“I DIDN’T KNOW YOU BEFORE UNILAG, LEAVE YOUR SANCTIMONIOUS HARANGUE , “: BASIRU TAKES SWING AT SOWORE

The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ajibola Basiru, has fired back at African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, dismissing his claim that he helped him secure admission to the University of Lagos (UNILAG) after his expulsion from the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) as an “outright falsehood.”

The exchange escalates a bitter feud that began earlier this week when Basiru described Sowore as a “skit maker” during a television interview.

THE BACKGROUND

The dispute began on Wednesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where Basiru dismissed Sowore’s presidential ambition and questioned his political relevance, calling him a “comedian and skit maker.”

Sowore responded on Thursday, recalling their shared history in the pro-democracy movement during Nigeria’s military era.

He shared a photograph he said was taken with Basiru in 1998, when he was leading the Congress of Progressive Youths (COPY).

Sowore alleged that Basiru was expelled from UNILORIN in 1992 over his involvement in student activism and subsequently received assistance from him to continue his education at UNILAG.

“I received him alongside Kunle Adegoke, popularly known as K-Rad, who is now a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. We provided them with an enabling environment to apply to re-enter the university, gain admission, and study Law at the University of Lagos,” Sowore had said.

BASIRU’S REBUTTAL

Basiru was having none of it.In a response posted on his X account on Thursday, the APC National Secretary accused Sowore of dishonesty and insisted that he gained admission to UNILAG strictly on merit.

“Yele, you are outrightly dishonest writing that: ‘We provided them with an enabling environment to apply to re-enter the university, gain admission, and study Law at the University of Lagos @UnilagNigeria,’ ” Basiru wrote. “I did not have any relationship with you before I got admitted to the University of Lagos. In fact, I got 310 in my UTME exam to gain admission to the University of Lagos and that was the best score for all applicants to the law faculty the year of my admission.

So I was admitted on merit.”

He added: “It is outright falsehood to say you or anyone provided me with any enabling environment to get admission to the University of Lagos.”

A CHRONOLOGICAL SLIP?

While Basiru’s assertion of a 310 score is a strong defence of his academic merit, his reference to the “UTME” has raised a minor historical question.

The Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) was not introduced until 2010.

Before that year, candidates for university admission sat for the University Matriculation Examination (UME).

Basiru is widely reported to have studied Law at UNILAG between 1994 and 2000, a period when the examination was known as the UME.

Whether the mention of UTME is a simple slip of the tongue—using modern terminology to describe a past exam—or a significant error in his defence, remains to be clarified by the APC chieftain.

“YOU ARE A COMEDIAN”

Basiru did not stop at the admission dispute. He doubled down on his earlier description of Sowore as a comedian.

“I honestly mean my statement that you are a comedian as I do not believe you yourself believe you have any chance in winning the contest for president of Nigeria, at least for now,” he wrote.

He concluded with a sharp rebuke: “Leave your sanctimonious harangue to the unsuspecting young people you are lying to that you are a revolutionary or freedom fighter.”

WHY IT MATTERS

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The exchange between Basiru and Sowore is more than a personal quarrel. It is a window into the ideological fractures within Nigeria’s political class.

Sowore and Basiru were once on the same side of the barricades, fighting military dictatorship in the 1990s. Today, one is a senior official in the ruling party, and the other is a perennial opposition candidate who accuses the ruling party of abandoning the principles they once fought for.

Sowore’s recounting of their shared history was intended to embarrass Basiru, to remind him of where he came from and who helped him when he was expelled. Basiru’s response was to deny the help and to accuse Sowore of lying.

Whether Basiru was admitted to UNILAG on merit or through assistance is a factual question that neither man has independently proven. But the political significance is clear: the two men represent two different paths from the same starting point.

ValidViewNetwork reports that Sowore has not yet responded to Basiru’s rebuttal. The feud continues.