Omowore Soyele of Sahara Reporters

I admire him. Point. And I have come to understand this great man after reading this article I googled up this morning.

"Great things are from small beginings", is the opening line of a television advert used to boost the sales of Milo, a beverage drink, a couple of years back. If you ever doubted the slogan, chances are, that you've never heard the story of Omoyele Sowore - even if you were at the University of Lagos, Unilag, either as a mere alumnus or with a combined minor in cultism. You either love or hate him.

Not many, among those born of women, would still remain on their feet, shouting, if allowed to taste some of the bitter pills he had to swallow while occupying the exalted office of President of the Student Union of the institution. It was during his tenure that a battle line was drawn between cult members and law abiding students at Akoka. Taking the bull by the horns, he led the struggle in his own domain at the without any doubt, the cultists were put on the back foot. For the 'Great Akokites" and the generality of Nigerian undergraduates, this was a monumental victory. There was a new lease of life, freshness was in the air, and like many other students, he was in his room preparing for a semester examination when the story line changed and this happened: 'Cult members numbering 150, at about 6: 30pm on Friday March 11, 1994 attacked me. But hang on a minute, that wasn't all. 'I was stripped naked, stabbed on my head and injected with unknown chemical substances," before the very students he fought for, rescued him.

What would an ordinary person do in such a circumstance? Throw his hands in the air and give up the struggle he embraced as a 10 year boy who saw a lot of injustices, culminating in policemen raping girls in his hometown of Kiribo on december 24, 1980 and bringing false charges against the young men and ruining many careers in the process. He had to say :"Goodbye Rose" to the woman he loved ." I faced pressure from everywhere - family, friends, church people. I remember on one occasion, after I was attacked in 1994 and the police had declared me wanted and UNILAG authorities followed up with my expulsion from school. I went underground somewhere in Lagos so that I could recover properly because they had driven me away from medical doctors who treated me at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH. My girlfriend always bought me the Guardian newspapers so that I could read about the happenings in the outside world, and also respond to negative stories by the police and the UNILAG authorities in hand-written press releases that she took to the Guardian on my behalf.

"One morning she walked into my hiding place with a newspaper and handed it over to me. I flipped the pages to number 3, which is where the Guardian had its best short, national stories, on the left corner was the police declaration that I was wanted for 'arson, robbery and malicious damage," with a ransom placed on my head. She was devastated to see what they were doing to me in spite of my condition, she wept uncontrollably and told me that her Mom wants her to break up with me because she thought I will never live long enough to raise 'our" kids if we got married. She asked if I'll chose to leave Nigeria for her sake to which I said 'no." Though she helped greatly in my recovery, we parted due to consistent family pressure on her. I respect her enormously for what she did, she stood strongly for me. It was a difficult time in my life as an activist, but I said to myself that:"it was better to die for ideas that would outlive me, than live for an idea that will die." Having walked through the valley of the shadow of death, he fled to the United States in 1999 - not in retreat, but for urgent medical treatment of his vital organs - from where he talked with me on a number of issues about a fornight ago.

Firstly, he tells youths who are contemplating joining or who already belong to the group to have a second thought. "I would love to tell those young people who think cultism is cool, that they will soon grow cold, It has no benefit of any kind. They stand the chance of getting killed for nothing, because at the formative age in their lives, they refuse to stand up for something good. There are myriad of institutional injustices in Nigeria: social causes, cultural issues and lucrative sporting and academic careers to which young people can commit their energy, stamina and integrity, other than a destructive, criminal and bestial act of cultism. I have travelled to several places around the world especially in the US, where I have sat on panels speaking respectfully about human rights and democracy on the account of my being a Nigerian youth/student activist. I know a lot of Nigerians who were cultists in their days in Nigeria, who currently live in the US. Some lament to me every other day that they wished they never participated in any act or form of cultism, even though they do not face or have criminal liabilities hanging around their neck - I wish they do, on the account of their shameful past. They are eternally ashamed of their past associations and carry around a burdened conscience. They have learnt very quickly, that these kinds of behaviour have no place in civilised societies."

This plague, he said, is fast spreading and recruitment starts at an unbelievable age. Youths are not even allowed the opportunity to get to their teens before being drafted to the evil battalion. Primary school pupils, he revealed, are joining the rank and file, thus committing themselves to an uncertain and punishable life of crime. 'Before leaving Nigeria in 1999, I embarked on a campaign against cultism, I found out that even primary school pupils where joining cult groups, I found that cult members recruit in high schools, colleges and universities in Nigeria. They compete for turf and membership, and as such, they have managed to penetrate every nook and cranny of Nigeria's institutional life. And because the government never tackled the problem, it did spread very seriously to every level."

But can you spot a cultist or know that your child/ward has been hanging around with them? It's tough for parents to know what their child has been up to and there's no one stop solution."It is a difficult suggestion to make, because there are a lot of factors driving parenthood in Nigeria and I must say that cultism doesn't have physical symptoms - except with some groups that inflict tattoos on the body of their members during initiation - until a child or ward is involved in a cult clash, even then, they quickly turn around and lie about their injuries. You cannot tell easily tell if your child is a cultist and it's not by mere appearance. While we fought cultism at UNILAG, most parents come around to deny that their kids were in cult groups because they say well:"I am a Teacher, Priest or Imam."

That is not necessarily an immunity that would prevent your child from being a sworn member, he said. And for those whose children are suspected of being there, they take a wrong and disgraceful approach, he lamented. 'Some parents don't care, if their children were involved in cultism, they try to bribe the Vice-Chancellor or police so that they will get out of the immediate trouble. Out there in Nigeria a lot of parents are also cult members, armed robbers, fraudulent contractors, political robbers and military officers, who kill their neighbours on the slightest provocation. Most of these so-called parents are the complacent and lazy Nigerians who would never fight for their human and democratic rights. When young people don't have role models to emulate, they look up to their peers for motivation and support.

'A perpetuation of this criminal motivation is the function of a failed leadership in Nigeria. I mean at every level, the power structure and parenthood is made up of: 'delinquent adults." First example, on March 12, 1994, Dr. Tunde Shobowale who is the current Commissioner of Education of Lagos State, called a press conference in Lagos, using all his weight as the Managing Editor of the Republic Newspaper to denounce UNILAG students by parading his son as a victim of Students Union brutality, whereas his son was involved in attacking me on March 11 - the night before. Before I left Nigeria in 1999, his son came on a live television show: 'Sonny Irabor Live" on AIT in Lagos and confessed of his membership of a notorious cult group at UNILAG. This is an example of the irresponsible parenthood I am talking about. Till today, the man never apologised to the Students Union leaders whom he blackmailed, maligned and tried to convict for Armed Robbery, with the help of the Lagos Police. Now, he's is a Commissioner that is put in charge of the future of a lot of young people in Nigeria through the largest state owned Ministry of Education in the country," a sad tale.

However, Sowore doesn't want the youths to take all the blame for their misdeeds. The political class, he said, have failed to lay down inspirational and exemplary templates." Students go into cultism because the leadership system has failed, the legal, moral and political system that ought to serve, to protect and preserve civil, social and economic rights have collapsed altogether. I find it interesting that when those vicious cult members get out of Nigeria and find themselves in societies where there is law and order, they don't even engage in misdemeanours for the fear of being deported. Since I came to the US, I have not heard of the case of a person who got into trouble on the account of his membership of a street gang or cult group to which he belonged in Nigeria. The point to make here is that motivation to unleash terror on innocent students on Nigeria campuses is in turn motivated by the collapse of law enforcement and legal institutions in the country. As I am speaking with you, nobody in Nigeria has ever been convicted of murder, rape, assault or other felonies, arising from the brutal acts of cultists in Nigeria. Not even the fellows who shot and killed the student leaders at Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile-Ife in 1999 or 2000, or the Lagos State University (LASU) in 2002, were successfully prosecuted. The judges always discharged them on the premise that they lacked evidence.

The collapse of the justice system among others, is responsible for the death of the former Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, he added. 'It got to the point where a student cultist at OAU, Ile-Ife named "Fryo" led a gang that allegedly killed Chief Bola Ige in his bedroom. I mean, these are clear indications of where the motivation comes to cult members and the encouragement criminals receive in Nigeria as a whole."

While living in Nigeria myself, i remember some old advertisements used to refer to the Police as: 'Your friend," but that is not the case in this context. They have equally failed the populace, he concluded." In terms of the Nigerian Police, I need not mention here that they are a let down to all Nigerians. When cult gangs attacked me in March 1994, the fellow who led the attack, Frank Odare, was a police officer; he worked carefully with the PRO of the student Union, Soji Idowu - also a police officer, sponsored into the students union by the school authorities-to co-ordinate the attack, with active support from the Lagos Commissioner of Police, James Dambaba and the school authorities. We told the story to the press, detailing the account of the events that happened, they never denied it. Instead, they went ahead and arrested the rest of the student leaders they could not attack physically and arraigned them for armed robbery, while they declared me wanted on national radio, TV and newspapers.

'The complicity of the police was glaring, but nothing was done to fish out my attackers or punish the cult members. Rather, we were later told that the police officers that carried out my attack were given promotion to the next rank. Let me say that it is not enough for societies to transit to democracy. In Nigeria's case, the democracy is a 'bootleg type C democracy." Except for a few low level thugs like Mustapha, Danbaba, Yakubu and Sgt Rogers, common criminals like IBB, Abubakar, Diya and plenty others, including Obasanjo and Buhari are moving around in Nigeria as freemen, this is the motivation for crime that our society needs to get rid off entirely."

Leaving his country, according to him, was to cater for his deteriorating health. He fought a good fight and promised to:"be back." 'I left Nigeria in 1999 to seek medical treatment abroad. At the back of my mind, I looked back and felt satisfied that I have fought strongly with other courageous youths on several platforms to bring about a space for democratic governance. But I was also grossly depressed by the kind of characters that were coming to power. I said to myself:"it is time to cater for my health needs" and as I taxied off the tarmac onto the runway" I made a promise to be back."

A strange fellow, you might say or borrowing the title of Pa Adebayo Faleti's book: 'Won ro pe were ni" - you would think he is mad. But how did he embrace this struggle? i asked. 'I was a witness to a lot of injustices when I was growing up as a child, I went to schools-Primary and High - in Ilaje Ese-Odo local government in Ondo State. I travelled extensively with my Dad who was a schoolteacher, I saw the pollution of the environment, the wretchedness of the oil producing regions of Nigeria in my area, but I was most shocked by the bombardment of my little village named "Kiribo" by policemen who raided the village, beat up people, raped girls and started false prosecutions of youngsters from my village, which led to the ruination of their careers and future. I was ten years old. This happened on Christmas Eve of 1980, I made a solemn promise to fight the power that humiliated my people that night. 'When I arrived at the University in 1989 as a freshman, I met several new students who had similar stories to tell, and I concluded that Nigeria must be a "Federal Republic of Injustice, an absentee state with truant leaders." I started by mobilising to improve the welfare of the hostels at UNILAG. I lived in Henry Carr Hall and later joined study groups that fought against the World Bank loans and the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) of the anti-people and devilish Babangida regime. Those days we fought against the government over stringent conditionalities attached to World Bank and the International Monetary 'Fraud" (IMF) loans. The Paris Club, IMF, and the World Bank were funnelling loans to an illegal government dominated by kleptomaniacs, it was a shameful practice that we tried to stop. In a remarkable instance, I was one of the leaders of the 'Anti-SAP protests especially the one in which the government was getting $120 million from the World Bank in return for reducing Nigerian universities from 28 to 5. Nowadays, those whitemen who fight against the World Bank policies in the West get Nobel Prizes, we did it 10 years ago, we started the anti-globalization movement, later it was Babangida Must Go, then, the June 12 protests, that led to the demise of the Interim Government. The United Action for Democracy's memorable 5 million Man-march against Abacha, the struggle to force WAEC to release GCE forms to candidates, the War on Cultism, the heroic burial of Chief Mashood Abiola in 1998, the National University Games protest in 1998, where I was physically assaulted and ordered to be detained by Admiral Akhigbe - who was the Chief of General staff at the time - so many invaluable struggles, were the hallmark of the commitment I made when I was 10 - years old".

But to what extent did that brutal attack alter his plans? 'I don't think it explicitly changed my plans, I never planned to go away from Nigeria for so long-four years. The circumstances was that I had to undergo intensive medical care that required monitoring of my vital organs for a long period of time. I have participated in a two-year long campaign with Amnesty International, USA, which took a lot of my time. I had a great opportunity to acquire global perspectives on some of our domestic problems, like pollution and repression of minority groups in the oil producing region, to which I have worked on a team that brought charges against Nigerian based multinational oil corporations. It has been an exciting engagement as an activist to expand my sphere of involvement with the struggle for human rights and democracy around the world."

