Momodu Declares Interest in Presidency, Decries Lack of Unity

Funmi Ogundare

The Chief Executive Officer and Publisher, Ovation Magazine and The Boss Newspaper, Chief Dele Momodu, yesterday expressed concern about the lack of unity in the country, saying that those who have been oppressed are afraid that people who have amassed so much wealth in Nigeria will continue to oppress them.

Momodu, who on spoke ARISE News Channel, also declared his interest in running for the presidency of Nigeria. He described politics as managing people and resources, adding that it is impossible to become the president of a country as complex as Nigeria if you don’t prepare for it.

“ How many people today in politics have managed people and resources successfully? Most of the people we have as politicians never prepared for anything. All they prepare for is the next election and how they are going to rig.

“Nigerians must learn to do things differently. In a book written by Brazilian Author, Paulo Freire in the ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’, the oppressed people have one fear which is the fear of the oppressor. That the oppressed people only respects their oppressor. In Nigeria, people are so afraid that those who have amassed wealth, will continue to use the wealth to hang on to their necks perpetually and that is what we see today. But in terms of achievement, accomplishment and knowing what to do, you cannot do what you don’t have,” he said.

He noted that the best way to change the mindset of the oppressed is by bringing someone who is bold enough to challenge that status quo, adding that there is no country in the world that things ever changed if one man is not ready to make that sacrifice.

On what he is likely to do differently being a new comer on the platform of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) , he said the first thing he would do, is to prove to the party that he can win them the ticket, adding that any serious party that wants to win an election, will not just pick someone who does not have the global appeal.

“If you do that you know you have already lost that election. The world has moved on except our politicians, it is important for you to be able to prove your capacity to your party and that is the job. In my own case, I don’t have to travel far. From my telephone, I can show my party my foot soldiers across Nigeria. It is scientific. Every major village or towns, there are people that you will empower. Even the government today, if they talk about poverty alleviation and ask them to show who have benefitted from it, they can’t even show it. We have so much that we are doing, and I can tell you that we are better prepared,” he said.

Asked how he will be able to convince the power brokers to support him, the CEO described politics and election as being about elimination series saying, “people are going to sit down and compare who stands a better chance among the contestants. What are the youths of Nigeria saying today ? That they are tired of the politicians. You now have somebody who has built a global brand for over a quarter of a century and you are talking about a man who played a major role since 1983 in the affairs of Nigeria. Nigeria is the only place I know that cares more about how long you have contested rather than how well you have done.”

Asked why he parted ways with APC, Momodu said: “ When I supported President Mohammadu Buhari, I wasn’t a member of APC. In every election, there are usually two main contenders and it was between Buhari and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Our problem then, was that we thought we have seen the worst from PDP. I have since apologised for that mindset. We never knew it could get worse , that is one of the shortfalls in democracy , there are no gurantees that the next person will be better than the last person.”