by ‘Damilola Oyedele [@damioyedele]
What do you get when you put a fiery filmmaker, her trusty friends and like-minded young people together with the opinionated national campaign manager of an unconventional presidential candidate? Lights, camera and action, of course!
In the course of his campaign, presidential candidate Bashorun Dele Momodu, has drawn parallels between himself and US President Barack Obama. Tweets from @TeamDeleMomodu, his official campaign handle, such as: ‘When this journey began, no one gave us a chance. Like the early days of Obama’s campaign, we were told we will not go past the primaries’, show that Momodu does not take comparison this lightly. Both are relatively young, and yes, both have been considered the underdog, but for most, that is the end of the similarity. Some have said that running for Senate would have been a more realistic goal for Momodu.
We’ll skip right to the juicy part.
In the wake of Saturday’s relatively peaceful and successful National Assembly elections, Nigerians were tweeting their hearts away, Momodu and his team inclusive. However, things came to a head yesterday after one of Amaize’s tweets.
‘Dele Momodu should have run for Senate. Who then is the Obama you have chosen for President?’ tweeted @MrFixNigeria, challenging @blazeotokpa, @kemiadetiba, @OvieO, and @segundemuren.
@segundemuren replied promptly. ‘We don’t have an Obama! And I haven’t yet made my decision but be clear, DM is no Obama!’ he said.
The filmmaker jumped in. ‘@kemiadetiba & @MisterBoulders endorse this statement!!’ she tweeted in reply to @segundemuren’s statement.
And the squabble began.
@MrFixNigeria: #BitterTruth: Obama never had the experience of building a global business like Dele Momodu. #PleaseDropTheObamaSuperiorityComplex!
@segundemuren: I have a HIGH respect for @delemomodu2011 but I have to say @MrFixNigeria , the way you go about with your exclamations, & your strategy, YOU are steadily building a bad taste in my mouth when it comes to ur campaign!!
@MrFixNigeria: Why would anyone compare Dele Momodu to Obama? Is it because this is not America? In America, Obama will give Dele Momodu his due respect.
@kemiadetiba: HAHAHAHA.. IF I SHOULD TALK…
@OvieO: @MrFixNigeria I understand @delemomodu2011 is d UNDERdog but u don’t hv 2 go OVERboard by questionin EVERY opinion or criticism. If ur aim is 2 endear him 2 d Nigerian youths, believe me, u’re doin d exact opposite.
@blazeotokpa: Also, life continues after elections…dont antagonize people
@MrFixNigeria: @blazeotokpa Funny enough, we’ve been friends. I’ve never had anything personal against any of you not supporting my candidate…But when people who are supposed to be your friends subject you and your work to public ridicule, I wonder if they remember there’s life after the elections.
@blazeotokpa: @MrFixNigeria Ohimai…I have never subjected your work to ridicule, I just said what crossed my mind, and as for the antagonism, I see
@MrFixNigeria: @blazeotokpa Coming from you, the tweet and retweets about Dele Momodu running for senate were your rightful opinions but I must say, they were ridiculous and totally uncalled for.
While the heated conversations went on, young Nigerians continued tweet and retweet at Amaize. @Chude attempted to put out the fire. ‘Beating up on @MrFixNigeria: i dont think it’s a very productive – or fair – thing to do. He has a right to believe in his candidate.’
@kemiadetiba was having none of it. ‘TRUE!! He does… but what has happened is that HE beats on everyone else that REMOTELY has an opposing opinion … and I just got a ‘supposed’ official response which I will have to take up! Right NOW, im BOILING!!!’ she replied.
‘Ppl don’t av issues wt him, except 4 d attitude. Som sense of maturity wld av earned him some respect even if DeleMomodu lost.’ @toyinsanwo tweeted in agreement.
@eggheader had some stern reproof for Amaize. ‘Guy, serious campaign managers are collating results of NASS, determining strength & strategizing for saturday. Quit rants!’
Others continued to mock the Momodu/Obama equivalence.
@NaijaGalWonder: who wil b so crazy to compare DELE MOMODU WIT OBAMA…haba na!! Some nigerians cn lik 2chop cane.
@AO1379: I’ve been told the only area Bob Dee will outperform Mr Obama is on a weight scale.
