Attempts by a handful of supporters of Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the last General Elections to stage a #RevolutionNow styled protest in New York against the elected government of President Muhammadu Buhari was dwarfed by supporters of the administration, Tuesday.
Supporters of the Buhari-led government under the aegis of Alliance of Nigerians in America (ANM) dismissed claims by the supporters of the embattled AAC presidential candidate.
Olajide Okuneye, one of the main organizers of the group, who gathered at the Nigerian House to counter protests by supporters of Sowore, who was earlier granted bail for treason by a Nigerian court today, said Nigeria was not isolated from problems happening across the globe but that the president has shown leadership and capacity to tackle them.
“Buhari knows what he is doing, is the best man for the job. Nigerians should be more patient because the problems of Nigeria cannot be solved in a twinkle of an eye, we must follow due process in tackling them.
“Before now we cannot boost of feeding ourselves but the borders in Nigeria have been closed for more than a month and we have not heard that the nation has collapsed. This is the real operation feed the nation, this is the real man feeding the nation. There is no two ways about it, he is the best thing that has happened to Nigeria,” Okuneye said.
However, the handful of those for Sowore, who were joined by Opeyemi Sowore, the wife of the AAC candidate, demanded that he be set free.
Opeyemi has spoken out against the continued detention of her husband by the Department of State Services.
The group chanted different slogans which include: Free Sowore now; We are tired of killings; stop the kidnapping; we in America want to go home but no place to call home, we tired of medical tourism, freedom of speech is guaranteed under the constitution among others.
Meanwhile the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has demanded compliance and total respect for the rule of law by Nigeria Government as the release of Sowore.
“While we are not unaware of the severe consequences that poor compliance to court ruling have brought to Nigeria’s diplomatic image, we maintain and reiterate our position within the context of constitutional provisions that the sanctity and sanity of the rule of law must hesitation be upheld by ensuring prompt release of Sowore, his international passport and other political detainees who had as well secured same court order.
“We call on the Government to ensure strict compliance to the court order to showcase its readiness to live by democratic value and portray the nation’s image in the right direction,” Executive Director, CISLAC said in a statement Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani.