The story making the rounds on the internet about how a certain Ijele allegedly led the Police to arrest Sowore reminds me of a famous quote attributed to Benjamin Burombo:
“Each time I want to fight for African rights, I use only one hand, because the other hand is busy trying to keep away Africans who are fighting me.”
Burombo, who lived from 1909 to 1959, was a Zimbabwean labour union leader and black nationalist. His words were true yesterday, they remain true today, and they will still be true tomorrow.
It is disheartening to think that we were all witnesses when Ijele was incarcerated, and Sowore stood as one of the loudest and most consistent voices campaigning for his release. Yet today, the same Ijele whose freedom Sowore fought for has reportedly conspired to take away his own.
When Sowore confronted him and expressed his disappointment, reminding him that his actions amounted to siding with the oppressors, it must have been his “Et tu, Brutus?” moment.
History has shown us this pattern repeatedly. When Fela was alive, the same people he sought to awaken fought and maligned him. The same people the legendary Gani Fawehinmi dedicated his life to defending could hardly stand with him. Our history is filled with stories of such betrayal.
This brings me to my conclusion: the problem is not the absence of good men willing to fight against oppression, it is that these good men often find themselves fighting not only the oppressors but also the very people they hope to liberate.
This, right here, is the diary of the struggle.
Source: Caleb Onyeabor