Dele Momodu and his team clearly refused to be undeterred. From his personal handle, @DeleMomodu2011, tweeted: ‘Reading the ‘Dele Momodu’ tweets on Twitter is sheer comedy in its purest form. Nigerians just have a wonderful sense of humour!’ And from his campaign handle, @TeamDeleMomodu, we saw this tweet: ‘Americans are already warming up for a Donald Trump as president while some Nigerians are still rationalising why Dele Momodu should wait.’
First Obama, now Trump? Don’t get them started again o! #okbye
Dele should have run for Governor…I'd prefer to compare him with Arnold Scharzneggar (hope the spelling is correct). Obama was a Senator, Dele never was…IN FACT, DELE SHOULD HAVE RUN FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT CHAIRMAN!
Quite easy for opinions to be passed across as facts and gospel truths. Let us pay attention to Ohimai's assertion of an 'Obama Complex'. Would we feel better if DM drew a parallel between himself and some one of less importance than Obama?
While DM, might come across as a laughable candidate, we must remind ourselves that it is actually the kind of tenacity DM is displaying that actually changes the status quo. We forget easily that he is treading where most fear to tread. We may not find his ambition acceptable but we don't need to criticize him either.
As for musical videos, Kemi Adetiba and other artistes like her must learn that it is NOT possible to hate on a work of art,it can only be criticized. However, it is possible to hate on the artiste that created the art. When KA & co realize this, they will be in a better position to appreciate negative criticism & use it to improve their art.
*Typos & grammar errors regretted.
I'm aware even Nuhu Ribadu is on Ohimai's BB and has not deleted him yet for sending out Dele Momodu broadcasts. Says a lot about the tolerance and maturity of Kemi Adetiba who is not even a candidate in the race. May she find courage some day to run for public office and see that it is not the same as handling a video camera. Wish her all the best in her life!
You are entitled to think so Kemi Martins. It cannot change what is.
Good luck on Saturday.
LEAVE STORY! I as well would have deleted the Ohimai from my BB if he kept sending me Broadcasts LMAO And where did you hear this 'story' from? Gossip. Gossip. Propaganda. See how your 2+2 connected to 10. This is the DM Campaign for you. My vote can never reach them. SHIO!
My bad! Meant to say I totally disagree with Tolagbe.
Why do I have a feeling DEJI FLO, TOLAGBE, BUSHMAN, BUSHGIRL and SIMPLYBUSH are one and the same person? #KemiAdetiba'sTroubleMakingTacticsTohBadO! Una no get work! Lol!
BUSHBOY my dear, I spoke your mind? That's MARVELOUS! Let's do the bush collabo then! And we will get Kemi Adetiba to shoot a bush video! LMAO!
BUSHBOY get your facts right. The only people crying foul is the DM Campaign. Every opinion has become a negative smear campaign. You have to remember that they are the ones running for the Presidency not the celebrities. Lets see how this will help them Saturday. We should not be focused on the CMs age. He took the job, no excuses, let him get on with it. Long live NIGERIA!
bushwoman, where did u come from? wallahi fa! we need to do a collabo sharp sharp. U haf spoken my mind! Lwkmd!
I totally agree with Tolagbe! Please mention one campaign manager you know who is on Twitter apart from @mrfixnigeria? It is a lie that the youths hate Dele Momodu's campaign. Those who rose to defend Ohimai when he was being attacked on Twitter that night, are they old men and women? But really, when did Kemi Adetiba fall out with Ohimai? Is she not the same filmmaker who shot the video of Maga No Need Pay – a project which was coordinated by this same Ohimai? Na wao! I hear this issue did not begin on Twitter. Kemi Adetiba has long been anti-Dele Momodu. Many months ago she deleted Ohimai from her Blackberry contacts for doing his job – sending out Dele Momodu campaign broadcasts. If this is true, then there might just be more to this Dele Momodu hate attacks than a Twitter disagreement. Reading Kemi Adetiba's vicious endorsement of a tweet that says DM is no Obama actually speaks volumes. Is Dele Momodu Kemi Adetiba's problem?
i'm not voting for dele momodu, not because he is not qualified to be president. i already have my candidate – and its buhari. but i agree with kemi martins totally. you can criticise dele momodu's campaign but crying foul when they respond to you is the height of irresponsibility. there is nothing wrong about dele momodu mentioning the things he has done for the entertainment industry. entertainment is part of his constituency. every candidate has the right to sell their message with what they have done in the past. as for ohimai, i admire his guts and his courage. if you are expecting everyone to commend the work u are doing, then you are not ready for politics. there will always be haters of course. becoming Nigeria's youngest campaign manager at the age of 26 is not beans. stay focused. sai buhari!
