There was heated exchange between Nigeria’s communication minister, Adebayo Shittu, and a presidential aspirant, Omoyele Sowore, on a public affairs radio programme in Ibadan on Saturday.




Mr Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, was in Ibadan in continuation of his campaign efforts. He arrived Lagos from the UK earlier in the week.




The programme, monitored by PREMIUM TIMES’ correspondent, held on Fresh FM, Ibadan, owned by foremost broadcaster and musician, Yinka Ayefele.
The interview had barely kicked off when the debate became heated.




“Minister, it is great to see you. This is the minister of an outgoing regime; the Buhari regime will be kicked off power by 2019,” Mr Sowore said shortly after the programme began.



He had barely concluded his introductory statement when Mr Shittu fired back, saying the Sahara Reporters’ publisher is a dreamer.



“By your wish or by God’s wish? You are just dreaming. You are a day dreamer” he said in response to Mr Sowore’s claim to which the presidential hopeful replied saying, “By the wish of the people of Nigeria, Sir. It is not a dream. It is the realisation you’d wake up to on February 15.”




Mr Shittu retorted: “Sowore, what’s your electoral worth? Whether in your Ife (sic), home or any part of this country.” Mr Sowore replied: “My electoral worth brought you to power in 2015. Nobody even heard about many of you in 2014.”




The minister thereafter said the Sahara Reporters publisher didn’t know about him because he was inconsequential in politics. “You are inconsequential…” he said.
In defence, Mr Sowore said he was consequential because Mr Shittu and others came to power by the efforts of young Nigerians like him.




He said, “I am consequential because you came to power on my back, on our back… on the back of young people who invested a lot of hope.”




In response, the minister described the publisher as a mere noise-maker. “What did you invest? Did you invest more than me, No? I will not sit here and allow someone make noise…You are just a noisemaker. You are just a noisemaker.”




The Sahara Reporters publisher thereafter warned that the minster’s conduct was typical of the same way handlers of former President Goodluck Jonathan treated Nigerians before they were defeated at the polls in 2015.




“This was the same way Jonathan people were sounding in 2014… you are gonna be shocked in 2019,” Mr Sowore said. On accusations by the minister that he was a dreamer and that his statements were politically motivated, he said: “The Nigeria of the future is for dreamers like me.”




Apparently angered by Mr. Sowore’s statements, Mr. Shittu said: “You think the presidency is for people like you? Go and start from being a councillor. I have been a member of the House of Assembly, I was a commissioner twice, I was already a lawyer… you wouldn’t know, you were too small.



How old are you? How old are you? This is not a platform for minions like you to come… you think the presidency is something you can just buy in a market place? You are a giant in university politics (and) by the grace of God you will be put to shame.”




The anchor of the programme, Isaac Brown, momentarily brought the situation under control but the coordinated conversation didn’t last long before it turned into a shouting match yet again.




When asked to explain the rationale for vying for the presidency, the 47-year-old publisher said he had been around for thirty years fighting for the betterment of the country. He also said he had built a media platform whose reportage help bring the present government into power.
“That’s rubbish!” Mr Shittu fired back. “I have been in politics since you were born. For forty years, I have been in politics and I was already a lawyer before I joined politics forty years ago. You can’t be here and talk rubbish.




“This is rubbish! You want to become president? You are a day dreamer. Who will make you president? You will be president of your Ife… not Nigeria. Go and be president in Ife. You think it is cheap as that? We will see…”




On the #NotTooYoungToRun initiative, Mr Sowore said it was not enough for the youth to simply contest on the basis of their being young.




“You have to take power because we are responsible and should be responsible for it. That’s why we are having a heated argument here. I have been doing this for thirty years; by next year, it will be thirty years. We are the ones that fought for the democracy they are enjoying today,” he said.




Few weeks back, an ex-aide to Mr Shittu had in an open letter accused the minister of gross abuse of power, accumulation of ill-gotten wealth and refusal to pay his aides’ allowances. The long letter, which was circulated widely online, was also published by Sahara Reporters. The minister would later refute the allegations and challenge the aide to publish evidences of his alleged ill-gotten wealth.




In the course of the programme on Saturday, Mr Shittu accused the publisher of publishing falsehood against him without contacting him to verify the fact, an accusation to which Mr. Sowore replied by saying the minister barely picked his calls and reply messages.




