Anybody who still doubts the theory of rape persecution as the reason behind the incessant attacks on the person of Sir Mike Okiro, should follow saharareporters.com’s activities after reporting the marching order given to Sir Mike Okiro-led Police Service Commission (PSC) to recruit 10,000 policemen, to fill the vacant positions that currently exist in the establishment, by President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) on Monday, August 17, 2015. After PMB’s order for police to recruit 10,000 policemen, at the security summit that took place at the International Conference Centre (ICC), on the date in question; Omoyele Sowore went into action to stop Sir Mike Okiro, who reportedly prosecuted him for alleged rape while he was a student at University of Lagos, from presiding over the recruitment exercise with malicious publications; with the hope that it will attract the attention of PMB to sack him.

But Sowore has forgotten that PMB, who is a veteran of many political battles in Nigeria, knows the colour of blackmail, character assassination and malicious accusations better than him, Sowore. For instance, before and during the 2015 general elections, the government in power lined up many bloggers; print and electronic media in Nigeria, to maliciously blackmail and assassinate the character and integrity of the person of the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari, as he then was. In fact, a particular electronic media went as far as airing a documentary purportedly depicting General Muhammadu Buhari as supervising the horse-whipping of Nigerians when he was the Head of State of Nigeria from 1983; whereas it was an event that took place in 1978 during Ali-must-go protest. General Muhammadu Buhari reported this action to the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) but could not get justice from the outfit. Rational minds have not forgotten the role a section of Nigerian Army played in tarnishing the hard earned integrity and reputation of Muhammadu Buhari; all, in desperation to stop him from contesting the Presidential election in 2015. So, if Sowore thinks he can goad an experienced field marshal like PMB, who has seen it all, into taking action against Sir Mike Okiro, he must be told that he is swimming in a fool’s paradise.

Even when some faceless person(s) commissioned Sowore and his saharareporters to come out with disparaging reports about late Minister of State for Labour and Employment, James Ocholi, with a view to influencing PMB to drop him as a minister-designate, PMB was not swayed by his antics. PMB went ahead and presented him for confirmation as minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In his latest anti-Mike Okiro voyage, Omoyele Sowore left nobody in doubt as to the reason behind his base attacks on Sir Okiro. Writing in his outfit on April 10, 2016, with the caption, President Buhari Leaves Corrupt Ex-Police IG, Mike Okiro, To Recruit 10,000 Police Officers, Sowore embarked on a fairy tale on how two police officers told him of what he called disenchantment within police ranks that PMB had not removed Sir Mike Okiro from his post as the Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), among other claims. He also recycled some old trash he wrote in his medium about Sir Mike Okiro.

While Sowore has the right to write whatever he thinks in his outfit, this writer believes more than ever before that what informed his latest write-up is the role Okiro played in prosecuting him for alleged rape. Even though Sowore is a drop-out from the University of Lagos, the level of education he acquired was enough for him to know that no court of competent jurisdiction had pronounced Okiro guilty of corruption in Nigeria. Secondly, on the 17^th of August 2015, at the International Conference Centre, during a National Security Summit, where PMB ordered PSC to recruit 10,000 policemen, Sowore, through his medium, reported PMB’s communication to police on recruitment; just like other news outfits in Nigeria and abroad. But when PSC, under the Chairmanship of Sir Mike Okiro, kick-started this historic event of recruitment, saharareporters failed to report it, whereas all other news outfits both local and international, reported the event. On account of these facts, no one needs rocket science to know that Sowore is not happy that the man that prosecuted him for alleged rape is still the Chairman of PSC, despite his attempts at hitting back at him.

Perhaps Omoyele Sowore, having seen that his shady past will never guarantee him an opportunity to be a respected Nigerian, should he decide to come back from USA where he is technically on asylum. He has elected to make unprovoked attacks on the integrity and reputation of illustrious Nigerians his stock-in-trade. His memoir says it all. The question now is, if the USA could regard Edward Joseph Snowden, who is now on asylum in Russia, as a fugitive from the law; why are they shielding Omoyele Sowore, whom the police authourities in Nigeria have declared wanted? If Snowden could be hounded around for leaking classified information without authorisation, what stops them from handing over Sowore to the police authorities in Nigeria?

Sowore must be reminded of what he said about PMB and other illustrious Nigerian leaders in his memoir, after leaving the country. There is no way rational Nigerians can take Sowore seriously because he stands for nothing. Besides, how come Sowore, who said he fought cultism to standstill in University of Lagos, has not even done anything in sustaining the so-called fight against cultism? Not even a single article has been written by him in saharareporters against this menace. On fight against cultism, Sowore can only convince his co-travelers in the brotherhood, not, informed Nigerians.

•Emeka Oraetoka, an Information Management Consultant & Researcher, writes from Garki-Abuja. He can be reached via e-mail:oramekllis@lycos.com or GSM: 08056031187, 09039094636. Photo shows Okiro.

Update news