‘SKIT MAKER’ JIBE: SOWORE TO BASIRU: ‘I HELPED YOU GET INTO UNILAG AFTER UNILORIN EXPELLED YOU’

African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has hit back at the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, for describing him as a “comedian and skit maker,” accusing the APC chieftain of abandoning the principles of democracy and freedom they once fought for together during the struggle against military dictatorship.

The exchange has exposed a bitter history between the two men, with Sowore revealing that he helped Basiru secure admission to the University of Lagos after he was expelled from the University of Ilorin.

BASIRU’S REMARK

The controversy began during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where Basiru was asked about whether the APC would allow Sowore to launch his campaign at the Presidential Villa.

Basiru dismissed Sowore’s presidential ambition as unserious, describing him as a “comedian and skit maker.”

He urged Sowore to first demonstrate his political strength by winning a seat in a state House of Assembly before expecting Nigerians to take his ambitions seriously.

Basiru also argued that rejected ballot papers received more votes than the AAC in the 2023 presidential election, using the comparison to question the party’s popularity.

SOWORE’S RESPONSE

Sowore responded on Wednesday with a statement posted on his social media handles, accompanied by a photograph taken with Basiru in 1998 when he led the Congress of Progressive Youths (COPY).

He recounted how Basiru and Kunle Adegoke, popularly known as K-Rad, were expelled from the University of Ilorin in 1992 over student activism.

Sowore said he received both men at the University of Lagos and provided them with an enabling environment to seek readmission and study Law .

“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 said.

He recalled that both eventually graduated with flying colours.

“THE STRUGGLE IS NOT COMEDY”

Sowore said the struggle for justice, democracy, freedom and human dignity should not be reduced to comedy or entertainment.

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“The struggle for justice, democracy, freedom and the preservation of human dignity is neither skit-making nor comedy. Ajibola knows this because he was once part of that struggle and benefited from the solidarity of those who refused to surrender to military tyranny,” he said.

He accused Basiru of allowing the privileges of his current political position to influence his attitude towards the struggle that helped shape his future.

“Political appointments are temporary. Tinubu’s regime will come and go, just like the military regimes we confronted in our youth,” Sowore said.

He added: “What is truly comical is watching yesterday’s beneficiaries of resistance become today’s defenders of the very oppression they once fought against”.

THE 2023 ELECTION ARGUMENT

Sowore also faulted Basiru’s argument that opposition candidates should be ashamed of losing the 2023 election to Tinubu.

According to him, the APC chieftain’s remarks suggested that opposition candidates should be ashamed of losing an election he described as deeply flawed .

WHY IT MATTERS

The exchange between Sowore and Basiru is more than a personal spat.

t is a reminder of the ideological journey that many Nigerian activists have taken, from the barricades of student activism to the corridors of power.

Sowore’s recounting of their shared history is a powerful rebuttal to Basiru’s dismissal.

It says: I knew you before you were in power. I helped you when you had nothing. And now you call me a comedian.

For Basiru, the revelation is uncomfortable.

For Sowore, it is a reminder that the struggle for democracy is not a skit, it is a lifelong commitment.

ValidViewNetwork reports that Basiru has not responded to Sowore’s statement.