Media mogul and PDP chieftain Dele Momodu has cautioned President Bola Tinubu towards assuming that latest political defections to the All Progressives Congress are acts of loyalty or a mirrored image of public approval.
Talking on Politics In the present day on Channels Tv on Wednesday, April 23, Momodu provided a frank critique of the political realignments in Delta State, the place Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his deputy Monday Onyeme, and former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa not too long ago dumped the PDP for the APC, alongside a number of commissioners and key occasion figures.
“I’m not stunned about it, it’s been beneath critical harassment in latest instances; it’s nothing new. What would shock me is that if President Bola Tinubu actually believes individuals are becoming a member of the APC as a result of they love him or as a result of he’s doing fantastically nicely,” he said.
Addressing Tinubu immediately, Momodu stated, “My recommendation to Asiwaju is that he shouldn’t belief these politicians. Proper now, everybody can see that he’s decided to get a second time period.
“God gave him the primary time period, not by way of coercion. I don’t know why he now believes he should safe a second time period by way of it.”
The Ovation writer described the defections not as ideological shifts however as a response to political strain, arguing that worry of prosecution or political persecution is now driving decision-making amongst elites.
“What individuals are doing now’s a sport of survival. Gone are the times once we used to boast that going to jail made one a martyr,” he stated.
He lamented that political braveness, as soon as symbolised by figures like Mandela and Abiola, is now scarce.
“We as soon as admired the likes of Nelson Mandela, MKO Abiola, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, for enduring detention within the title of precept. Today, no one desires to go to detention,” he stated.
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Momodu alleged that harassment from anti-corruption businesses has grow to be a instrument of management in at the moment’s political local weather.
“Everyone desires to remain at residence and speak in regards to the cash they’ve created from politics. Title one politician who has not been harassed by both the EFCC or the ICPC in some unspecified time in the future,” he added.
He accused the Tinubu-led administration of utilizing strain fairly than persuasion to consolidate energy.
“For me, it’s clear that this authorities’s technique is: ‘if we are able to’t persuade you, we’ll drive you’. And for now, that drive seems to be working. However politics can change in 24 hours,” he stated.
Momodu additionally used the chance to specific concern about Nigeria’s democratic well being, saying the president’s latest actions, together with the controversial suspension of key officers in Rivers State, had been troubling.
“I’m pleading with President Bola Tinubu, please don’t kill democracy in Nigeria. You’ll be able to fail within the financial system, and other people may forgive you. However should you fail in democracy, historical past is not going to be form,” he stated.
Reflecting on Tinubu’s previous as a pro-democracy determine, he added, “He fought for this democracy in exile; it will be a tragedy if he turns into the one to suffocate it.”
Momodu warned that sycophants could also be deceptive the president and pressured that real management have to be rooted in respect for democratic beliefs and freedoms.
