Pendulum
Pendulum: My Passionate Appeal to PDP Delegates
Published
10 months agoon
By
Eric
My very dear Party Delegates, I’m honoured to send you this special message today. Let me emphasize how privileged I feel being one of the final 15 PDP Presidential aspirants that will contest to be our Party’s Presidential candidate during our Party Primary next week, from May 28-29, 2022. An event that will produce our Party’s candidate for the 2023 Presidential election is obviously a momentous and monumental event.
The time has therefore come for us to tell ourselves the home truth. I have never been known to shy away from speaking truth to power or anybody for that matter, how much more a political party that I sincerely believe has the capacity to dislodge the terribly incompetent ruling Party, APC, and its narcoleptic leadership, which most Nigerians would wish could just disappear in order to end the anguish and agony we’ve had to endure in the past seven years. However, if the truth must be told, this is not going to be an easy task except PDP decides to play a game APC would never understand. Our Party needs a change of style if it is to succeed at the national polls (you can’t afford to play Brazilian style when playing Brazil). Our Party needs a major revolution and a volcanic eruption to defeat APC. What would determine our preparation and preparedness for that task, or not, would be the candidate that you the Delegates pick next week. Let me now paint the scenario I envisage.
MONEY POLITICS: It is not a secret that two of our gladiators are poised to fight themselves to standstill in a battle of humongous, but highest bidder, and not of ideas or accomplishments. They are former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the Rivers State Governor, Barrister Nyesom Wike. The first is from the North Eastern part and the latter is from the South South. Either of the two is capable of winning the Party ticket based on the financial resources that they ostensibly command, but I’m convinced that it would be pretty difficult for them to repeat the same feat during the general election next year. Their financial clout would certainly be eclipsed by the ruling APC, so the attraction for the PDP Party delegates must be more than money. My question then is, what shall it profit a political party that hands its Presidential ticket to the highest bidder but fails ultimately to win the main election. Therefore, PDP elders must step in, like they’ve always done at critical moments, to intervene positively in educating and ensuring that PDP does not fall into the APC trap.
THE ODDS AGAINST ATIKU and WIKE: Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is certainly the most experienced politician in the race. He comes with intimidating political credentials and larger than life personality which, ordinarily, should work in his favour, but, unfortunately not this time when Nigerians are more discerning. Atiku who turns 76 this year is nearer 80 than 70. I supported him in the last election because I felt he was still relatively manageable, but that is not the case today. I’m sure his diehard fans would be quick to say age does not matter and use the American President Joe Biden as a veritable example, but they would have totally missed the point. America does not have the challenges Nigeria carries today. America has sufficient strong and viable institutions and substantial infrastructure even if it can still make do with more, like any other country. The next President of Nigeria must be fully ready to run a blistering schedule which would require all the stamina in the world. It would be most horrendously unfair to unleash another old leader on us immediately after the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari. We have already seen and suffered the disastrous effect of our misadventures on President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Buhari whose health challenges affected the work of State and the polity calamitously. It is a risk not worth taking any longer. At Atiku’s age and with his status, Nigeria may have an Emperor in power and the resources that would be required to maintain him would be hugely significant. Examples of such abound in Africa. We cannot afford to be another, yet again.
On Wike’s part, he is much younger at 59 and extremely energetic and hardworking. He is one of the best Governors in terms of infrastructural development and this alone should have worked in his favour. However, his major shortcoming is his short fuse, very volatile temper, vituperations and intolerance. These are not the attributes that the President of a developing nation like Nigeria should possess. Many of those goading him on today mostly have reservations about these dismal qualities but are unable to tell him to his face. He himself knows this fact and says it regularly. However, he also believes with little humility that those ganging up against him will suffer a crushing defeat because of the undeniable State wealth at his disposal. I’m not so sure. As one of his biggest admirers, I have written to him that he should watch out for a grand conspiracy at the last minute and copied our mutual friends, Mohammed Adoke (SAN) and Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN). While it is commendable that Wike has worked assiduously for the survival of PDP and is also campaigning hard for power to shift to the South, Wike may find it impossible, on this occasion to be the kingmaker as well as the king simultaneously.
