Human rights activist and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has emphasised that the country cannot continue to pretend to be one country while some citizens are treated as second-class within the same entity.

While calling on Nigerian leaders to embrace justice, fairness, and equality as the foundation for national unity, Sowore maintained that no nation built on oppression and inequality can genuinely claim to be united.

Sowore, who stated this in Akure, the Ondo State capital, during the 2025 End-of-Year Celebration of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Ondo State chapter, kicked against what he described as “systemic hypocrisy” in Nigeria’s treatment of ethnic groups.

He said, “We cannot have unity without justice. We cannot say we need unity when some people are treated as superior and others as inferior. We cannot have unity in a country where someone’s business is demolished simply because the government dislikes their ethnicity.

“We cannot have unity in a country where terrorists are treated better than freedom fighters. I am talking directly about Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and others who struggle for the freedom of their people.

“There is no crime in demanding justice or self-determination. Nigeria was not created by Nigerians but by the British. So, if we must continue as one nation, we must respect everyone who calls himself a Nigerian.”

Sowore, an advocate for Kanu’s release, faulted the Federal Government for detaining him for over five years without a clear definition of his alleged crimes.

“We cannot keep a man in prison using legal technicalities to justify injustice. What is his crime? For five years, nobody could define it. That is why I have been at the forefront of the Free Nnamdi Kanu Movement.

“I’m not doing it for politics. In fact, if I wanted to play politics, I wouldn’t be defending someone many in power consider an enemy. But I am not that kind of politician. I stand for justice, truth, and fairness,” he said.

The Ondo-born activist also criticised Nigeria’s political class for ignoring the cries of the masses until foreign powers begin to embarrass them on the global stage.

“Outsiders are now telling us what is wrong with us. Donald Trump is now making Nigerian leaders sit up. But we have been asking them to sit up for years; nobody listened,” he said.

Sowore, however, cautioned Nigerian leaders against inviting foreign countries to intervene in Nigeria’s affairs, warning that such moves would only worsen the situation.

“Nobody should call on America to invade Nigeria. America has never invaded any country and left it better. Let us fix our country by ourselves. Let us make Nigeria work for everybody so that we can all prosper together as a united people.”

Sowore commended the Igbo community in Ondo for their resilience, innovation, and contribution to the state’s economic development, but lamented the persistent injustice and discrimination faced by some ethnic groups in Nigeria.

On his part, the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Ondo State, Onyeoma Chris Ezea, commended the Igbo community for their unity and enterprise, noting that their contributions are essential to the growth of Ondo’s economy.

He noted that the Igbo community has played a vital role in the economic development of Ondo State through enterprise, innovation, and resilience. (The Guardian)