As part of a nation-wide tour to spread his gospel about democracy, oil addiction and climate change, Nigerian torture victim and human rights activist Omeyele Sowore spoke at the University on Friday night in a nearly full PLC 180.
Sowore came to the U.S. in 1999 as a victim of torture. He was recruited by Amnesty International as part of a campaign against torture and has been speaking out ever since. In the last three months, the tour has reached 10 cities.
“Nobody will give you justice on a platter of gold,” Sowore said. “You have to fight for it, hold onto it.”
No stranger to public speaking, Sowore was the student president for the University of Lagos in Nigeria, and he received his master’s degree from Columbia University in public administration. When not giving presentations, Sowore investigates the corruption of the Nigerian government as a freelance writer.
When people ask how they can help, Sowore stops them right there.
“I always encourage people not to think about ‘helping’ because it gives an impression that you are not affected,” he said. “I’m more comfortable with words like, ‘How do we get involved?’”
Involvement, he said, means education and awareness.
“The moment you have the facts and you’re convinced, you just plunge yourself into being part of the solution,” he said.
The starting point is consumption.
“We have to stop consuming dangerous goods that destroy the environment, ecosystem and atmosphere,” he said. “That’s a way to start.”
Sowore first considered himself a human rights activist after he emerged from being imprisoned and tortured feeling strong. He started speaking for others using his own experiences.
During his speech, Sowore addressed the current political and economic state of Nigeria. He lambasted Nigeria’s form of government as a “kleptocracy,” a term he defined as a thwarted democracy. In terms of economics, he lamented the average life span in Nigeria as a meager 47 years.
“I just tell my story,” he began, “and hope that you listen and do something.”
During his lecture, Sowore compared oil companies to gods, explaining that it’s impossible to see the effects of either. Like gods, oil companies are rich, big and invisible to the people, he said. They are untouchable, uncontrollable. They allow sacrifices to be made without any kind of reciprocation.
With a look of sorrow in his deep-brown eyes, Sowore said that in Nigeria, oil companies “take from villages what little they have. And give nothing back.”
Upon realizing he was willing to fight back, Sowore stopped being afraid. He is still not afraid today, he said. He began protesting, which often meant incarceration. He decided there was no going back, but this meant subjection to various torture methods in prison.
“If you don’t know what I mean by torture, invite Donald Rumsfeld here next time,” he said.
Sowore discussed the role of government in both Nigeria and America. He stated that the U.S. government could have better handled the aftermath of Sept. 11. National security was used as an excuse and Americans were exploited to the fullest, he said. Federal officials mastered two tactics for dealing with the public: ignorance and fear. Sowore said it’s very similar to when big oil companies control his country. He believes Nigeria doesn’t even possess a government – “only a bunch of guys with oil companies.”
This was one of his main points. Sowore drilled it home with the entertainment of the evening. He reached into the podium and unraveled a dark poster titled “A 12-Step Program to Break America’s Oil Addiction.” This elicited bursts of laughter from the amused audience.
“Step 1: Admit we have a problem. Step 2: Separate oil (and) state. Step 3: Jump-start Detroit.” This continued all the way down to “Step 10: Wean … to green. Step 11: Low carb USA. Step 12: Vote.”
Sowore advocated the use of natural energy, solar panels and natural resources. He encouraged students to be more conscious of their consumption habits. He urged the audience to stop buying unneeded things, saying that it’s too much.
“When I talk about oil produced in Nigeria, people ask me this very good question: ‘Don’t you think if we stop buying oil from Nigeria, it will stop this (friendship) between America and Nigeria?’” Sowore said he replies: “Look, if you don’t buy gas from Nigeria, we have more babies that American movie stars can buy.”
Brian Frank, the Independence from Oil campaign coordinator for the human rights group Global Exchange, what sponsored the event, called Sowore inspiring.
“We need to be inspired,” he said, “because we’re facing a really serious crisis right now in the world. And that crisis is the crisis of oil and fossil fuels. Pretty much everywhere you look, the problems that we’re facing are tied to oil.”
Frank commented that matters are only going to get worse; we will soon run out of oil.
“If anyone’s not scared right now,” he said, “I don’t think you’re paying attention.”
Human rights activist speaks out against torture
Daily Emerald
November 19, 2006
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