THE TAMBUWAL MAGIC: At 56, the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal is one of the most experienced and exceptionally influential politicians in Nigeria today. His meteoric rise is a stuff of fiction and fairytales. He has been a trained teacher, legal practitioner, federal legislator (rising to become Speaker of the House of Representatives), and now second term Governor. He has also handsomely developed Sokoto State given the meagre resources at his disposal.
PETER OBI THE ROCK: He is one of my favourite Nigerian politicians, for his passion for education and frugal disposition to managing government resources. Parsimony in government, especially in a developing economy, is counterproductive. Our country does not need savings at the kind of level that Obi posits. A lot of investment is required if the country is to progress. The kind of savings that Obi talks about may be good in a poor State but is minimal and does not do anything for the country. What both of us agree with is that profligacy and corruption need to be eliminated. At 60, age is still on his side. He enjoys cult following from his fans and supporters who want him to be President by fire by force, even though as I have inferred, his limitations are clear for all to see. Peter’s major headache comes from his own people! None of the other Igbo aspirants is willing to step down for him, even though he towers above them in public perception and opinion.
DELE MOMODU THE UNDERDOG TO WATCH: I have always been underrated. Even before my birth, my Mum was taunted as someone incapable of given birth to a baby at her age, but she did, and here I am. I had a poor grade 3 in my first WAEC school leaving certificate examination attempt in 1976. An uncle told my Mum I was too empty brained to make it in life but here we are still. At a point in my life, of all my friends, I was the only jobless one, and I almost gave up. When I eventually got a job in Lagos, in 1988, at Concord Newspapers, I was homeless and had to be a squatter for about two years. When I was forced into exile in 1995, I was derided as an outsider crying louder than the bereaved because of my almost fanatical support for Chief M.K.O Abiola. But the experience compensated me with the birth of Ovation International in the city of London. I have gone through this preamble because of those who have wrongly written me off in this race for our Party’s Presidential ticket. I will explain in a jiffy why I believe I’m the best in this race and why you should, very seriously, vote for me next week. Without being immodest and with all sense of humility, I am a totally fresh aspirant with global experience and exposure to entrepreneurship, entertainment, technology, tourism and hospitality, diplomacy, philanthropy, education, job creation, traditional and social media, nationalities, politics and security.
I have only mentioned five of the 15 aspirants for specific reasons that you will appreciate below.
THE DISCARDED ZONING FORMULA: Zoning was in the Constitution of our Party, PDP, for obvious reasons. Just like the Federal character, it was meant to make life bearable for Nigerians from all parts of the country and give us all a sense of belonging. My view has always been that the best candidate should be fielded irrespective of where he comes from, but it is unfair to change the rules of a game midway through the game. That is history now though, and we must all live by the rules that we are now presented with. Now that zoning has been jettisoned, the race has become a free for all. And since the excuse is for our Party to be able to find and field the best candidate, then we must get our Arithmetic right. I shall return to this after the next paragraph.
EXPECTATIONS OF NIGERIANS: Everywhere I have been, Nigerians have not minced words about why they are tired of all career politicians, particularly those in the PDP and APC. PDP would do well to fulfil the hopes , dreams and wishes of frustrated Nigerians who want to retire our politicians of yesteryears, especially at the Presidential level since it is practically impossible to sack all politicians. We can identify the good ones.
Why would PDP want to bring back an inglorious past that most Nigerians are ashamed about, unquestionably reject and are seriously trying to distance themselves from? It is like insulting their intelligence, capabilities and perception.
ATTRIBUTES OF THE NEXT PRESIDENT: The PDP candidate would most probably slug it out with one of the most formidable technocrats and more youthful candidates APC has to offer. Our Party cannot afford to field recycled, ancient and controversial politicians at this time and age. The next President of Nigeria must be youthful, technologically savvy, well-educated and fully apprised of 21st century developments and life. The new Nigerian President must be charismatic, urbane, cosmopolitan, level-headed and globally recognised and respected.
HOW TO WIN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Sentiment and emotion alone can’t win elections. Since we have explained why we abandoned zoning, no zone can request that power be zoned to it again. Thus, we want the best Presidential/Vice Presidential team that can defeat APC. It is now a game of Mathematics, logic and personal attributes. The first question is where are the votes? The answer is that the largest votes come from the North West, South West, North East, South South, North Central and South East in that order.
