Reno Omokri

Bemigho Reno Omokri (born 1974) is an author and lawyer.

Omokri was the host of Transformation with Reno Omokri, a Christian teaching TV show broadcast (for one season) on San Francisco's KTLN and Detroit's Impact Network.

Omokri is the founder of a multimedia project, Build Up Nigeria,[1] and has produced a series of short films in the U.S.

He is the pastor of the Mind of Christ Christian Center in California and Abuja. He is also known for using social media to project the Gospel.[2] Omokri continues to write articles for major newspapers (mainly political OpEd and Christian material).

Background

On August 17, 2017, the Department of State Security attempted to arrest him at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja but failed. Three days after the failed arrest attempt, the ruling party in Nigeria, the All Progressive Congress, named Omokri, along with former President Goodluck Jonathan and Governors Nyesom Wike and Willie Obiano as some of those showing "hatred, narrow-mindedness and meanness" to President Muhammadu Buhari.[3] Until May 29, 2015, Omokri was a spokesperson for President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria.[4][5][6][7][8][9] He was one of three spokesmen to the former President, and is credited with pioneering the use of social media for political purposes in Nigeria.[10] He is a columnist with This Day[11] and the founder of the Mind of Christ Christian Center and the Helen and Bemigho Sanctuary for Orphans.[12] He is the only one of those three spokesmen who remained loyal to former President Jonathan after his departure from office,[13] and was described by Newsweek as a "conduit" of Jonathan.[14]

Career

Omokri was the Vice President, Africa, at Joe Trippi and Associates, a U.S Political Consulting firm.[15]

As the Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, he was noted for using social media to conduct surveys[4] and project the developments undertaken by the Nigerian Government.[16]

When President Umaru Musa Yar'adua was evacuated from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia on November 23, 2009, for a medical emergency, he did not hand over executive powers to his vice, Jonathan. This led to the founding of the G55 - a group who put pressure on the Nigerian Senate to transfer power to Jonathan. In 2011 he led some Diaspora Nigerians to endorse Jonathan for the 2011 elections,[17] Omokri was a signatory of a letter by a group known as G 57 that called for the resignation of Yar'adua.[18]

In 2013, Omokri represented President Jonathan at a national conference on ‘Inter-Faith Dialogue and the Quest for National Security in Nigeria', organized by the Interfaith Activities and Partnership for Peace (IFAPP). Speaking for the President, Omokri urged Christian and Muslim leaders to focus on Jesus as the common Denominator between their two faiths, and caused a stir when he stated on camera that The Quran mentions Jesus by name 25 times, five times more than The Quran mentions Mohammed. He also stated that almost every prophet in Judaism and Christianity is accepted in Islam.[19]

Omokri was a panelist at the United States Institute of Peace[20] as well as the Atlantic Council.[21][22] He has also represented the Nigerian government at Chatham House in London.[23] On April 23, 2016, Omokri gave a keynote lecture at California State University, Sacramento's Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution's 25th annual Africa/Diaspora conference. On the same day, he represented former President Jonathan at the city of Antioch, where Dr. Jonathan was honored by the city's mayor, Wade Harper. At the same event, the city of Lathrop also honored the former Nigerian leader.[24][25][26]

Between 2015 and 2016, Omokri was the host of Transformations With Reno Omokri, a Christian teaching program broadcast on Comcast, DISH Network and Roku. The 30 minute weekly telecast was produced by the Mind of Christ Christian Center in California.[27]

His book, Facts Versus Fiction, the True Story of the Jonathan Years: Chibok, 2015 and the Conspiracies was a number one bestseller on Amazon's International Business category and in its conspiracy theory category and was named by Channels TV amongst its top 20 books of 2017.[28]

Since May 29, 2015, Omokri has become known as one of the main opposition voices in Nigeria and has had several run ins with the current government in power.[29] He has also been an advocate for restoring the moral fabric of society and other conservative values.[30]

Advocacies and causes

Buses for Democracy

During Nigeria’s 2019 General Elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission postponed the election previously scheduled to hold on Saturday February 16, 2019 by a week. As the election postponement was announced only 5 hours before the polls were to open, many Nigerians were angry having traveled at huge expense to vote only to be frustrated. As a result of their frustrations, Omokri initiated a program he tagged #BusesForDemocracy, which provided free transportation to voters to their polling unit irrespective of who they intended to vote for.[31]

Free Leah Sharibu movement

Omokri is the founder of the Free Leah Sharibu movement,[32] which is a media campaign advocating for the freedom of Leah Sharibu, a Christian girl who was kidnapped by the radical Islamic sect, Boko Haram, on February 19, 2018. Boko Haram offered to release Sharibu if she would convert to Islam, but she refused to renounce her Christian faith.

On April 3, 2019, former British Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson MP, unveiled the #FreeLeahSharibu customised clothing line at his office at Parliament, SW1.[33]. Through the clothing line and his book, Mr. Omokri has raised over £4000 for Miss Sharibu’s parents[34]

On April 11, 2019, Omokri wore the customised #FreeLeahSharibu tracksuit over Mount Everest in Nepal.[35]

On Saturday, November 2, 2019, Omokri was honoured with the Humanitarian of the Year award at the Hollywood Weekly Magazine Film Festival, at Warner Brothers Studio in Burbank, California, for his work on the #FreeLeahSharibu campaign[36].