The attacks notwithstanding, 'Our tenure at UNILAG was a memorable one. I simply cannot remember all that we did for our colleagues in and out of the campus. We also did a lot with a lot for our colleagues who were students' activists around the country to bring about democracy, I know that it was an empowering moment for the weak and downtrodden in Nigeria as a whole. We will leave history - not necessarily Nigerian historians- and the progressive students of UNILAG namely: the 'Great Akokites," parents and well-meaning citizens of Nigeria to judge our time. It was on record that we fought with our lives to ensure that cultists killed no student of UNILAG while I was President of the Students Union between 1992-1994."

Going down that multi - faceted road called: "Memory lane", he recalled how:"Cult members numbering 150 at about 6: 30pm on Friday March 11, 1994 attacked him with the support of Frank Odare, a police officer, masquerading as a student.Odare led the group that stripped him naked," stabbed my head and injected me with unknown chemical substances before students quickly mobilised and chased away the cultists while they ferried me to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, where I was hospitalised for five days. On the fifth day, I was hurriedly discharged when policemen stormed the hospital to arrest me while still receiving treatment. I was paralysed from my waste below. I escaped arrest by being disguised as a dead person. I was later declared wanted and expelled by the school authorities. My colleagues and other students' activists who came to visit me while I was on hospital bed were arrested by the Lagos Police Command, tortured, detained and arraigned for armed robbery after 27 days in jail. We were later to be expelled by UNILAG authorities alongside cult members who had attacked me.

'After closing down the campus for a few months, they later reopened it. I went back and students fought on my behalf to be reinstated. I was 'pardoned" and the cult members were all pardoned as well. I graduated in 1994 but they held on to my final results and NYSC call - up letter for six months. Finally, they let me go in May 1995. I went on to do national service in Yola, Adamawa state. While there, I served as a presenter and producer on Adamawa State Television, Yola. Early in January 1996, I was summoned by the state director of SSS in Yola and asked to stop presenting any television or radio program in the state. In May 1996, while waiting to collect my Discharge Certificate at the final marching out parade in Yola, when I was arrested by the SSS and detained at the Air Force Guard room for one week; I was released after the Punch newspaper reporter in the North published the story about my detention. I was asked to leave the state immediately and told that my 'Discharge Certificate" had been sent to Abuja. When I called Abuja, I was told that my service had been extended for six months in Sokoto state. I decided to sue them in a Lagos High court in order to retrieve my Certificate, without which I will not be eligible for employment in Nigeria. In 1997, the Judge declined my application because they pleaded in court that he lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case and also said that I had not exhausted internal remedies for seeking redress.

'But the NYSC lawyers told me that as long as Abacha was in power I would never get a certificate from Abuja. Meanwhile, I continued my pro-democracy activism through the United Action for Democracy (UAD) as a youth/student mobilizer. I worked underground, organising street protests in Lagos, Ibadan and other places against the Abacha regime until his sudden death in 1998.I left Nigeria in February 1999 because my health had deteriorated significantly and I feared that I would die of ill health."

To the Great Akokites and others who love him, be of good cheer, 'I am in good health but actively undertaking on-going monitoring of my health situation. I underwent all kinds of tests but nothing was found in my blood stream. I received treatment for a year at Bellevue / New York University Treatment Centre for Survivors of Torture in New York City for a year". While Bellevue provided most of the treatment, the financial burden of the trip and treatment in the US were facilitated with the help of the Lagos based Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), the Medical Rehabilitation Centre for Trauma Victims and Dr. Aguomoh." They offered free treatment, financial support and direct facilitation of my trip out of Nigeria in 1999. It is important to highlight their role in this interview," he told me. 'I think we often side-step the great risk our people undertake to uplift our lives in favour of Western organizations.I hope you will include this addendum, I will feel very unhappy and guilty if their role is ignored."

The list also includes: Institutions, journalists and individuals." I received generous support from the World Organisation Against Torture in Geneva - they paid my airfare to the US and also assisted with living expenses for the first two months or so. Support also came from SOLACE / Safehorizon, Mrs. Annie King, Africafund,The United Methodist Church in Towaco, New Jersey-all provided housing. The Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights-provided Legal Assistance- and Amnesty International. Several other people like Jeremy Scahil and Amy Goodman - Radio Journalists who provided initial help with finding a doctor and housing-David Wildman, Mike Fleshman, Shaden Mousa and Malika Sander, who raised awareness and funding through young people in the US."

Omoyele's story culled from Nigeria World