I will recommend that PDP should get its team from South West/North West or Vice Versa. Naturally, I favour the first combination rather than the second because equity and justice dictates that the President should come from the South since the North has had eight years bite at the cherry. It is a fact that the North has failed with the President Buhari administration despite Buhari being seen as the only alternative to President Goodluck Jonathan at the time.
No individual can lay claims to being the only omnipotent one who can win for us. The Party maketh a man and not the other way round. The Constitution recognises this. That is why the Parties are more relevant than any individual. In terms of age, integrity, personal accomplishment, global popularity, freshness of ideas and ideals, as at today, our Party is well poised to deliver with a Dele Momodu who stands head and shoulders in this regard, and incidentally automatically combines two Southern regions of South South (father) and South West (Mother) with extensive networks everywhere. From the North, I will consider a Governor Tambuwal as my runningmate, against other Northern aspirants like Mohammed Hayatu-deen, Bala Mohammed and Bukola Saraki.
PDP is blessed with many leaders like Governor Wike who will be the first to get my Ministerial appointment in Works or Power. He has the capacity and courage to handle both effectively. Former Governor Peter Obi will do fantastically well as Secretary to Federal Government, which is the engine room, in order to clean up the Augean stable called the civil service once and for all. A Bukola Saraki will do very well in Foreign Affairs with his upper-crust education and Queens English combined with silver spoon pedigree. I love what Governor Udom Emmanuel has done with Ibom Air and he will be considered for trade and investments. A Mike Ozekhome with his dazzling brilliance as Minister of Justice will shake up the judiciary. What I am doing here is only to give a sneak preview of my dream cabinet and assure Nigerians that ours will be a government of national unity, with a star-studded cabinet of brilliant and accomplished Nigerians from every part of Nigeria and the entire world.
To be continued next week…
Related
You may like
Pendulum
Pendulum: Dele Momodu: An Independent Politician
Published
2 days agoon
March 24, 2023By
Eric
By Sani Sa’idu Baba
It is as if Paul Coelho knew Dele Momodu when he said “When you are enthusiastic about what you do, you feel this positive energy. It’s very simple”, for it is quite visible to the blind and audible to the deaf, Momodu has carved a niche for himself as an altruistic, enthusiastic, passionate leader and a big name in all that he does with sterling records of success.
I believe some of my readers will be quick to say that Ooh, Dr. Baba will be sentimental for obvious reasons, but the truth is that I was not, I am not and I will not. All I am going to say is the honest truth.
My major stimulant to writing this today emanated from this simple question. Ooh how does an individual capture the essence of this your boss, Dele Momodu? Just how? Asked by many of my friends including a number of them that slide into my DM to say hi, and subsequently asked around the above question, and here is my humble and sincere reply to all of them.
But before then, I’d like to emphasise on one of his best characters and that is the fact that he’s multi-layered and versatile which are characters that distinguished him from his peers in all ramifications. I believe the aforementioned question mostly emanated from the perception about the fate of most politicians post-election. Anyway, here is my reply. When I got confused in the past as to how to describe him, it occurred to me I could use the allegory of the blind men and their encounter with the elephant. The story first originated from India. A group of blind men who had never seen an elephant were said to have argued fiercely as to what it looks like. Each of the blind men touched and felt a different part of the body. Just one part of the elephant is quite big. Each described what he felt with his hands. Each version of the experience was limited, even though true. Each suspected the other of profanity and dishonesty. They were even said to have come to blows. But they were all right; yet all wrong.Though there are several Hindu, Jain and Buddhist versions of this story, each of the blind men were said to have groped different parts of the elephant. The same thing about Dele Momodu. If you’re fond of reading stories about him, it will be easier to understand who he is from the views of others using the elephant’s story even if you don’t know him. Their individual perceptions of what the Elephant looks like are as follows:
One who touched the trunk said the elephant was like a thick snake. Another touched the large ear, he concluded the elephant must look like a fan. For another who touched the leg, he said the elephant is a pillar, like a tree trunk. One touched its hard side and concluded it was like a wall. The one who touched its tail described the elephant as a rope. Yet, another touched the tusk, and vowed to the heavens that the elephant is like a hard, smooth spear.The blind men were all partially correct; but also, all partially wrong.
In desribing my mentor, brother, friend, Dele Momodu when people asked me, I have encountered the same difficulty of these blind men.
The reason is that Momodu wears many caps, so many that he means a different person to different observers and analysts.