Publications
  • Shunpiking: No Shortcuts to God. Deep River Books, 2013. ISBN 978-1937756895.
  • Why Jesus Wept. RevMedia, 2015. ISBN 978-0990476450.
  • Apples of Gold (a book of Godly wisdom). Mind of Christ Christian Center, 2017. ISBN 978-0-9981829-4-0.
  • Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years, Chibok, 2015 and the Conspiracies. Mind of Christ Christian Center, 2017. ISBN 978-0998182933

References
  1. "Washington Update Radio - Recent Guests". Justice Integrity Project. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  2. Azuh, Maureen (7 September 2012). "Jonathan's aide turns preacher on Facebook". Punch Nigeria (Lagos, Nigeria). Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  3. "Stop throwing stones at Buhari, APC, Northern leaders warn PDP". Vanguard Newspaper. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  4. Agency, Reporter (12 August 2012). "Jonathan seeks feedback from Nigerians on power supply". Punch Nigeria (Lagos, Nigeria). Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  5. "Jonathan Reiterates Commitment To Religious Harmony In Nigeria". Leadership Newspaper. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  6. Ntia, Usukuma. "Image Making: Between Media Advisers And PR Consultants For Public Sector". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  7. Lere, Ismaila. "Few highs, many lows as GEJ marks two years in office". Sunday Trust. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  8. El-Rufai, Nasir Ahmad (15 May 2012). "Between terrorism and corruption (2)". Nigerian Compass (Ogun State, Nigeria). Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  9. Kawu, Is'haq Modibbo (31 May 2012). "Obasanjo vs National Assembly: Ali Baba and the 40 thieves". Vanguard (Lagos Nigeria). Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  10. "Nigeria Says South Africans Giving Arms Training to Troops". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  11. "How Nigeria Under Buhari Became the Butt of Jokes in Africa!". Thisday Newspaper. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  12. "Ben Bruce, Pat Utomi Pledge to Adopt Orphans as Omokri Opens Orphanage". Vanguard Newspapers. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  13. Chau, Vu. "Former Nigerian President's media spokesman met with local LGBT community leader". The State Hornet. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  14. "NIGERIA: MUHAMMADU BUHARI TARGETS GOODLUCK JONATHAN IN WAR OF WORDS OVER CORRUPTION, BOKO HARAM". Newsweek. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  15. Imam, Imam (16 September 2010). "North: Jonathan's Declaration'll Set Bad Precedent". This Day (Lagos, Nigeria). Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  16. "Jonathan places Nigerian flag designer, Pa. Akinkunmi on a 'life salary'". Vanguard Newspaper. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  17. Okoli, Anayo. "2011: Nigerians In Diaspora Back Jonathan". This Day (Lagos Nigeria). Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  18. Ujah, Emma (1 January 2010). "Sack Yar'Adua, G-57 tells N-Assembly". Vanguard Newspaper (Lagos, Nigeria). Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  19. DailyTrust. "IFAPP: Actualising Interfaith Unity". Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  20. "Can Nigeria Hold Credible Elections?". United States Institute of Peace, Washington, DC. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  21. "An Initial Assessment: Nigeria's Elections". Atlantic Council, 1101 15th Street, NW, 11th Floor Washington, D.C. 20005, U.S.A. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  22. Kreig, Andrew. "Experts Debate Nigerian Election Fairness". Justice-Integrity Project LLC. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  23. "Jonathan 'll not rig 2015 elections- Presidency". Vanguard Newspapers. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  24. "Ex-Nigerian president's Sacramento visit canceled because of illness". Sacramento Beee. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  25. "Ex-President Jonathan honoured by two Californian Cities". Premium Times. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  26. Chau, Vu. "Former Nigerian president cancels Sac State appearance". State Hornet. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  27. "Omokri lands US TV deal". Vanguard Newspapers. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  28. "Channels TV names Reno Omokri's Facts Versus Fiction amongst top 20 Books of 2017". Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  29. "Controversy Trails Buhari's Launch of NAF Indigenous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle". Thisday Newspaper. Thisday. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  30. "Reactions trail sex scene aired on BBNaija". The Nation Newspapers. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  31. "Passengers with a voter's card are given free travel so they can return home to vote". BBC News. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  32. "Reno Omokri blasts Keyamo for saying Buhari doesn't need certificate to rule". Adesina Michael. PMNews. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  33. "Fighting for Leah Sharibu". Press Reader. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  34. "Oritsejafor, Nenadi Usman buy 'Free Leah Sharibu' T-shirt, pay to parents". The Punch. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  35. "PHOTOS: Omokri takes campaign to free Leah Sharibu to Mount Everest". Jamilah Nasir. The Cable. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  36. "Atiku Congratulates Omokri on Humanitarian Award". Thisday Newspaper. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
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