Sowore says Nigeria not truly independent amid poverty, insecurity

Omoyele Sowore, the African Action Congress presidential candidate, said on Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary that the country cannot be considered truly independent while millions remain trapped in poverty, hunger, unemployment, insecurity, darkness and hopelessness. Speaking on October 1, 2026, he urged that workers deserve living wages and that education, healthcare and electricity should be accessible to all citizens.

Sowore criticised successive governments for allegedly wasting Nigeria’s human and natural resources, leaving citizens to bear economic hardship. He added that farmers should be able to work without fear and that no one should be arrested, brutalised or imprisoned simply for challenging those in power. For him, the true task ahead is not just celebrating the 1960 independence but rebuilding a nation free from corruption, oppression, injustice, ethnic manipulation and religious bigotry.

He warned, “The task before our generation is not merely to celebrate the independence handed to us in 1960. Our historic duty is to redo it,” and said the struggle for a genuinely independent Nigeria continues. This raises the question: Will you join the push for living wages, better services and accountable governance, or accept the status quo?

SOURCE: https://dailypost.ng/2026/10/01/nigeria-not-truly-independent-sowore/