Some would encounter him and tell you he is a business tycoon because of his business establishments and relationships with business leaders worldwide. Readers of his books and weekly column PENDULUM would say that he’s only a writer and journalist who’s a Veteran at that. Others would encounter him unknown to them about his seven traditional titles at home and abroad, including the recent Aare of Iwoland and tell you he’s a traditional ruler who doesn’t care to dress like a king, perhaps because of the obvious respect he earned like royalty in many high places. In the same vein, the political analysts would report that he’s a political legend due to his active participation in politics and the political role he has played over a period of four decades. Similarly, some might choose to call him an activist because of the role he’s played in defence of democracy in 1993 that saw him forced into exile, and many events that followed thereafter till today. Lastly, some assumed he’s a teacher because of the knowledge that he used to rain for free via his verified Instagram handle Instagram live, twitter spaces, Facebook live, Clubhouse, and etc for the young generation plus the way he intermingles freely with his proteges and mentees around the world.
Others think he’s a Blogger because no younger man or woman multitasks than him on social media platforms which he handles personally, at nearly 63 years of age. Same with his unprecedented collection of pictures and videos, as if he’s a veteran photographer. He may also be called a Librarian with his stupendous collections of books. He actually worked at the University of Ife library from 1977-78 became a pioneer JAMBITE in 1978. And he has almost completed his library resort in the ancient city of Ibadan which will soon become a tourist attraction for scholars. You won’t be wrong to call him a Travel agent if you see the thousands of flight ticket stubs he has garnered on trips to over 60 countries on five continents, the reason many call him the OLABISI AJALA, the globetrotter of our time.
Some may be tempted to call him a Music producer with the way he’s been promoting our young talents since 1989 when he sold Sir Shina Peters to the world on the cover of Weekend Concord and Classique magazine. He sponsored the biggest music carnival ever on the campus of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, in 1999, where he assembled the Plantation Boys, Remedies, Sir Shina Peter’s, Queen Salawa Abeni, and others at the massive amphitheatre of Oduduwa Hall. Since 2007, he has attracted millions of dollars in sponsorship from UBA, GLOBALCOM, the Esther Ajayi Foundation and others for the promotion of young talents in Music, Comedy and Fashion. Many of the beneficiaries of these Ovation Red Carol concerts include D’banj, Don Jazzy, Wande Cole, Olu Maintain, Waje, Tiwa Savage, Sinach, Sammie Okposo, Davido, Wizkid, Tuface, Burner Boy, Seun Kuti, and so many great entertainers…
Lastly, you’re likely to call him the quintessential Opposition Leader with the way he has never been in government and continues to support only opposition parties. He believes a country as bedevilled with myriads of problems like Nigeria needs powerful voices to speak up, one the reasons he owes no one apologies for not supporting his friend, Chief Bola Tinubu, as a Presidential candidate…
These I believe would reflect the scenarios on the perceptions of those blind men about the elephant.
Interestingly, a friend of mine SANI AUWAL MUDI recently asked me whether Momodu is also a former football legend, and my answer was a straight NO. He was compelled to ask having seen the way Momodu was respected and well treated by the President of FIFA Mr. Gianni Infantino and others including the legendary Arsene Wenger the former Arsenal manager in Kigali, Rwanda last week. Unknown to many that it was a formal invitation of world leaders and big names around the world for the FIFA Congress, and he graced the event as a VIP guest of FIFA under the leadership of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, an invitation that even Presidents around the world will never reject and will feel much honoured to be invited. How many Nigerian politicians have you seen there? None? So to me its a matter of personal integrity, self accomplishments and Momodu’s worth on the eyes of worthy world leaders.
The moral of the story is that Aare Dr. Dele Momodu loves his job, and he never feels he’s bigger than his job and businesses in line with the assertion of Paul Coelho. Perhaps why he succeeded in life without being a full time politician. Never in life consider politics as a job or only what you know. Those that have been asking me about Momodu’s political future should know that he’s too busy to even think of that. Many of his close associates kept on wondering how he managed to spend about five months working in presidential campaign office, recording only two international trips during this period, a man who to some is synonymous with travelling.
