Full Biography And Net Worth Of Omoyele Sowore
Omoyele Sowore is a Nigerian human rights activist, a pro-democracy campaigner, and the founder of the news agency, Sahara reporters. He was also a Presidential aspirant in 2019 and has been at the forefront of the RevolutionNow campaign and protests. The biography of Omoyele Sowore, will give us a bird’s-eye view of his life, and how impactful his life has been.
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Birth, Early life and Education
The biography of Omoyele Sowore starts from his birth. He was born on the 16th of February 1971 and is presently 49 years old. He was born in the Niger-Delta region, into a polygamous home of sixteen children.
Omoyele hails from Ese Odo, Ondo State, Nigeria. He began riding a bike at age twelve. He used the bike to go fishing at the lake every morning to fish and provide food for his family.
Omoyele Sowore bagged a degree in Geography and Planning at the University of Lagos, where he stayed from 1989 to 1995. He had two extra years due to his involvement in student activism and political matters. He was the President of the Student Union Government, between 1992 and 1994. Omoyele was particularly involved in anti-cultism and anti-corruption campaigns and advocacy.
Omoyele Sowore is a Master’s degree holder in Public Administration from Columbia University.
Personal life
Omoyele Sowore is married to Opeyemi Sowore and they live in Harworth, New Jersey, United States of America, with their children.
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Net worth
From the digital and physical asset grading, Omoyele Sowore is estimated to be worth about $15 million, making him one of the wealthiest journalists in Nigeria.
Career
Omoyele Sowore has always had the ambition to help people. He took a job as a lecturer of Modern African History at the City University of New York. He also teaches Post-Colonial African History at the School of Art, New York.
Omoyele Sowore and Activism
The biography of Omoyele Sowore, will bear witness to the fact that he has always been an activist. In 1989, he participated in the student protest against the International Monetary Fund (IMF) decision to reduce the universities in Nigeria from twenty-eight to five. This was a condition the IMF gave before they can grant the country a loan of $120 million. The loan was to be used to construct oil pipelines in Nigeria.
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In 1992, Omoyele Sowore led a group of students numbering 5100, in a March against the Nigerian government. The March however turned sour leading to the death of about seven students, and he was also beaten up by the police.
Omoyele Sowore was still undeterred, as he fought against the military regime and participated in the fight for democratic governance.
Omoyele Sowore and politics
Seeing how bad things were, Omoyele Sowore declared interest to run for the Presidential seat, during the elections in 2019, on the 25th of February 2018. In order to facilitate this, he formed a political party, African Action Congress, in August 2018.
The National convention for AAC held on the 6th of October 2018. Following the convention, he was unopposed as the party flag bearer for the presidential election. After Omoyele emerged as a presidential candidate, he began to source funds all over the world.
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He visited the thirty-six states in Nigeria and other countries outside Nigeria like Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America etcetera. Omoyele Sowore, unfortunately, did not win the 2019 elections, but he had the third-highest votes. He, however, has not given up on ruling Nigeria.
Omoyele Sowore and Sahara reporters
Sahara reporters began in 2006 in a small Manhattan room. The purpose of the website by Omoyele Sowore was to have a platform where he could speak freely and fight against corrupt practices in Nigeria. The platform is supported by Omidyar Foundation and Ford Foundation. They do not allow adverts to run on their website, and they do not accept financial aid or grants from the Nigerian government.
Omoyele Sowore and arrests
The arrest saga, will not be left out in the biography of Omoyele Sowore. Life as an activist is not without its challenges and downsides. Men of the Lagos State Police Command, on the 12th of January 2017, arrested Omoyele Sowore, over a petition that was made by Lekan Fatodu, a magazine publisher.
It was confirmed by Omoyele, in a video, he posted on Facebook, where he accused the police of supporting Lekan Fatodu, and assaulting him at the Area F Police Command.
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On the 3rd of August 2019, the DSS arrested Omoyele Sowore. This was as a result of his planned RevolutionNow Nationwide protest. He was charged with “conspiracy to commit treason and insulting President Muhammadu Buhari”.
The Federal Government after they had admitted to the arrest, were condemned by Oby Ezekwesili and Wole Soyinka. Omoyele Sowore was granted bail on the 24 September 2019, by the Federal High Court. This however had a condition, that he surrenders his international passport within 48 hours.
However, the DSS refused to release him and said they were ignorant of the court’s order. Their action led to a protest at the United Nations Plaza in New York, championed by his wife. This brought to the notice of the public, how decayed the Nigerian Democratic system is.
Omoyele Sowore, on the 29 September 2019, had a media appearance and told Nigerians and the world at large how he was being treated in detention. He was locked up in a dark room, where he was unable to see the sunlight and was denied access to a telephone, a television, or any other gadget.
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He was set free by the court on the 5th of December 2019, after they confirmed that he had met all bail terms. It was however shocking when the DSS invaded the court and re-arrested him. This sparked outrage across the country and on the international scene. On the 24 December 2019, he was finally released.
Conclusion
The biography of Omoyele Sowore, explains his passion for activism and wanting to do things the right way. He is going to remain on this scene for a long time till things become right.
