The renewed spotlight on Pelumi Onifade's death has brought the events of #EndSARS back into focus. As new developments emerge, many are asking: Will Nigerians finally get the answers they have been waiting for?
#wakeupconversations
In his final year at the University of Lagos, while Sowore was in the examination hall taking an exam, security operatives were waiting for him outside the classroom.
From 1998 to date:
Security agencies in Nigeria have arrested activist Omoyele Sowore 548 times.
He has been remanded in detention facilities 46 times.
He has faced trial in court 98 times.
Sowore has taken governors, senators, lawmakers, security agencies, and even the President of Nigeria to court. This is a man who has spent much of his life fighting legal and political battles.
“Tiwa Savage, you’re a very big snake. You’re a full blown APC member, own up to it just like Olamide did. At least no matter what happen in Nigeria he can’t say anything. You made a video as if we forced you. You said you saw it on Spyro page. Send the video to Tinubu, you’re closer to them and the establishment. Stop pretending like you care. You went to Tinubu royal banquet in the UK. You dine and wine with the establishment.”
— Man blows hot at Tiwa Savage.
🚨📰 Forget Declan Rice, Arsenal’s understated £27m signing has been their standout player of the season.
For months, the narrative has been that Declan Rice is among the frontrunners for Player of the Season.
He’s being tipped alongside Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva as one of the frontrunners for the top individual honour at the end-of-season awards.
However, while Rice has been exceptional, Arsenal have another standout performer who has delivered consistently with minimal noise but maximum quality.
And that man, is William Saliba.
Saliba has been the quiet foundation behind Arsenal’s success this season. While Gabriel tends to attract headlines with goals and big moments, Saliba has provided a consistently calm and composed presence in defence.
Saliba has made 46 appearances for Arsenal this season, helping the team keep 23 clean sheets. Remarkably, he has been dribbled past just six times all season, the lowest in the league.
In terms of passing, a key metric in any Mikel Arteta side, Saliba boasts an average passing accuracy of over 92% across both the Premier League and Europe.
Put simply, he is a defender operating at a level comparable to Virgil van Dijk in his prime.
And at this point, he deserves to be in the conversation for the best player this season. Via [afcnewsroom]
Visa fees should be after visas have been approved, or at least refund the payment upon rejection.
It's only right. If you don't want someone in your country, DON'T TAKE THEIR MONEY.
“We have to go after MTN, they’re the biggest Data th!ev£s in the world today. You’ll buy 5k worth of data and by the time you wake up, it would have disappeared. MTN is l00ting your data and by extension, they’re d£str0y!ng your life.
The Government is owing me 30 million Naira, so they cannot even talk to me about taxations, I’m the one who has to be paid. The Government are already taxing you by removing subsidy, they’re taxing you for everything you buy in this country, food, ticket, light, beer, every bank transaction is also taxed”
- Sowore
After watching that video of @thatverydarkman saying Omoyele Sowore was silent during the first two years of Muhammadu Buhari, I decided to check for myself. Not based on what anyone is saying, but actual facts.
I went through Sowore’s old posts and what I saw was the complete opposite. Less than six months after Buhari entered office, Sowore had already started speaking out and sharing articles criticising the government. So this idea that he was silent is simply not true. Anybody can confirm it. Just go to his page and search “Buhari 2015” and see for yourself.
At this point, it doesn’t even look like a mistake. It looks more like something personal. The same Sowore that has spoken up for people, even when it doesn’t favour him, is now being painted as someone who kept quiet. That doesn’t add up.
The truth is, if anything happens to VDM tomorrow and he is being oppressed, Sowore will still speak for him. That is the kind of person he has shown himself to be over the years. But right now, it looks like VDM is just fighting Sowore, not even the real issue.
Nigeria is too serious for this kind of distraction. You don’t have to like Sowore, that’s your choice. But changing facts just to push a narrative is not right.
In the end, truth is truth. It doesn’t bend for anybody.
ANSWER TO HOW SOWORE CAN PAY IS SONS SCHOOL FEES.
A classic tactic of manipulators is to exploit sensitive issues to court sympathy or deflect scrutiny.
After his initial political angle faced backlash, VDM has now pivoted to questioning how Sowore could afford his son’s school fees in America.
It is undeniably a fact that Sowore is one of Nigeria’s most investigated public figures. Successive governments, the EFCC, ICPC, NFIU, Police, and courts have probed his finances repeatedly with zero findings of corruption.
His careers and sources of income are well-known and transparent:
1. Founder and Publisher of Sahara Reporters that he single-handedly started in his basement with a $600 laptop, an independent media platform in operation for over 20 years and valued at over $10 million more than a decade ago.
2. Former lecturer at City University of New York (CUNY) and School of Visual Arts (SVA) for over 10 years. He was so highly regarded that when he voluntarily disengaged to join politics, the institutions allowed him to personally recommend his replacement, Rudolf Okonwo (@DrDamages).
3. He has earned zero kobo from Nigerian government contracts through contracts as an individual, even as the corporate entity the company he founded as a matter of deliberate policy, Sahara Reporters does not accept ads from governments or politicians.
He is married to Ọpẹyẹmi Sowore, who is a high-achieving executive currently Vice President and Head of Consumer Engagement at Teladoc Health. She previously held senior roles at American Express, Citigroup, and Delta Air Lines. She holds a BA from the State University of New York at Binghamton and an MBA from the Simon School of Business, University of Rochester (1997).
Now, the question has been answered. Can every Nigerian ask: What is VDM’s known profession and verifiable sources of income?