We Are Not Going to Change Nigeria Through Ted Talks, Prayers or Appeals” – Inibehe Effiong Defends Sowore’s Approach Against ‘Rogue Politicians
By Sulaimon Popoola
Human Rights Lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, has expressed his view on the activism and political approach of Omoyele Sowore, stressing that Nigeria’s entrenched political class cannot be constructively engaged in the face of their corruption, lawlessness, and abuse of power.
In a statement on Saturday, Effiong dismissed the idea that critics should dictate to activists how they engage with the political establishment.
Taking to his Facebook page, he wrote: “I want someone to tell me how to engage constructively with Nigerian politicians? Are the politicians constructive in their looting and lawlessness? Are they constructive in rigging elections and abusing the rights of Nigerians?”
The lawyer stressed that Nigerians who believe in a “constructive approach” should demonstrate it themselves rather than criticizing those taking risks to challenge the system, “If there’s a constructive approach that you think is better, why are you not deploying it to demand for change? You are trying to dictate to those who are doing what they can to challenge this failed system how to engage with rogue politicians,” Effiong queried.
According to him, one major reason he continues to stand with Sowore is because of the activist’s clarity on Nigeria’s governance crisis, “One reason why I will continue to support and defend Omoyele Sowore is that he has a perfect understanding of how badly this country has been governed, and knows how to respond to the politicians who are destroying the country. Even if you do not like Sowore’s approach, you should respect his courage,” he noted.
Effiong emphasised that the path to genuine change does not lie in soft, symbolic gestures. “We are not going to change Nigeria through Ted Talks, prayers, or appeals to politicians who’ve made up their minds to sabotage the progress of our country,” he declared.
The lawyer’s remarks come at a time of increasing debate about how best to confront Nigeria’s deepening crises of corruption, bad governance, and political repression. This period is marked by a recent demand from the Department of State Services (DSS) that Omoyele Sowore delete a tweet in which he criticised President Bola Tinubu for saying corruption was over under his administration. The DSS called the post “misleading information, online harassment, and hate speech.”
Also relevant is the DSS’s move to write to X Corp (formerly Twitter), demanding removal of the post, with a 24-hour ultimatum.
Moreover, charges have now been filed by the DSS in the Federal High Court in Abuja against Sowore, as well as against X Corp and Meta Inc., over the social media posts.
