Sowore Replies to APC Secretary Basiru Over ‘Skit Maker’ Comment

Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has responded to the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ajibola Basiru, after the senator described him as a “skit maker” and “comedian”.

Sowore criticised Basiru for what he described as a departure from the democratic principles they once defended together during the struggle against military rule in Nigeria in the 1990s.

The exchange followed Basiru’s appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, where he referred to Sowore as a skit maker and comedian.

In response, Sowore shared a photograph of himself with Basiru taken in 1998, when he was leading the Congress of Progressive Youths (COPY), a pro-democracy organisation.

Sowore explained that he first received Basiru at the University of Lagos after the latter was expelled from the University of Ilorin in 1992 over his involvement in student activism.

According to Sowore, he and other activists, including Kunle Adegoke, popularly known as K-Rad, helped Basiru secure an opportunity to return to university and pursue a law degree.

He said both men eventually graduated with excellent results and went on to achieve significant accomplishments in their respective careers.

Sowore added that their shared history made Basiru’s recent comments particularly disappointing, given their joint involvement in the fight for democracy and freedom.

He maintained that the struggle for justice, democracy and human dignity should not be ridiculed or reduced to entertainment.

“The struggle for justice, democracy, freedom and the preservation of human dignity is neither skit-making nor comedy,” Sowore stated.

The AAC presidential candidate also criticised Basiru’s position that opposition candidates should be ashamed of losing to President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election, which Sowore described as deeply flawed.

He argued that electoral defeat should not be used to dismiss political opponents or undermine their contributions to the country’s democratic development.

Sowore further maintained that political appointments and positions of authority were temporary, predicting that the Tinubu administration would eventually leave office, just as previous military regimes had done.

“Political appointments are temporary. Tinubu’s regime will come and go, just like the military regimes we confronted in our youth,” he said.

Concluding his response, Sowore accused Basiru and other former pro-democracy activists of abandoning the principles they once defended after gaining political power.

“What is truly comical is watching yesterday’s beneficiaries of resistance become today’s defenders of the very oppression they once fought against,” he wrote.

The exchange comes as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections, with politicians and prospective candidates increasingly engaging in public exchanges over their records, political positions and chances at the polls.

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