Sowore Slams Tinubu’s Govt For ‘Rice Handouts’ Amid Flood, Education, Health Challenges In Nigeria
Sowore said instead, Tinubu’s government can be tagged as ‘oryzacracy,’ a term he coined to describe a government obsessed with distributing rice rather than addressing real issues.
The convener of the #RevolutionNow Movement, Omoyele Sowore, has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s government as no longer democratic.
Sowore said instead, Tinubu’s government can be tagged as ‘oryzacracy,’ a term he coined to describe a government obsessed with distributing rice rather than addressing real issues.
The 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) made the comments in an interview on Arise TV on Sunday following his brief detention at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on earlier that day following his arrival from the United States.
Sowore expressed his frustration with the government, saying, “Are Nigerians foolish not to understand that this is just a cruise?
“That was why I coined a word yesterday that ‘Nigerian government is no longer practising democracy but ‘oryzacracy’ which means government of rice.
“Any problem, send them rice; floods in Maiduguri, send them rice; education problems, send them rice; people are sick, send them rice. You know the botanical name of rice is Oryza sativa. That is where we are and the government has become a joke.”
The activist shared his ordeal at the airport, where immigration officers briefly detained him.
“I tweeted while I was waiting in their office, that I am now in detention and they have seized my passport. And they said, ‘oh we are looking if you have a waiver for the watchlist’ and I said what is waiver for the watchlist,” Sowore recounted.
“I have committed no offence known to law,” Sowore stated.
He further condemned the government, declaring, “It is treason to arrest, detain, and falsely charge citizens with crimes they have not committed. We have a country to liberate and a people to save. It is the Tinubu regime that is committing treason.”
After being briefly held, Sowore was informed that the issue had been resolved and was allowed to leave.
However, he reported that one of his bags had gone missing, saying, “The biggest bag I brought in disappeared. I am just hoping they are not trying to play funny with the bag. I have reported that to the airline.”
