Why Omoyele Sowore Should Be Set Free – Adedayo

By Wale Adedayo

It is a dent in the image of the current Administration that Omoyele Sowore remains in detention. The man should be set free immediately. Dissent is an essential ingredient of a genuine democracy. And, public protests against the Government is a practical demonstration of dissent.

Sowore is not violent. He has never preached violence. He even participated in the last elections, demonstrating his belief in the popular will of the people. Of course, I did not vote for him, since he is not a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to which son of man belongs.

Some of the major actors in the current Administration not only preached violence, when they were still ‘outside’, they directly and indirectly encouraged violence, which took the lives of many innocent Southerners in key Northern cities.

Today, those killing and maiming fellow Nigerians are being treated with kid gloves, while the likes of Sowore get treatments that should be reserved for terrorists. It is ungodly. It is unpatriotic. It is undemocratic!

It is even sad that some major political actors laying claim to progressive tendencies, who are serving in the current Administration, have remained deathly quiet on the issue of the illegal trial and detention of Sowore. Power is transient. Not just that alone. It is Sowore today, who cannot be equated with ‘bandits’ or ‘repentant Boko Haram’ members. Tomorrow, it could be the turn of these so-called progressives.

An Administration like this could frame up some of the quiet ‘progressives’ for sundry offences and also jail them with our people clapping for Mr. President that he is working to free Nigeria from leaches, not knowing that it is another tom foolery. So, it could be the turn of these ‘progressives’ tomorrow. And, that is why they MUST add their voices for this young man to be set free without further delay.

We do not believe Sowore has done anything close to what the ‘bandits’ have done. We do not believe Sowore is a terrorist. We refuse to believe Sowore hates Nigeria. It is the opposite we do believe, despite not being on the same page with him, politically. But he has every right to organise against policies, which he firmly believes are inimical to the progress and development of Nigeria.

Set Sowore free!!!