“We do (contact affected parties in a story for reaction) but they don’t react until they get into trouble,” he said. “I have your (Mr. Shittu) telephone number… I called you. I had sent you text messages even before now but because you think I am inconsequential, you ignored me.”



Mr Shittu, who said Mr Sowore needs ‘mentoring’, thereafter threatened to sue the Sahara Reporters publisher over the said publication.



“Minister, you know what Fela said: take me to court and I will open book for you,” Mr Sowore said amidst laughter.



https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/264323-you-are-inconsequentialgo-contest-for-councillor-nigerian-minister-tells-sowore.html

Adebayo, the shameless embezzler vrs Sowore, the double-standard dreamer.

May the best man win

He said, “I am consequential because you came to power on my back, on our back… on the back of young people who invested a lot of hope.”
Young people that only put their hope in a recycled brigade of corrupt old men/women

Mr Shittu retorted: “Sowore, what’s your electoral worth? Whether in your Ife (sic), home or any part of this country.” Mr Sowore replied: “My electoral worth brought you to power in 2015. Nobody even heard about many of you in 2014.”
So Sowore can see the fallacy of propaganda now right? Even the beneficiary are denying same.

It is true that the officials of the Buhari regime are as clueless and arrogant as those of the Jonathan regime that were sacked.

I still remember how arrogant Rueben Abati was then. I remember when he engaged FFK in a series of rejoinders when FFK was still hobnobbing with the opposition ranks and APC, before he was given food to sing for the same Jonathan he had termed as clueless and finished.

Reuben Abati referred to the likes of FFK, Nasir El Rufai and Oby Ezekwesili, who had all held important roles in the previous PDP governments, as "Yesterday's Men" and calling them hypocrites.

https://www.google.com.gh/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/02/face-off-the-hypocrisy-of-yesterdays-men-by-reuben-abati/amp/&ved=2ahUKEwj9vr31vKraAhWMVSwKHXkWBTUQFjAAegQICBAB&usg=AOvVaw1VTJI9RuK8RB94uty80Igz&ampcf=1


Trust FFK to never surrender, so he replied Reuben Abati, terming him one of the many deluded " Today's Men"

https://www.google.com.gh/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.premiumtimesng.com/opinion/118520-reuben-abati-and-the-delusions-of-todays-men-by-femi-fani-kayode.html/amp&ved=2ahUKEwjQ9vOnvaraAhWEhaYKHd6dAAMQFjAEegQIAxAB&usg=AOvVaw0zSE0ef_5yqR6dJboDyDVs&ampcf=1



Eventually, both worked together for the same principal and party, both got sacked with their principal, to now both become "Yesterday's Men".


Buhari and his government are also heading towards the same path that the Jonathan regime were discarded.

Mr Shi.ttu again?


This "Minister of Communication" that cannot operate a smartphone.

God is putting confusion into the camps of Jonathan's enemies. They are now turning against each other.

lol

But the true voters don't even read Sahara reporter...they don't have android phone....or data just radio they deliver 10 m vote ever 4 years ..

2 useless fools

Sowore has indicting reports against the government and he intends to report it during campaign period.

Just watch.

Even though i don't support the minister's attitude ,He's right in some ways. Go back and check the background of most in political positions now. They have been hanging around the corridors of powers for a very very long time, Everything is decided by the kingmakers in the background. Although it's not impossible for someone like sowore to win the election, It's quite rare, Especially in a country like Nigeria. Anyway, who says you can't dream

Minister of the out going regime! Too harsh but true.

Only that Nigerian Youth doesn't worth the all out fight

Walahi the two clowns are only good at comedy.

Walahi the two clowns are only good at comedy.

Lol. This read like a comic strip.

Naija! House of comedy

chai

IdeyFindWife:
Adebayo, the shameless embezzler vrs Sowore, the double-standard dreamer.

May the best man win

And you must the spineless online ranter?

I admire Sowore's tenacity. Thats what we youths need .
We have slept too long in the wilderness of expectation, expecting someone from somewhwere to make the CHANGE for us.
Well, I guess no one is coming, and we are the ones to make that change ourselves ( if we believe in our strenght and unity).
These politicians assume we are inconsequencial and that the presidency can be bought .

We cant let things go on like this . The time is now!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USUA75YSDHM

Why has Nairaland not placed this video in their front page?

From what i have read on this thread, its ovbious that the Nigerian youth is comfortable with N power.

