By Dan Abutu
The recent clamour for the release of “The Revolution Now” proponent, Omoyele Sowore by a segment of the population is at best the most unpatriotic endeavour that has come out of Nigeria in recent times. I say this for obvious reasons. The quest for pecuniary benefits has blinded people so much so that anything goes.
To think that all of a sudden, there are more human rights activists and democrats in the country clamouring for the release of Omoyele Sowore and criticizing the Department of State Security Service (DSS) for its firm stance in protecting our nascent democracy is indeed worrisome. What they failed to realize is the nefariousness of the violent revolution that Omoyele Sowore canvassed for.
The pertinent question that must be asked as a first is thus: can there be a democracy without a country? If the answer to this question is a yes, then the clamour by the overnight activists and democrats can stand. However, if the answer is a no, then the same activists and democrats should bury their heads in shame for insulting the sensibilities of the over 180 million Nigerians.
The import of the call by Omoyele Sowore is such that if by any stretch of imagination it succeeded, the level of violence and bloodletting in the county would have been unprecedented in the annals of the country. Yet, some misguided individuals masquerading under the toga of democrats and activists are organizing street protests and attempting to also instigate the people against the government for taking proactive steps towards protecting our democracy.
I am still at a loss of what democracy means to these set of individuals who have sold their conscience for a plate of porridge. For them, it has to be business as usual for the filthy loot to go round while forgetting that Nigeria is indeed bigger than any individual and would indeed stay united for years to come with the quality of leadership been provided by the present administration.
I stand to be corrected, the amount of monies that has exchanged hands within the Sowore circle is indeed unprecedented, else, how can one come to terms with a situation where people of supposed sound mind openly call for violence in a country that is contending with threats of terrorism and other security challenges?
In my opinion, the possible explanation for this malaise is a combination greed, unpatriotism, moral degradation, ignorance, selfish interest, and the pursuit of pecuniary benefits to the detriment of the destinies of this generation and the generation unborn of Nigerians. This is the case with Omoyele Sowore and his co-travellers.
Interestingly, those organizing these ill-fated protests are worse than Omoyele Sowore because it is a case of advancing a course that is geared towards causing the disintegration of Nigeria. If they understood what indeed democracy meant, and what it also means to keep a country as diverse as Nigeria united, they would have indeed commended the government for rising to the occasion and protecting the country’s nascent democracy.
I can’t but thank President Muhammadu Buhari for providing the country sound leadership, especially in the area of protecting the country’s democracy and putting all those that have connived with some external forces to destabilize the country so it can be business as usual for them and their cronies to shame.
For them, good governance should elude Nigerians, so they can continue to enrich themselves and their cronies with our commonwealth. This is also their grouse. Be that as it may, Nigerians have seen through their gimmick and come to terms with the fact that the street protests that they have been organizing are despicable and borne out of their selfish interest.
As it stands, Nigerians know better between those that are protecting the interest of Nigeria and those against the interest of Nigeria. Nigerians now know that since the advent of this present administration, governance has taken a turn for good. The likes of Omoyele Sowore and his co-travellers cannot deter the progress of Nigeria.
I am also of the opinion that with the way and manner the overnight activists and democrats have carried on with the mobilization of street protests for the release of Omoyele Sowore, Nigerians know that there is an ulterior motive which is ultimately aimed at causing the disintegration of Nigeria.
In conclusion, there is a need for retracing of steps by the overnight activists and democrats that have feigned ignorance of what good governance and democracy means. If they indeed do, the street protests would be discontinued in the interest of the country.
This is also a charge to the relevant authorities in Nigeria to see that Nigeria does not derail and succumb to the cheap blackmail by agents of destabilization who would never see anything good in the leadership strides as exhibited by the present administration.
The accidental democrats should think of a better way to deceive Nigerians with their gimmicks because, as it stands, street protests would not deter the government from carrying out its responsibilities to the people. Nigeria is earmarked for greatness, and so shall it be. Nigerians are wiser and appreciative of the efforts of the present administration in the quest to make Nigeria great.
Abutu is a pro-democracy activist based in Abuja.
