The recent spate of political endorsements by some elder statesmen ahead of the 2023 general elections has generated a reaction from Omoyele Sowore.
Sowore, who is the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, berated this development while noting that the actions were tantamount to playing to the gallery.
During a radio interview on Wednesday, he specifically mentioned former military president Ibrahim Babangida, noting he could never visit him for political approval which might connote engaging in “reverse mode.”
“I was more powerful than Babangida in 1993. Why would I go to him and beg for his endorsement in 2023, 30 years after we chased him out of power? It doesn’t make sense as you engage in reverse gear, whereas you should be moving forward. So, I don’t do that.
“I have respect for people. You know there are opinion leaders out there, we reach them to understand that look, this country needs to change. Those who want the country to change know how to endorse it. If there are those who want the country to change they know how to endorse it. You don’t need to go to their house and be rolling on the floor. I am not going to be a leader that will be genuflecting on the altars of fallen gods,” Sowore said.
Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president, Chief Edwin Clark, a former federal commissioner for information, and Samuel Ortom, the governor of Benue State, recently disclosed their support for Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, which has elicited significant reactions from Nigerians.
Many stakeholders have wondered if this might represent a seismic shift in the political hierarchy of the country as the youth demographics have openly displayed their affiliation for the Labour Party’s candidate
