African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate and human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has criticised the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ajibola Basiru, for describing him as a “skit maker” and “comedian” over his decision to contest the 2023 presidential election against President Bola Tinubu.
Sowore, who is also contesting the 2027 presidential election on the platform of the AAC, accused Basiru of ridiculing the pro-democracy struggle they once participated in together, arguing that the APC chieftain had abandoned the principles that helped shape his political and professional journey.
In a statement reacting to Basiru’s remarks during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, anchored by Seun Okinbaloye on Wednesday, Sowore recalled how he received Basiru and a fellow student activist, Kunle Adegoke, popularly known as K-Rad, at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) after their involvement in student activism.
According to Sowore, Basiru had been expelled from the University of Ilorin in 1992 over student activism before seeking another opportunity to pursue his education at UNILAG.
Sowore said he provided both Basiru and Adegoke with an enabling environment to apply for readmission, secure admission and study Law at the institution.
He added that the two men eventually graduated with flying colours and went on to achieve significant milestones in their respective careers, with Adegoke subsequently becoming a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
The activist said Basiru’s current political position had led him to ridicule the same struggle for democracy and freedom from which he had benefited.
“I watched an interview on Politics Today on Channels Television, anchored by Seun Okinbaloye, in which the APC National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, referred to me as a ‘skit maker’ and ‘comedian,’” Sowore said.
To reinforce his account of their shared history, Sowore presented a photograph taken with Basiru in 1998, when he led the Congress of Progressive Youths (COPY) and both men were involved in the struggle against military dictatorship.
“I am presenting here a photograph I took with Ajibola in 1998, when I led the Congress of Progressive Youths (COPY), and we were both in the trenches fighting against military dictatorship,” he said.
Sowore added that the eventual fate of COPY provided an early indication of the direction Basiru would later take, although he declined to elaborate, describing the matter as a story for another day.
The AAC presidential candidate also challenged the premise behind Basiru’s criticism of his participation in the 2023 presidential election, arguing that opposition candidates should not be ridiculed simply because they failed to emerge victorious.
According to Sowore, Basiru’s argument appeared to suggest that because Tinubu was declared the winner of the 2023 presidential election, candidates who contested against him should be ashamed of their participation.
“His premise is that because Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was declared ‘winner’ of the deeply flawed 2023 presidential election, those of us who contested against him should somehow be ashamed of losing,” Sowore stated.
He maintained that participating in elections and challenging those in power were legitimate components of democratic engagement, insisting that the pursuit of justice, freedom and human dignity should not be dismissed as entertainment.
“The struggle for justice, democracy, freedom and the preservation of human dignity is neither skit-making nor comedy,” he said.
“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.”
Sowore expressed disappointment that Basiru, whom he described as a former participant in the pro-democracy movement, now appeared to be ridiculing the same struggle while serving as the APC National Secretary.
“It is unfortunate that he has become so carried away by the fleeting privileges of his current political position that he now ridicules the very struggle that helped shape his own future,” he said.
The activist further warned that political appointments and the privileges associated with them were temporary, arguing that the current administration would eventually leave office, just as previous military governments challenged by pro-democracy activists had done.
“But Ajibola should know better. Political appointments are temporary. Tinubu’s regime will come and go, just like the military regimes we confronted in our youth,” Sowore said.
“The principles we fought for in 1994 remain as relevant today as they were then.”
He added that his commitment to justice and democracy had endured for decades and would continue beyond the tenure of the Tinubu administration and Basiru’s current position within the ruling party.
“Our commitment to justice has endured for decades and will outlast his present political appointment,” he said.
Reiterating his position, Sowore argued that the struggle for freedom should not be trivialised because of political disagreements or the outcome of an election.
“The struggle for freedom is not comedy. What is truly comical is watching yesterday’s beneficiaries of resistance become today’s defenders of the very oppression they once fought against,” he said.
Sowore contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the AAC against Tinubu and other candidates. He has remained a vocal critic of successive Nigerian administrations, advocating political reform, civil liberties and accountability.