“Nigerians are not ready for change; we deserve whatever government we get”: Dele Momodu speaks exclusively to YNaija (Conclusion)

Dele Momodu

by Wilfred Okiche

At various points in his life he has been a teacher, journalist, public speaker, business man and presidential aspirant.

In the conclusive part of the no-holds barred interview, Dele Momodu speaks more on the troubles bedevilling the nation and what can be done to remedy it.

Enjoy.

[READ: “When I say I want to run this nation, I know what I am saying”: Dele Momodu speaks exclusively to YNaija (Part 1)]

You said on Rubbin’ Minds recently that contesting in 2015 is a ‘’bloody waste of time’’, have you changed your mind?

What I mean by that is I will not stand on my own to say I want to contest unless the opposition comes together and they choose me for such a role.  I have participated in presidential elections 3 times; first for MKO Abiola, next was Olu Falae’s and then mine in 2011 so I know what I am talking. Some have asked me to start as a senator or governor but I am not looking for a job. I have looked at Nigeria and the only person that can change Nigeria is the number one man. The day we have a good president, you will see how fast things will change. I have no doubt about it.

But if politicians and people tend to gravitate to people with power, maybe you should actually consider running for governor or senator. At least get one foot in.

That there is the way a typical Nigerian reasons but I am not a typical Nigerian with all due respect. A typical Nigerian is looking for a job, any post. He can contest to be president today and settle for a local government chairman tomorrow and he doesn’t mind. But that is not me, I have a job. I have been to Abuja only once in the past 2 years because I don’t have any business there. I am not a hustler. I know governors, ministers but none of them can say Dele has come to sit in their corridor dozing while waiting for them. That theory is why we are in this mess. I have a clear agenda and I have done my self-assessment and it is that the change I can make it at the very top. If I cannot get it then I will continue to be a critic and hope that someone like me will become president in my time or at least in my next life. I am not desperate for power, I am desperate for change. Tell me one senator today who has rejected the horrendous remuneration they are getting? Not one, from all the parties. Everybody follows Mr President’s body language and the vibe he gives off is that there is a lot of money to spend and waste and everybody is just spending and wasting. You cannot do jack in the national assembly, they will shout you down. I am too old for some things. In 7 years I will be 60. Abiola didn’t start as a senator and he won the election, Obama didn’t stay too long on Capitol Hill. He had next to zero experience. So did David Cameron and Nick Clegg. The first platform anywhere in the world is solid education, I have it. You don’t put people without knowledge in the house and expect to make progress. Knowledge drives today’s world not how long you stay in power.

It has been a long time from 2011 till present. What do you know now that you didn’t know then?

What I know for a fact is that Nigerians are not ready for change and we deserve whatever government we get. Because of this self-defeatism, a lot of people, even professors said they will not vote for me because they don’t want to waste their vote and I ask them today have you not wasted it? When they come crying to me now  ‘’oh we are going on strike’’ my answer is shame on you. My child is looking for job, there is no power, no roads, I tell them shame on you. Because you had a chance to vote me in but you didn’t.

Is your party part of the opposition merger for the 2015 elections?

Not at the moment and I am still a loyal party man. Tinubu and all these guys are my friends, we were together in NADECO and I respect them but I have to toe the party line. Let us follow idealogy and principle sometimes. I was in Labour, my dream was to use the platform of labour to mobilize workers but I did not realise Labour had it’s agenda and they were not interested in the slow but steady approach. I also linked up with the British Labour government and they were ready to assist us in formulating our policies. Nigerians are not even discussing agendas anymore. Abiola gave us farewell to poverty, I don’t even know what the PDP is offering.

Well, President Jonathan has a Transformation agenda

I don’t know what they are transforming. The biggest thing I learnt is that even the poorest man in the village, come election day, that 500 Naira he can collect is more important and there is no way he can calculate that he is not going to spend that 500 Naira for the next 4years.

In your Pendulum column for This Day newspapers, you said you were in support of a coalition. How come you are not now a part of it?

