Revolutionnow: 5 Mistakes Sowore Made

The organisers of #RevolutionNow protest made some fatal errors. Tajudeen Alabede, a public affairs analyst noticed some of these errors that led to unsuccessfulness of the protest as he writes.

Tajudeen Alabede, a public affairs analyst and the Coordinator, Progressives Solidarity Forum (PSF), Lagos State Chapter highlighted the errors Sowore made to achieve success below:

Firstly, the choice of Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters, a presidential candidate in the recently concluded election, as the arrowhead and poster boy of the protest was a big blunder.

 Sowore now has to choose between being an opposition leader (politician) and an activist. The rules of engagement for these roles are different. Otherwise, his actions would henceforth be coloured by partisanship.

Secondly, the core demands of the group, serious as they are, don’t in any way call for “revolution”. They rather call for sustained campaigns and constructive engagement with the government at different levels.

Thirdly, the choice of #RevolutionNow as the group’s battle cry wasn’t well thought-out. Calling for revolution in the midst of multiple security challenges in the nation is naive. No serious government would take that lightly.

Furthermore, Sowore’s open rapprochement with Nnamdi Kanu and other anti-government elements raises questions about any claim to altruism.

Lastly, any attempt to play on words is futile. When a politician organises a protest by invoking revolution, the end result is clearly predictable.