Yay!!!
So when and where are we having our honeymoon. I guess the bill will be on DM or MrFixNigeria
Married!!
Bushgirl, are we related?…or married?
I agree with BUSHMAN. Because these celebrities dare not support DM, they criticize the campaign methods, they are enemies?
They must have not have read their CAMPAIGN 101. This is exactly what the show is about. The need to toughen up their skin if they want to be any part of government.
Are sleepless nights exclusive to this campaign manager alone? Do the other campaigns not have managers? Or are they also not on twitter? Do they not receive criticism as well? Lets call a badly run campaign for what it is. I am happy a young man got his chance in such a delicate position and I congratulate Bob Dee for taking the initiative. But if the truth is to be said, the young man has a lot to learn.
I shall remember to think about the campaign manager's sleepless nights when I need to ask the hard questions of education, power and infrastructure. He might think I am attacking him and join my name to the list of twitter-wolves.
I totally disagree. From what I saw and have read here the only person making a big deal about it is Ohimai and his cohorts. No one else has mentioned Miss Adetiba or the others, even here in the comments but pro-Ohimai supporters (himself) keep bringing their names up with venom.
The DM campaign rides on cry baby tactics. Today it is Miss Adetiba, tomorrow it will be Genevieve, next tomorrow it will be D'banj. The day they went off on Genevieve in their tweets was the most stupid form of campaigning i have sadly been able to witness. What is our business if D'banj rode in his PAs car or if he told Banky W to relocate to Nigeria. This whole business today is just a new chapter in this story with only one regular appearance – Dele Momodu campaign.
If everyone is pointing fingers at you, the least you can do is look at your dress to see if it is soiled.
As as for Ohimai, how can you have a youth campaign manager that the youth hate, and you say 'he is doing his job'. His age is not an excuse for him to be unnecessarily hot-blooded. This is why people go to school for this business.
#okbye
SMH at the Nigerian spirit. someone criticises you, he immediately becomes the hater, the devil and enemy.
When will we ever learn to accept faults and take criticisms?
Life is an irony. For the first time in the history of Nigeria, Nigerian youths have a fellow youth running one of the top 5 presidential campaigns in the country and instead of giving the young dude some back-up, they think they must attack and pull him down. People who cannot touch the feet of Alhaji Tafida (GEJ's campaign manager) or Audu Ogbeh (Ribadu's campaign manager) have found Dele Momodu's 26 year old campaign manager (the only one who's made himself available on Twitter, Facebook and Blackberry) as the enemy they must criticize, attack and ridicule. Life is not fair. Do these Twitter critics have a clue what it takes to manage a presidential campaign in a country like Nigeria? Do they know what the young man goes through on a daily basis? The sleepless nights? The conspiracies, institutions and political systems he has to contend with? The death threats? The setbacks? The strain and pains? For an underdog presidential candidate like Dele Momodu, I do not envy the job of his campaign manager at all. That dude must be going through some tough ass stuff! Nobody is saying no one should criticize their campaign. But for heaven's sake, what happened to the right of reply? And who determines what, how or when a campaign manager should respond to comments about his campaign? The critics themselves or the campaign? Life is a bitch. Let those who will not defend themselves when attacked be the first to cast a stone. I'm out!
Ohimai is a young man for Godsake! Theres nuffing wrong about his comments on Twitter. Anyone should expect that from a youth campaign manager. It's the age of the youth and the youths don't take bullshit from each other. Go meet Buhari and spit on his face in the name of politics and freedom of expression and see whether the almajiris around him will not slice you for correct suya. I just think we should tolerate one another that's all. Dont do unto others what u dont want to be done to you.