Please, let us not waste another four years with these dying politicians

Dasgoro:
From what i have read on this thread, its ovbious that the Nigerian youth is comfortable with N power.

Please, let us not waste another four years with these dying politicians

God bless u, so comfortable that they condemned a fellow youth who have a dream.

So comfortable they will prefer an old fellow in as much d youth is not from their tribe.

So comfortable most of they prefer the old same ppu to a new blood for a peanut.

So comfortable dey can slay and die for this politicians who only remember them during election.

So comfortable with bad roads they causes the death of many Nigerian.

So comfortable they prefer the old who cannot fix our hospitals or Aso Rock clinic, but travel out for medicals wh most of us can't avoid.

How do think our generation can change?

God who bewitched us..

policy12:


God bless u, so comfortable that they condemned a fellow youth who have a dream.

So comfortable they will prefer an old fellow in as much d youth is not from their tribe.

So comfortable most of they prefer the old same ppu to a new blood for a peanut.

So comfortable dey can slay and die for this politicians who only remember them during election.

So comfortable with bad roads they causes the death of many Nigerian.

So comfortable they prefer the old who cannot fix our hospitals or Aso Rock clinic, but travel out for medicals wh most of us can't avoid.

How do think our generation can change?

God who bewitched us..

Let join in the conversation and through it chase these old bald-heads out of town �

policy12:


God bless u, so comfortable that they condemned a fellow youth who have a dream.

So comfortable they will prefer an old fellow in as much d youth is not from their tribe.

So comfortable most of they prefer the old same ppu to a new blood for a peanut.

So comfortable dey can slay and die for this politicians who only remember them during election.

So comfortable with bad roads they causes the death of many Nigerian.

So comfortable they prefer the old who cannot fix our hospitals or Aso Rock clinic, but travel out for medicals wh most of us can't avoid.

How do think our generation can change?

God who bewitched us..

Let join in the conversation and through it chase these bald-heads out of town �

Please add Tonto to the topic so it can make FP.

This an opportunity for the youths to show their strength(people's power) by voting the outsider in with a landslide win like the rednecks did for trump. Change has to start from somewhere and it doesn't have to take centuries to happen in this jet age.

In an unjust society, silent is a crime...


The youth must wake up to correct dis old politicians...

Sowore wants to become President and Shittu wants to become Governor. What happens if both win next year?

They should go and sit down!

None of them deserve to be in politics

So Sowore, you are one of the people that brought in this chaotic government and you are still boasting about it

You have failed your generation

The debate/arguement was not intelligent at all

ivandragon:


He also said he had built a media platform whose reportage help bring the present government into power.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/264323-you-are-inconsequentialgo-contest-for-councillor-nigerian-minister-tells-sowore.html

The university Shittu passed through needs to cover their head in shame!

who made him a lawyer

He has being in politics for over 40years and nothing to show for it

I expected him to list his achievements but they were both fighting like market women!

I am really disappointed if these are the future of this country

modified:
I just watched the video, thumps up to Sowore

The minister end up saying nothing!

With this, I can comfortably say Sowore has won my vote!

Nigerians youths must realize that this election is about a generation change. Out with the old and in with the youth. Some of us like(d) GEJ and others still like buhari. Our personal feelings should not destroy the future of Nigeria.

Buhari's generation fought the civil war to keep Nigeria one. We say thank you.

Goodluck's generation fought to bring in democracy. We say another thank you.

None of these older generation people have what it takes to handle today's challenges. Today we face a future of fewer high skilled jobs and mass extreme poverty. All they offer us is band-aid solutions like sure-p, youwin and npower.

Sowore may not solve all our problems but at least we are certain he understands them. In the western world,
cleaners, security guards, hair stylists and barbers all earn a living wage. Wages that can rent conducive shelter and enable them to purchase vehicles. Sowore knows that solving our unemployment isn't necessarily about creating new jobs but about raising the living standard of people with jobs that already exist. This simple truth is also shared by ANRP's Tope Fasau.

Think about the returnees from Libya. One even said he wanted to go back there because he could make good money there. Think about the thousands of Africans that die while trying to cross the Mediterranean to get to Europe. All these people want living wages.

Nigeria has one of the widest gaps between the rich and the poor. The older generation believe that anyone without a degree should be poverty stricken. This is where the difference in generational thinking lies, especially with this generation of diaspora Nigerians. This generation needs to close that gap.