Chief Dele Momodu, a veteran journalist and Director of Strategic Communications for the 2023 Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Organisation, speaks with SAM NWAOKO on several national issues including the crisis over the control of local governments in Osun State.
You made a social media post on the recent local government election in Osun State. What is your takeaway from the entire process, especially considering the involvement of the federal government and some of its agencies?
I try to be very objective but I cannot say I am totally objective because I come from Osun background, though my father came from Edo to settle in Ile Ife, long before it became Edo State. My mother is from Gbongan in Osun State, also close to Ile Ife. I was born on May 16, 1960. The governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, is my very good friend. Everybody knows that; in fact he calls me ‘Ekeji mi’ that I’m his twin brother… So naturally, I will have a love for him and for his administration unless I am a wicked soul. You cannot be that close to a man and you will not wish him well. I wish him well at all times.
However, with regards to the local government elections in the state, I think he has done the right thing. He took the right decision. Nigeria is a mafia nation; Nigeria is a country of might is always right. So, the federal government that says Osun State cannot conduct election forgot that INEC does whatever they like at the federal level. OSSIEC will do their own at their own level. It was the prerogative of the Osun State government to make sure that that election took place. I read various legal submissions on the matter including the one written by Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN). Of all that legal angles, I have not seen one that said the state government did wrong by conducting an election. You must fill a vacuum if there is a vacuum. There should not be a vacuum in governance. So, Governor Adeleke did the right thing challenging the bullying of those who wanted to use ‘federal might’. I believe that former Governor Oyetola is a gentleman who should think more about legacy than power. If he was that good, the man would not have trounced him the way he did. Osun State is such that is almost absolutely and totally PDP in Yorubaland. So my attitude to it is that the governor did well and he maintained peace. For me peace is everything.
I think what is happening right now is that APC is already preparing for 2027 presidential election and Tinubu believes that if he does not control the entire South West very aggressively, that his presidency might be in danger. That is what is going on, nothing else. And, since Tinubu is said to be originally from Osun State but has adopted Lagos as his origin, which is allowed, I guess he also wants a stake in the land of his ancestors which is Osun State. However, it can be done in a subtle way, make sure that the people of Osun see the impact of your presidency but today, that is not happening and Governor Adeleke is almost in absolute control of Osun State and that is what APC has to live with. Besides, I have not seen a politician of note in Osun who says he wants APC back.
You were very close to Tinubu during the June 12 era and he is the president today. Looking back, would you say democracy has rewarded you adequately, sir?
I didn’t go into democracy for me to be rewarded. I am very passionate and very fanatical about journalism and making my mark and leaving my legacy. That is why I am a part-time politician, I am not a full-time politician. A few days after INEC declared that we lost the election in 2023, I was back at my desk in Ovation. When I went to the primaries of the PDP and I didn’t make it I was back at Ovation. When I lost the presidential election in 2011 on the platform of the National Conscience Party, I returned straight to Ovation. So I have a job waiting for me at all times but most politicians abandon everything that ever made them who they were. I cannot do that. So, I am not a career politician and that is one of the things I admire in Atiku Abubakar. The fact that he left power in 2007 and is still surviving on his businesses speaks a lot; not many politicians can survive like that. He still maintains his personal lifestyle, he is still employing so many Nigerians. He does not practice thuggery and you will never find a thug around Atiku. When you talk to me about democracy that is what democracy is all about, it is not about gangsterism; it is not about what would scare people – you can’t vote because of where you come from or because of religion or they can’t vote because you must be the winner at all times. For me, that is not my idea of democracy. When we fought the military we were fighting for a Nigeria which would be a land of freedom but today, Nigeria is not a land of freedom.