DEJI FLO, You can say whatever you like about @mrfixnigeria but one thing is clear. Beef is like ganja and it is very easy to smell. GEJ, Buhari and the other campaigns do not have a 26 year old who's on Twitter running their campaigns. And I know for sure that it is impossible for Ohimai to respond to all tweets about Dele Momodu on Twitter. From the story above, some of the people he responded to are people who know him personally. I may have been silent on Twitter but I saw everything that happened. It is my choice if I wish to stay anonymous. I saw a lot of tweets in defence of @mrfixnigeria on Twitter that evening. The problem here is that the likes of Kemi Adetiba are looking for an excuse not to support Dele Momodu and they think the easiest way to do that is to hang it on the man's campaign manager. Only a fool who doesn't read the newspapers can say that other campaigns do not respond to attacks from their critics. I think Dele Momodu's campaign is very active on Twitter and if his campaign manager decides to actively use the platform then those who are angry about that may need to hug a transformer.
and why are you a silent observer. I thought @mrfixnigeria tweets were overboard and extremely childish and I said so yesterday. Many others did as well. If you thought different why did you not you say so there and then. Why come as anonymous on a blog. It is either you were scared or you are part of the DM camp. If you are, we do not respect you anyway as Ohimai has made sure of that.
SM, I didnt defend the video. I just pointed out that you obviously took it personal if you spoke untruths about it.
From what I saw no one was speaking against his campaign but against the man 'boy' himself. It is unfortunate Bob Dee chose to put his campaign in this hands. He unfortunately is too immature to handle the natural feedback of the consumers of his tweets. Do you think Buhari, Jonathan do not get negative comments. President Jonathan's wife is forever a subject of jest on twitter due to her verbal missiles. I have never seen Jonathan or his representative answer any of the wide spread tweets, blackberry messages or recorded voice notes mocking his wife. It is not by mistake. GEJ has a twitter account that I am sure receives a million uncomplimentary tweets but only the DM campaign has assigned a 'bulldog' to take on all their fights.
I saw it. I see him. I have no affiliation. He was wrong.
He has made mockery of campaign and no one respects him, his childish 'rants' and 'cry of wolf'.
#weprayfornigeria
HowYourDay,
There was and there is no battle between Dele Momodu and Genevieve. Far from that. The tweets at Genevieve were from a statement issued by Team Dele Momodu on a comment made by Genevieve about President Goodluck Jonathan being the only presidential candidate who has supported the entertainment industry. It was a distortion of truth and the Dele Momodu Campaign Organisation felt the need to correct it. We didn't issue that statement because Genevieve endorsed Goodluck Jonathan. As far as we know, Dele Momodu still has a very cordial relationship with Genevieve.
she endorsed another candidate.
and i think it was ok for Ohimai to protect his candidate and believe in his "work", but with the way DM went in on a battle with @genevievennaji1 just because she endorsed was uncalled for…didnt anyone see all that. haaa, na wa o.
'DEJI-FLO', but what really should the world expect from a self-confessed trouble-maker like Kemi Adetiba? The point is not about Lagos Party being a crappy video. No doubt, Banky W's Lagos Party video by Kemi Adetiba is a wonderful video but see how you have quickly come to defend it because you feel someone has said something bad about the video. How is your reaction any different from that of Ohimai when he choses to ward off negative comments about his campaign? Am I making any sense here? We were all on Twitter yesterday when Kemi Adetiba and her gang of co-Twitter warriors swarmed upon Dele Momodu's campaign like a pack of wolves. The truth is, if you think running a presidential campaign is the same as shooting music videos, then you really need to get your head examined. I don't take shit from people so I am careful not to give people shit and expect a pat on the back in return. In fact, I commend the young man's maturity. If I were in his shoes, Kemi Adetiba would have been so embarrassed she will never go on Twitter again.
'SM', now we know you have bad belle to say Lagos Party is the crappiest video when everyone or a great majority all say it is one of the best ever out of Nigeria. You are either Ohimai or from his camp.
But this is not the point.
I saw the exchange on twitter, and Ohimai was very wrong. He needs to learn that he is not representing himself but Dele Momodu and should not cry after every negative opinion on twitter like a baby.
What makes him childish? Believing in his candidate? Why do some Nigerians think some people were born to take shit from them? If a woman old enough to be a mother as Kemi Adetiba is still being described as a self-confessed trouble maker, then childishness has no better definition. Let her grow up and face serious business other than attacking a young Nigerian who is doing his job on Twitter. I want to see the look on Kemi Adetiba's face when someone tells her Banky W's Lagos Party video is the crappiest video any film director in Nigeria has ever done. Beautiful nonsense!
What kind of childish campaign manager is this Ohimai guy? Nawa o!