From High school protest to international advocacy: Ayo Sogunro

Ayo Sogunro’s journey into human rights work began long before he could articulate it in legal terms.

As a teenager in Nigeria, he instinctively pushed back against what he saw as unfairness. In high school, when a club began issuing awards for the “laziest” or “dirtiest” student - a practice that publicly ridiculed classmates from disadvantaged backgrounds - Sogunro responded by writing an article and posting it on the school notice board. The bold move earned him twelve strokes of the cane from school authorities, but it also cemented his sense of impact.

“Even though I was punished, I felt the power of words, it encouraged me to do more”.

This instinct followed him through university, where he continued writing critical pieces, often clashing with Nigeria’s conservative academic environment. At the time, he did not yet call it “human rights” or “social justice”. He simply saw it as a question of fairness. After qualifying as a lawyer, Ayo Sogunro pursued a successful career in corporate law working in project finance, banking and mergers and acquisitions but often found his professional life increasingly at odds with the principles expressed in his writing. So, he resigned.

Leaving corporate law for Activism

In 2014, Sogunro started transitioning into human rights work, volunteering with organizations many of them queer groups often excluded from Nigeria’s mainstream activist movements. At the time, few lawyers in Nigeria were willing to openly defend LGBTQ+ rights. Ayo became a rare and vital ally.

That same year, the Nigerian government passed the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, one of the most repressive anti-LGBTQ laws on the continent. Expecting backlash about the overreach of its provisions from legal professionals, Ayo was stunned when the Nigerian Bar Association applauded the law. “That was my wake-up call, if lawyers were congratulating the government for this, then we had a serious problem. It was the moment I knew I had to commit myself fully to queer rights”.

Scholarship and activism intertwined

Though his activism grew, Sogunro realized that the movement needed more than protests and op-eds. “If you look at women’s rights work, it has strong legal scholarly foundations, for queer rights in Africa, that wasn’t the case. There wasn’t enough academic literature in the legal field to support the activism”. This conviction led him to the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights, where he pursued a master’s and later a PhD. His research not only strengthened his own credibility but also created much needed scholarly resources for LGBTQ+ advocacy in Africa.

Today, Ayo Songuro describes himself as an author, lawyer, activist, and scholar roles that sometimes overlap and sometimes clash. But he views this intersectionality as a strength, “I can translate academic research into everyday language for civil society, and I can bring grassroots perspectives into scholarly discussions”.

Navigating risks and repression

Working on contentious issues in a repressive environment requires constant vigilance. Sogunro is candid about the risks, surveillance, harassment, and even arrest. He recounts once being tracked to his hotel room in Nigeria after sharing his location in a text message. “That experience taught me to adopt strict security protocols removing biometric access from my devices, using strong passwords, never disclosing real-time locations”.

Despite these precautions, he emphasizes that his activism is not about personal bravery but about protecting others. “For myself, I don’t mind visibility, I am careful never to compromise the safety of the communities I work with. I may publicly share a story about my work from five years ago, but never about what an organization I work with is doing tomorrow”.

Difficult and proud moments

Sogunro does not dwell on hardship. When asked about his most difficult experiences, he says, “Maybe I’ve normalized them”. Yet he acknowledges the constant reality of working under threat from government surveillance during the #EndSARS protests, to the online backlash he has faced for speaking out.

His proudest moment, however, is quickly completing his PhD. More than a personal milestone, it symbolized the trust his community placed in him. When I left Lagos, the mandate was clear thus, “to develop myself so I can bring something back. Getting my PhD was proof that their confidence was not in vain. I could have just stayed abroad, but I chose to keep contributing to the communities that shaped me”.

Advice to young activists

Sogunro’s advice to the young activists lies in two principles thus, seeing human rights holistically. “Too many people enter activism as single-issue advocates, if you fight only for one group and ignore others, you are missing the point. Human rights are interconnected”.

And the second piece of advice lies on integrity. “Sometimes career ambitions tempt people to stop rocking the boat. But activism is not about promotion, it’s about values. Focus on doing useful work, and the rest will sort itself out”.

Networks after The Bergen Exchanges

Ayo Sogunro’s ties to the Bergen Exchanges go back nearly a decade. First invited in 2016 through his work with Nigerian organizations, he describes the platform as transformative. “At my first exchange, I wasn’t an academic yet. I came as a lawyer, just listening. But the conversations, the mentorship, and the collaborations set me on the path to becoming a scholar”.

That exchange led to his first book chapter contribution, co-authored with colleagues he met in Bergen and South Africa. Over the years, his involvement deepened and returned for PhD courses, contributing to LawTransform projects, and building friendships that now form part of his professional and personal support network. “Each time I come back, I meet new people and new ideas, Bergen has been a constant in my academic and activist journey”.

Harnessing culture and communication 

Sogunro is known not only for his scholarship but also for his creative strategies in advocacy. Recognizing that policy briefs rarely reach the public, he turned to cultural forms like film, theater, podcasts, web series, and photo books to make human rights issues accessible. “If you want to achieve social change, you have to use outputs that people actually consume in their daily lives”, Sogunro says.

On social media, where he has over 100,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter), his influence lies in reframing issues in relatable terms. Whether discussing police brutality, inequality, or migration, Ayo Sogunro uses language that connects elite politics to ordinary struggles. “It’s about helping people see that what looks like a ‘special issue’ is part of their own reality”.