I am in support of a but what I said in the article is that there is no need for the merger. The merger is what is causing all the distraction. I have told some of them that are close to me but we like the easy approach to things. What they should have done was to allow each party remain the way they are and then since the common enemy is the federal government, let ACN dominate their south west, APGA dominate their south east, CPC, the north west and ANPP if they have the capacity should face the north east, it is good for democracy. I ask them, did Jonathan form any merger with you when you supported him in 2011? But you did. My running mate in 2011 Dr Yunusa Tanko is now the chairman of my party. If he decides to join the merger, then he stops being the chairman because he is going to be a small fry in a very big party. How many Nigerians are willing to serve in heaven rather than reign in hell? These guys should tell themselves the truth, that their party will break into factions. Look at the APGA fiasco.

Let us talk about Ovation magazine. You have built a world famous brand from scratch but there have been reports that the magazine is no longer available on newsstands.

You see it is baffling, that is why I said your generation is distracted. Right now we publish what is probably the biggest and fattest magazine in the world, 364 pages. Right now people are queing up to book special editions of Ovation for their events and you say you don’t see it, how can you see it when you are always pinging or tweeting in traffic. Go online, we have a website and publish the full edition online. Last month we introduced 3 editions; English/international edition which we sell in Nigeria, England and America, French for francophone countries and then that for rest of Africa. The current edition with Mike Adenuga’s 60th birthday celebration on the cover is out.

I know a bit about the magazine business and what it takes to put one together so I imagine that for you to be doing this all these years, Ovation must be a labour of love for you. How have you managed to stay in business all this time?

I would rather not be president than for Ovation to die. Even my wife knows that my number one love is Ovation and she has accepted it. I speak to other publishers, the story is the same. God is number one. Because our printers in London never imagined that a Nigerian publication would end up being their biggest brand. We wanted to print 400 pages the other time but they said no they have reached their limit and we should stick with our 364 pages or find another printer. We have been with them for 14 out of 17 years. We also have guts. Publishing is the ultimate casino so you have to be a gambler. We have access because we have been identified with consistent quality. It is funny because I don’t have correspondents in the state houses, I don’t do press conferences, I do not write editorials for people and yet people say we see looters on your magazine. 80% of the people in Ovation are outside government. If I depended on government for my magazine will I be able to attack them the way I do? Abiola says the deaf man can only sing the song he heard before he went deaf so people that are complaining have not even opened Ovation in the last 10 years. 17 years of being number 1 is not easy. People do not realise how much I struggle to keep Ovation running, it is a giant struggle, bigger than fighting apartheid.

Some would say that these days, it is more lucrative to appear to be fighting government. Do it well enough and consistently and get rewarded with a portfolio.

It takes an independent mind to be able to criticize government consistently, after some time, you tend to ask yourself am I the owner of Nigeria? Tomorrow if I decide to take an offer with government it is no one’s business. I have refused to lobby. Do you think that at my level if I lobby in this country I will not get a job? Or if I decide to join PDP tomorrow they will reject me? No, they will throw a big party but is that what I want? I am not fighting Jonathan because he is Jonathan. If he performs, I praise him, go and read my articles. Someone will now say they have settled him or he is trying to get Jonathan’s attention. I went to protest with the Enough is Enough crowd and policemen grabbed my neck, did I go to see Jonathan after? People always criticize. One guy tweeted once that he just hates Dele Momodu and I am like why?

All these engagements, What exactly is your job title these days?

Funny you should ask because this morning I was opening my Keek account and what I used was publisher and politician P&P. That is what I go by these days.

This place is a hive of activity, what are you working on presently ?

We are hoping to translate Ovation magazine to a television magazine program and it is something that should be viewed across Africa. We have been on it for some time now, we are working hard to raise the money and I hope we do so. I am also working with Ohimai Amaize on my memoirs of the 2011 presidential election. It will soon be out.

Concluded.

Comments (2)

  1. Good stuff Dele. But the problem with Nigerians is that when they become presidents, they perform woefully. The worst part is that they even stop to communicate people directly. Rather they employ people whose job is to insult us no matter that persons standing in the society if we dare point out the weaknesses of the president. So therefore, how can wewe trust you?

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