BREAKING NEWS
2019: Sowore Of Sahara Reporters For President - Yushau Shuaib
I received a strange call one night from a foreign telephone number requesting
a confirmation over distributions of relief materials at a residence of a top
politician. The caller said he had pictures to buttress the incident.
As the spokesperson of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), I
confirmed the story but insisted that the beneficiaries of the relief items
were internally displaced persons (IDPs) and poor Nigerians at a residence of a
community leader.
Since the story could be wrongly interpreted over the genuine
humanitarian efforts, I appealed to the caller to consider the plight of the
beneficiaries rather than the person whose facility was used for the
distribution. He magnanimously dropped the story.
The caller was the Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore who now
wants to throw his hat into the ring of presidency come 2019.
During my dilemma with Dr, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, before I was forced out
of the public service in 2013, Sowore was out in full force in my defence
through regular coverage of my plights and strong editorials in SaharaReporters.
When I crossed over to the other side as the Media Consultant to Nigeria’s
security apparatuses, we balanced our relationship, and in fact, Sowore has
been one of the great pillars of support in managing security reports.
It was during my engagement with the security system that I discovered
that Sowore has credible informants from virtually every sensitive unit of
government. The system as at that time tolerated some of his excesses and never
threatened his businesses. Most influential media personalities including
reporters were closely monitored for their safety and protection. Meanwhile, on
few occasions, the system interfered ‘intelligently’ with his platforms to
prove its technical capability. In fact, his media outfit and few others were
used as guinea-pigs to test-run latest acquired intelligence facilities against
stubborn online and social media. Surprisingly, Sowore would never make noise
about those secret interferences, even though I personally intervened when his
platforms, in few instances were compromised.
The system was aware that Sowore has large volumes of sensitive and
sometimes classified information on virtually every who-is-who in security and
political circles. He has been very considerate in managing the information in
his disposal especially on privacy and national security.
While he doesn’t spare top political and security top shots for
wrongdoings, he is always careful in not attacking the institutions and
innocent operators within the structures.
I could mention several instances where Sowore had protected the
reputation of Nigeria’s security from public ridicule and embarrassment. His
occasional private warnings and technical advice on issues towards safeguarding
national security were heeded while his medium too deliberately self-censored
information leakages that could be injurious to Nigeria’s territorial
integrity.
The renowned Defence Spokesperson, General Chris Olukolade (Rtd), could
testify to some of the amazing supports from Sahara Reporters that he once told
me “This Sowore of Sahara Reporters is an interesting enigma in every sense.”
Because I was involved, he has turned down invitations and snubbed the
receptions from many top public functionaries because of his radical
disposition. He neither visited public offices nor sought help from public
officers at least as at May 2015. Surprisingly, he never made noise about the
calibre of personalities that he rejected their hands of fellowship. He is also
choosy and reluctant to accept legitimate business patronages and advert
placements from politicians, public officers and suspicious businessmen.
My relationship with him was never rosy. We have the occasional
cat-and-mouse game since I am neither an activist nor a full-term journalist
that could damn the consequence of contentious media reports. I am a public
relations person that believe some information are not publishable for
stability, especially on privacy and national security. PR as a profession,
unlike citizen journalism, has ethical standards and regulations. Our mutual
friends, especially Musikilu Mojeed of Premium Times, do intervene occasionally
when we (this writer and Sowore) engaged in hot exchanges of words privately on
burning issues.
I am aware that he has damning dossiers on many top public officers, he
has been conscious of releasing information that could compromise national
security. In fact, till date, some system officials seek his intervention on
self-censorship and other strategic support.
In my interaction with Sowore, one could see his sincerity and passion
for a better Nigeria where there will be economic stability, political progress
and social harmony where the rich and the powerful cannot intimidate and harass
the poor and the weak. He means what he says even though he is too radical and
naughty in his views.
Sahara Reporters online media does not attack the poor and the weak. The
medium merely exposes the powerful and the rich for their dirty antics and
deals. It uses its influence to hold public officers accountable through
investigative reports and editorial contents. His true friends remain the like
minds in activism, the oppressed masses and the voiceless.
On a personal note, I am highly indebted to Sowore of Sahara Reporters
for being part of the few individuals who stood by us when it really mattered
and ensured he gave us a platform free of charge for PR stuffs. I will
definitely donate to his campaign funding since he never accepted a kobo for
the services he has so far rendered to us.
Meanwhile, I won’t know if I can vote for a very blunt and an extremely
radical activist as Nigeria’s President at this very critical time even though
Sowore has demonstrated fine PR skills in his exchange of words with
Communication Minister, Barrister Adebayo Shittu recently.
Yushau A.
Shuaib
Author “An Encounter with the Spymaster”
www.YAShuaib.com
yashuaib@yahoo.com
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