Even by the time he lost the Presidential primaries in May 2022, he has moved on with his business activities. I was his agent at the Presidential Primaries, but I could vividly remember that 48hrs after the election, he resumed in Ovation International Office in Lagos after which he went abroad, business as usual. This shows how occupied he is outside politics. Only to receive a call when he was on his way out of the country, from the Presidential candidate of his party H.E ATIKU ABUBAKAR asking him to serve as a Director of Strategic Communications of his Presidential Campaign Organization, on account of his competency and capacity, which he accepted, delivered handsomely and effectively.
Sani Sa’idu Baba writes from Kano, and can be reached via drssbaba@yahoo.com
Related

By Dele Momodu
Fellow Nigerians, please, let me express
how happy I feel returning to writing my Pendulum column today. Special thanks to the Publisher of Thisday newspapers and Chairman of Arise News Television Channel, Prince Nduka Obaigbena for always inspiring me to excel. So I’m back to what I truly love and treasure, READING and WRITING… But politics of opposition remains my part time vocation. A story for another time.
You must be wondering already, I’m sure, about what FIFA has got to do with INEC, a most notorious Nigerian electoral Commission that has attracted unprecedented odium and global condemnation to our already battered country’s image.
Yes, you can say Nigeria is not new to election rigging but the recent Presidential contest took the cake and its reverberations are yet to subside.
Let me go straight to my point. INEC managed to scam most of us by pretending to be serious about its job. I have had to go back to many of Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s speeches in the last couple of years and I have come to the conclusion that he’s nothing short of a drama king but a very poor one at it. It remains a mystery how he manages to keep such a straight poker face when selling lies to his captive audience.
Let me give one example only. I lost my last hope and faith in him while watching the melodrama that played out during the last collation exercise, an unnecessarily drab and terribly cumbersome exercise, at this time and age. Why do we need to assemble and engage those Professors as returning officers when the right and easiest thing to do was to TRANSMIT the results straight from the polling units!! Why would a so-called learned Professor not work towards changing and improving on the illiterate methodology and processes he met in place? Yet this man, Mahmood, sits comfortably for hours, like the Lord of the flies, supervising a complete charade while rushing palpably to Golgotha, a place of death.

FIFA Council Members, Mr Amaju Pinnick and Ms Isha Johansen with Chief Dele Momodu and President Paul Kagame at the FIFA Council dinner in Kigali days ago…
I will never forget, nor ever comprehend, how and why Mahmood appeared so recalcitrant and unmoved by the pleas of Senator Dino Melaye who had tried to rescue him and our dear beloved country from eternal damnation that has befallen him and his team and the calamity that was wittingly foisted on Nigeria. All that was needed by anyone with a conscience, love for, and loyalty to his country was to allow more time to re-examine the barrage of obvious and obnoxious infractions arbitrarily committed nationwide. But Mahmood studiously ignored all genuine and germaine entreaties. It appeared like a case of a man on suicide mission and reminded me of the tortoise in one of Ola Rotimi’s plays who was asked when it will return from its senseless journey and responded “not until I have been disgraced…” In one fell swoop, Mahmood Yakubu recklessly frittered away a golden opportunity to join the rare and exclusive pantheon of great Africans who saved their countries and people from perfidy and brink of collapse.
Please, note that I have not written about who won or did not win but only about the lack of transparency in the entire process. The same technology that worked well for the other electoral offices suddenly developed tuberculosis and high fever for the Presidential race. This is the crux of the matter.
Mahmood was just too predictable. He was working from answer to question, like a somnambulist or a victim of hypnotism. Everyone knew he was acting a dangerous script and that his macabre dance would reach its crescendo in the dead of the night, as if it was a meeting of witches and wizards. So I switched off my phone in order to spare and save my eyes from witnessing this inglorious show of shame. And when that minute finally came, it was a cataclysmic fall for a country that parades some of the brightest men and women on planet earth. The damage and its collateral effects were absolutely brutal and almost irreversible. Even the supposed winners appeared too stunned that it could not celebrate its pyrrhic victory. It became a de javu of sorts. The world instantly joined Nigerians in mourning. It was the global press that jolted us out of our comatose state.
