predicting that Tinubu’s administration would eventually leave office, just as previous military governments had come to an end.

“Political appointments are temporary. Tinubu’s regime will come and go, just like the military regimes we confronted in our youth,” he added.

He concluded by expressing concern over what he considered a contradiction between the ideals some political figures defended during the struggle against military rule and the positions they now adopt while in government.

The exchange has revived discussions about the political history of both men, their former involvement in pro-democracy activism and their sharply contrasting views as Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections.

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