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A resurfaced video has revealed how Dele Momodu, a former presidential aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), once predicted President Bola Tinubu’s emergence as Nigeria’s leader if he secured the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket.
In the video, which recently gained renewed attention online, Mr Momodu lauded President Tinubu’s long-term political planning and wide network, saying his chances of winning the 2023 presidential election were high if he became the APC flag bearer.
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“And this is what Asiwaju has done. I can tell you for free that if he gets the ticket of his party—and I have always maintained that if he gets the ticket of his party, APC—it will be difficult for anybody to stop him,” Mr Momodu said in the clip.
“I’ve been telling other political parties to go and build their candidates for 30 years. It’s not an overnight thing. You must build bridges. People must know you, and you must know them. And this is what Asiwaju has done.”
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But more than two years after President Tinubu assumed office, Mr Momodu has become a vocal critic of his leadership.
Old pals
The popular journalist and publisher of the Ovation magazine was a spokesperson for the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, during the campaign. Atiku lost to President Tinubu in the 25 February, 2023 poll.
Mr Momodu was a presidential aspirant on the PDP platform, but was later co-opted into the Atiku campaign organisation.
The veteran journalist was also a friend of President Tinubu with whom he fought for the actualisation of the result of the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by Moshood Abiola and restoration of democracy in Nigeria.
Messrs Tinubu and Momodu fled Nigeria during the oppressive military regime of Sani Abacha and worked together even though they were in different countries.
While Mr Tinubu was a NADECO financial strategist, Mr Momodu used the media for the June 12 struggle having worked for Mr Abiola back home.
In 2022, the journalist said he loved Mr Tinubu, but would not work for him because the APC administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had “done too much damage to Nigeria.’
He added that he would try his “best to support and encourage our PDP candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to do the right things in our party and to rescue our dear beloved country from the vestiges of oppression, religious intolerance, poverty, terrorism, infrastructure decay, economic.”
Against Tinubu’s second term
Recently, Mr Momodu warned that the president’s pursuit of a second term could harm both his legacy and Nigeria’s fragile democracy.
He declared support for a new opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and cautioned President Tinubu against placing political ambition above national interest.
“Once upon a time, you were one of our leaders when we were fighting for this democracy,” he said, addressing Mr Tinubu.
“So what shall it profit you if you can do two terms, three terms—if you could live forever and rule Nigeria forever—but your name enters that book of ignominy? If I meet him today, that’s the question I will ask: Is it worth it?”
He said President Tinubu had already achieved what legendary figures like Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Moshood Abiola were unable to attain and therefore pushing for a second term “by fire, by force” could undermine the achievement.
He also blamed the PDP for failing to provide effective opposition, saying the party’s leadership was slow to reconcile with aggrieved members or take decisive action.
ADC, credible alternative to Tinubu, APC
On the future of the opposition, Mr Momodu disclosed that the ADC coalition was the product of more than 18 months of strategic planning, with meetings held in cities such as London, Morocco, and Ghana to avoid political sabotage.
He said the movement now has a functional interim leadership and has repositioned itself as a credible alternative to the ruling APC.
“This is no longer a fringe platform. It’s now the engine for a united opposition,” he said.
Mr Momodu added that many well-meaning Nigerians had reached out to political elders for intervention in the country’s governance but lamented that key figures in the APC remained unreceptive.
“Some of them are too power-drunk to listen to anybody. But before they collapse our democracy, some people must rise up. That’s what the ADC did today,” he said.
Momodu and Wike
Mr Momodu has also not spared the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), an ally of President Tinubu, who has been speaking in support of the president’s second term.
Mr Wike is a PDP member as Mr Momodu but serving in the APC administration.
In June, Mr Momodu criticised what he described as the growing and unchecked influence of the minister within the Tinubu administration.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, he said it appeared Nigeria now had “two presidents,” alleging that Mr Wike had become more powerful than any cabinet minister in the country’s democratic history.
“In fact, right now, it’s looking like we have two presidents in Nigeria. Wike can do anything,” he said.
“Even Tinubu, who has held Lagos since 1999, was never this audacious.”
Mr Momodu made the comments a day after President Tinubu inaugurated the refurbished International Conference Centre in Abuja, which was renamed in his honour.
During the ceremony, President Tinubu praised Mr Wike and urged him to ignore critics he referred to as “busybodies.”
The remark drew strong criticism from Mr Momodu, who described it as dismissive of public concern.
“I listened to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria calling fellow Nigerians ‘busybodies’. You interpreted it as ‘naysayers’—‘naysayers’ is still far better. Who is a bystander in his own country because of one man?” he asked.
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He also condemned what he described as Mr Wike’s excessive display of power and spending.
“If you were in Mr Wike’s shoes, you would dance more than he danced yesterday. The man was dancing because he launched a conference centre reportedly built at a stupendous cost of over N30 billion,” he said, describing the audience at the event as “befuddled.”
The PDP chieftain said Mr Wike’s behaviour was reminiscent of his time as governor of Rivers State, where he allegedly operated with little accountability.
“What Wike is doing is clearly being done with the backing of those at the top. It’s a rehash of what he did in Rivers. A major crisis of monumental dimension was orchestrated in Rivers by one man, and we all sat down watching—until they had to declare a state of emergency. I have never seen anything like that. It’s unprecedented,” he said.
Mr Momodu warned that the country risks sliding into a civilian dictatorship.
“I’m very happy that today coincides with the lead-up to June 12 (Democracy Day), so if we still have any iota of conscience left, we’ll realise we have damaged this democracy.
“We’ve damaged this democracy, and I hope we’ve not damaged it beyond repair because the audacity, the effrontery of this set of politicians—whether in the executive, legislature, or local government—is totally unbelievable,” he said.
He added that the current state of governance would disappoint those who fought and died for Nigeria’s democracy.
“All those who suffered for this democracy—especially those who are now in heaven—if they can see us, they would be crying,” Mr Momodu said.
