‘She had 11 kids without visiting a maternity ward’ — Sowore celebrates his mum on 73rd birthday

Omoyele Sowore, a former presidential candidate, has felicitated with Esther Kehinde, his mother, on her 73rd birthday.

In a tribute on Saturday, Sowore shared the story of how his mother’s passion for education motivated her to attend school as an adult.

“Happy Birthday to my mum, Esther Kehinde Sowore, fondly called “EK” by her husband (my late dad). She turned 73 years old today,” the tribute reads. 

“Even though the last four to five years have taken a significant toll on her health, she continues to trudge on resiliently. 

“My mum had me when she was only twenty years old. Between then and when she stopped making babies, she popped 11 kids without getting to a maternity ward of any known hospital.

“I remember vividly one day in 1980 when she had a serious argument with my dad, himself a teacher at my local secondary school, asking to be allowed to register at our high school as a class one student, the same class I was then, my father’s feeble response was that she might come late to school one day and he wouldn’t like to flog his first wife in public for arriving late to school.

“My mum never gave up. She attended every after-school ‘adult education’ class there was then and ended with some auxiliary nursing certificate in order to fulfil her dream.”

In 2019, Esther pleaded with former President Muhammadu Buhari to release Sowore who had been arrested over a treasonable felony charge.

Esther had said Sowore’s continued detention was taking a toll on her health.

In February 2024, a federal high court in Abuja discharged Sowore of the treasonable felony charge filed against him by the federal government.