On a personal note, I had so much faith in the promises made by President Muhammadu Buhari about wanting to leave a worthy legacy, despite my usual reservations and paranoia about such grandstanding in the past. I had prayed fervently that the President would not blow this second chance God has mercifully granted him after contesting for a record four times. But, unfortunately, the man on whose behalf I was fasting was actually busy gulping away voraciously…
Anyway, in order to unwind, I decided to travel to Tanzania and Zanzibar. But man proposes and God disposes. A call from a prominent member of FIFA Council, Ms Isha Johansen, former boss of the Sierra Leone Football Federation and a football club owner, changed my plans. “Bros D,” as she fondly calls me, “if you’re passing through Kigali, let me get you a VIP invitation to the 73rd FIFA Congress…” I can smell a good opportunity for networking from hundreds of kilometers away and I was not going to let this pass me by. Let me confirm that what eventually transpired in Rwanda actually surpassed my expectations.
Last Sunday, I boarded Rwandair after seeking permission from my bosses at the ATIKU/OKOWA Presidential Campaign Council. I needed a break after the frenetic work we had put into one of the most phenomenal Presidential campaigns ever. As soon as we got off the plane in Kigali, I felt the overwhelming power of FIFA. Rwanda has become one of the most welcoming destinations of choice for global events and I must say FIFA chose right. Rwanda’s biggest strength lies in President Paul Kagame’s magical performance in a country that went through one of the worst genocides in human history. Love him or loathe him, history will record him as a leader who brought his people back from eternal perdition. PEACE is what makes Rwanda livable. I saw some of the world’s most famous stars under one roof at the Kigali Marriott hotel. We bonded as one big family and there was no discrimination whatsoever.
For me the FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, was quite a big revelation and huge inspiration, for a man his age and at his peak of success. He is extremely friendly and down to earth. He is a good friend of Africa. This was evident in the way he relates to my two friends on the FIFA Council, Ms Isha Johansen and Mr Amaju Pinnick. He laughed heartily when I told him he is probably the most powerful President in the world.
I met and mingled with the movers and shakers of the football fraternity. I was profoundly honored to meet the former Manager of my favorite football club, Arsenal, Mr Arsene Wenger, as calm and composed as ever. Meeting him a few times was surreal. Our videos went viral several times.
Our African representatives on the FIFA Council are making us very proud. Isha and Amaju introduced me to who’s who in attendance. I met the FIFA Vice President & CONCACAF President, Mr Victor Montegliani, former US Soccer Federation President and current Adviser to FIFA President, Mr Carlos Cordero, the 2002 Senegalese World Cup hero, Mr Kalilu Fadiga, Ghanaian soccer star Asamoah Gyan, our own indomitable Jay Jay Okocha, The Bull Daniel Amokachi, and too many superstars to mention from over 200 countries. It was such a delight meeting the extremely influential UEFA President, Mr Aleksander Ceferin, the great Senior Vice President of FIFA and the Asia Confederation President, Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa. I met the South African Billionaire businessman and CAF President Mr Patrice Motsepe.
I was truly humbled by the humility of the Secretary General of FIFA, Mrs Fatma Samoura. But my biggest inspiration came from meeting President Paul Kagame at the FIFA Council dinner where he mingled freely with some of us. I discovered in him a hands-on leader. He was available and approachable. He even played in a soccer match. He’s admirably cosmopolitan.
The FIFA President has worked assiduously to take the organization to a much higher level than he met it. I saw the joy of fulfillment on his face as he reeled out highlights of his spectacular achievements. He was given a standing ovation after he was reelected unopposed for another term of four years. The voting process was electronic and it was done almost effortlessly. It brought back memories of a dashed hope and lost opportunity back home in Nigeria. I wondered what’s wrong with us such that when we think we’ve taken two steps forward, we actually take ten backwards. All I could muster was SHAME UNTO INEC for its ignominious rascality.
I remembered my Boss, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and felt a sense of pride that I took the right decision when I chose to support him and Governor Ifeanyichukwu Okowa. The Wazirin Adamawa has demonstrated the traits of a true democrat. His faith in the rule of Law is unassailable. You will never see hooligans around him. His supporters will never terrorize anyone on social media. This is the kind of gentleman Nigeria desperately needs.
To those crying that I should have supported someone else, I have nothing but pity. I marvel when highly educated people tell me I should be loyal to a friend and not to my country. I made my choice with my eyes wide open and I stand by him, in thunder, lightning and in rain.
