Campaigns for the 2027 elections begin this week. I publish this ahead of them to ensure that it does not become a part of them.
But it is about a man who could be at the heart of them, whether he is on the ballot or not: Sahara Reporters’ Omoyele Sowore – publisher and phenomenon.
When our paths first crossed nearly 20 years ago, he was a man with a grudge he could neither conceal nor surrender. He was outraged by the corruption and political ruthlessness of Nigeria’s ruling class, a cause to which I had been nodding vigorously, and he wanted to expose all its ugliness.
Thus was born Sahara Reporters, which he nurtured from one citizen’s quiet outrage into the roar of a major Nigerian news organisation, despite operating from faraway New York.
Sahara Reporters began to mature in the early days of digital publishing in Nigeria, coinciding with the heyday of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Umaru Yar’Adua presidency.
