User:Rocky Bash/Omoyele Sowore

Omoyele Sowore is a human right and pro-democracy campaigner. He is the founder and publisher of the much cited Sahara Reporters website supplying videos, photos, news stories and commmentaries that expose official corruption and abuse in Nigeria.

Early Life
Mr. Sowore was Born into a polygamous family on February 16, 1971 in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. He has sixteen siblings.

Education
Mr. Sowore studied Geography and planning at the University of Lagos from 1989 - 1995 and holds a Master Degree in public administration from Colombia University.while at the University ofLagos, He was deeply involved in anti-military demonstration and Student Union Goverment where he served as the union President between 1992-1994.

Career
Omoyele Sowore developed interest for the media in the days of the military rule in Nigeria.Mr. Omoyele founded Sahara Reporters in 2006 in New York City.The online news agency is supported by grants donated by the Ford Foundation. Since 2006, Sahara Reporters has published over 5,000 reports.

Controversies
However, that story, as with many others concerning Mr. OMoyele, has been met with a lot of controversies. In 1992, Sowore led 2,000 students in protest against Nigeria notorious Kleptocracy. Police fired, killing seven. Sowore was arrested, interrogated and beaten and later found out that his family too bad been put under pressure. But he refused to back down in there struggle for decent education in his country.. He was an active participant in the June 12 pro-democracy struggle. Many claimed that Omoyele was actually a brutal cultist fighting othe rival cults with his SUG sit-tight presidency.

It was reported that it is when these rival cultists felt that they had enough of his troubles that they attacked him while he was attacking another cultist. Those who validate this report opined that Lead cannot be harmful except given in large quantities. hence the cultist could have injected him with lead if they really meant to harm him. Many also said that Omoyele's Sahara Reports is a strong media tool used by Omoyele to extort and blackmail politicians. They also say that he is in the pockets of some political leaders who have given him cash or kind to ridicule thier rivals on his online platform.

One of the most popular controversies is that it was alleged that Omoyele recieved a huge gift from sitting President Mohammed Buhari to ridicule former President Goodluck Jonathan during 2015 election campaigns.