August 5, 2019

That Nigeria is a sick nation is not in doubt. That the sickness is extending to individuals enmass is apparent. That it is taking the dimension of mass disorientation and intellectual paralysis is equally evident. The reaction to the arrest of Sowore for his revolution protest is just one instance of this malaise. Otherwise, how come that reasonable and educated people would not see through Sowore's childish trick? You registered a political party under the Constitution.  You participated in the campaigns and elections. You realize that you had no chance of getting Nigerians to vote for your party. In other words, you lost woefully. You then ask those whom you could not convince to vote for you to come out and join you in a protest you expect to mark the beginning of a revolution. How more dumb could you be? And how more dumb could your supporters be? Yes, those who support Sowore's revolution are dumb. How could they refuse to vote for Sowore in the elections, but come out to support his revolution after he lost the elections? What would have happened if Sowore had won the elections? And what would happen if every politician who lost elections would start a revolution protest? It was so ironic reading where Atiku seemed to be supporting the revolution protest. If that is a remedy for losing elections, why is Atiku wasting time at the election tribunal? He should have started a revolution protest. Don't get me wrong. DPA supports and promotes the right of Nigerians to freely assemble and to freely express themselves. They have the right to protest, which derives from the freedom of association and freedom of speech. Protest is a protected form of speech. We support it. But for a defeated politician to call for a revolution after losing election is a totally different ball game. One thing is clear. No one in the international community will support the call for a revolution. Nobody anywhere in the world will support an unconstitutional overthrow of government. If it happens by default, it is another thing altogether. But to gather and plan it, the world will laugh at you if they think you are joking, and will be deeply worried if they see any chance that you may succeed. Sowore knows that a revolution cannot occur in Nigeria in the form of a protest he called. The state and its apparatuses of coercion are fully in tact. The people are not ready. Indeed, it is a joke, which is the only reason we feel he should not have been arrested. To arrest him is to give some weight to a thing that lacked weight. Some of the supporters of Sowore's revolution say it will not necessarily be violent, but they cannot guarantee it will not. And if they could, it makes the revolution more laughable. With the state apparatuses of coercion already engaged,  only a violent revolution can succeed against the onslaught that the state is ready to unleash on the revolutionaries. Is there any value at all to this call for revolution? Yes, there is. Every wrong thing has the value of showing us how not to do it next time.