Sowore And The Birthday of Crises


-By Segun O’Law.

For those who have had dates with mysteries; for those who have suppressed the pleasure-seeking nature of their mortal bodies; and for those who have committed their own souls to impulses of The Force…this enigma remains interestingly weird.
I am talking about Omoyele Sowore, the lone voice in the wilderness.

It is for the reason of today’s importance regarding, only, the record of birth, that I become self-appointed cyber compere, to emcee this short anecdotal get-together of followers and fans -for Omoyele Sowore. If nothing, at least I can represent my own generation in telling some epic, challenging and yet interesting tales by moonlight (or is it daylight now?), but about this phenomenon called Sowore.

Thanks that I am not delivering a paper, or a keynote lecture, I am only here to make reference to two or three virtues I learned through my personal experiences during movement with this force.

The account of Sowore’s stride as student leader in the University of Lagos (UNILAG) is readily popular, in any case I do not think I can tell the story more than some of his colleagues who witnessed it live. So I am relieved of doing that task and can only relate some of my own with him.

First, I recall some occasions of him severally challenging gun-bearing policemen and soldiers in isolated places during some of our journeys by road together in Nigeria. Parts on the road, where rescue would not be possible (in case of anything), Sowore would still argue and remain resolute on his point, defying weapons and threats rather than kowtow. I observe that in the end, Sowore’s (large) mind was always more powerful than the military weapons. It is not because if they shot, the outcome would not be tragic, but he always lived true to his own teachings that “it is better to die for a revolutionary idea to live, than to live for the idea to die”. These words always sounded like wits to me until I saw him demonstrate them in reality. Each time, I was always praying that the soldiers do not kill us. Even when they ordered “kneel down there”, Sowore never gets cowed. He not only defended why he would not obey such arbitrary orders, he also educated the military men, and right there too, why it is illegal for them to mistreat any civilians who are neither bearing arms nor constituted any threats whatsoever to peace, law and order. Thankfully (although), none of those scenarios turned bloody as in my instant fears, I always respected how he handled these hot situations without being intimidated. Sowore made the guns to respect reason. It is from these experiences that I gradually learned courage and began putting away my own fears.

Second philosophy I learned from Sowore is how to believe in your own legitimate source(s) of earning, but never to ever be impressed by whatever wealth is accumulated by others. Sowore prefers integrity to sudden riches. I am not sure he’d permit me to share examples of his rejections, even in the face of pressures. Sowore prefers doing a thing as long as he believes in the course -without expecting or accepting a reward. He doesn’t care others are building or showing off any mansions. To him, if a thing is not worth doing, even billions of dollars will not make him do it. From him, I learned how to posses the “integrity capital”, which huge money cannot purchase. It is also from Sowore that I learned that building people is far greater than building houses. I have happened (somehow) at some of people who have testified to benefiting from Sowore’s person-building life mission. He prolly would not appreciate me even to mention my own experience. But anyways, I am a testimony.

Third, Sowore is a life of revolutionary crisis. Let me contextualize “crisis”. Crisis refers here to deliberate non-conformity to bandwagon or pressures, but setting out to tweak, offset or change unpleasant status quo at personal sacrifices. It summarizes as the “struggle” against the syndrome of complacency and/or against submission to oppressive status quo.

Through his 45 years on earth, Sowore as the little I know of him, is always in various crises; year-in and year-out, and has always remained true to his life avowed mission of reforming the society and bringing it to total sanity.

Sowore and some of the crises…

…the crisis of building philosophical firmness as against acceptance of compromising lucres.

…the crisis of sacrificing personal pleasures for collective virtues.

…the crisis of standing up to any risk when everyone else would prefer to be left alone to enjoy peace.

…the crisis of standing even alone in strong conviction while others are going to table – and to bed – with corruption.

…the crisis of taking the gauntlet and looking in the eyes of strong collective enemy who is being rather worshipped by others.

…the crisis of speaking daring truth -even at personal risks.

…the crisis of not doing as the crowd, but doing as his own conviction.

…the crisis of causing and propagating change-evoking disturbances until a pretentious, fraudulent calm/peace is overturned.

…the crisis of challenging oppressive powers, when everyone else just wants to be friends with power.

…the crisis of pulling through for others when contemporaries are throwing self-serving parties.

…the crisis of not resolving for expensive fun on birthday because he’s not so feeling fulfilled as yet… until the totally transformed Nigeria of his dream is completely realized.

…the crisis of not committing resources to building houses, but to building people.

…one crisis after another.

Gentlemen and ladies, Omoyele Sowore turns 45 – and in the midst of yet moŕe crises.
…the crises that shaped my mind.

Segun Olawoye (O’ Law),
Twitter, Facebook: Segun O’Law.



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