Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore says he cannot stand former President Olusegun Obasanjo, citing concerns about the state of the education sector during Mr Obasanjo’s time in office.
Mr Sowore made the remarks during an interview on an X programme titled “Nix: Outside the Box”.
He said he had never visited Aso Rock, the official residence of Nigeria’s president, and had never met any president while in office, including Obasanjo.
“I have never been to Aso Rock before. I have never met any President in power before, not even Obasanjo,” he said, distancing himself from direct contact with political office holders.
“Obasanjo is probably one of the people I can’t even stand because of what we knew about him before we went to the university,” he added, suggesting that his views were formed during his student years.
“Part of the reasons we were rushing to the university was that Ali must go, and it was Obasanjo period,” Sowore said, referencing student protests linked to education policies during that era.
“It was from that period that he started destroying the education system,” he said, alleging that the decline in the sector began under Obasanjo’s leadership.
“To come back to the nature of power, I don’t even know how his face looks,” he added, reiterating that he has never had a personal encounter with the former president.
Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has been involved in activism focused on governance and institutional reform.
Obasanjo served as Nigeria’s military Head of State from 1976 to 1979 and later as civilian president from 1999 to 2007 after the end of military rule.