Related
Pendulum
Pendulum: My Personal Take on Atiku, Wike and Ayu
Published
7 months agoon
September 10, 2022By
Eric
By Dele Momodu
Fellow Nigerians,
I come in peace. According to the Holy Bible: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God…” Matthew 5:9.
The political party I belong to is PDP. I had contested its Presidential Primary months ago but lost spectacularly. I’m not here to offer excuses about what happened or did not happen. I’m writing this epistle first as a peacemaker and also, secondly, as an academic exercise. I’m interested in exploring the possibilities of how our big gladiators can re-embrace one another. Once upon a time, they were all friends. Friends sometimes fight bitterly. Even husbands and wives do disagree vehemently and, at times, to a point of irreconcilable differences. However, even in those times, miracles can happen and events and circumstances bring them back together. This is the stage we are right now. Only a miracle can save the once buoyant and vibrant relationships that existed between these major anchors of the PDP and restore the trust between The Wazirin Atiku Abubakar, Dr Iyorchia Ayu and Governor Nyesom Wike.
The key words in the middle of this war of attrition are MISTRUST and DISTRUST.
I need to emphasize that earlier this week, I and four other former Presidential aspirants visited our Party’s Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in Abuja.
The delegation was led by Alhaji Mohammed Hayatudeen. Those former aspirants that attended the meeting were Mohammed Hayatudeen, Dele Momodu, Tari Oliver, Bar Charles Ugwu and Bar Chikwendu Kalu. This was the first official meeting of it’s kind by any group of aspirants after the National Convention that saw Alhaji Atiku Abubakar emerge as the Presidential flag bearer of our great Party, PDP. I must emphasise that we represented the small group of six former aspirants who had met in Lagos and reached a decision to meet our candidate. Only one of us was absent, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, because he had to leave for the US before the meeting took place.
It is not true that our small group was snubbed by anyone of the other aspirants. We did not invite Governor Nyesom Wike since he we understood and knew that he is still angry about the conduct of the election, it’s outcome and events that transpired shortly thereafter. Before meeting with our Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku, we had reached out to some of our party’s leaders who were reachable. We had even paid a visit to former Governor Ayodele Peter Fayose who is currently recuperating from a major surgery, in order to show our empathy and consideration for him and his condition. Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State had actually agreed to host us soon. Chief Anyim Pius Anyim also promised to host us since he was unavoidably absent and away from Abuja at the time we met Atiku. Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki also offered his apologies as he was out of the country.
The truth is that everyone is anxious to see an end to the imbroglio rocking our party. Even our opponents are eager to see an end to it, one way or the other, because PDP has been getting all the good and bad attention (and every publicity in PR parlance, is good publicity). So we decided to start the peace process from our own side as former Co-contestants for the Presidential ticket of the PDP, in a bid to ensure that we reduce the almost perennial bad news about our Party.
Our candidate was happy and delighted to see, and welcome us to his home. The atmosphere was both convivial and jovial. He expressed his great pleasure to see his former colleagues and co-contestants and assured our team of his readiness to collaborate and build a formidable team that would not only see the PDP winning the upcoming election, but also strategically position the Party for the upcoming business of governance after our resounding victory.
The team spoke about our foremost interest in ensuring peace and stability in the Party, stressing the need for the Party to walk and talk through the difficult challenges that it currently faces, and restore peace speedily through meaningful dialogue and reconciliation.
I need to interject by stating that my article and opinion herein is strictly personal to me. This would be my third troubleshooting intervention following on the earlier two I had circulated widely on other platforms. The first was addressed directly to my very dear friend and Brother, Governor Nyesom Wike as follows:
“MY KOBO ADVICE TO GOVERNOR NYESOM WIKE…
My dear Brother, good evening. I have watched you in recent months with trepidation. I’m scared about your inability to comprehend the country called Nigeria. You must have underrated how the owners of Nigeria operate. I have studied the biography of CHIEF OBAFEMI AWOLOWO. I was an insider in the June 12 1993 crisis, and a veritable witness to the tribulations of my great mentor, CHIEF MOSHOOD ABIOLA. Closer home, you must have seen how your predecessor, DR PETER ODILI, was stopped in his tracks in 2007.
You’re certainly one of Nigeria’s best performing Governors, if not the best. Personally, I’m very proud of your uncommon achievements. I know you are very angry. It is your right to be. But I’m begging you in the name of God not to take decisions based on anger… Nigeria has been very kind to you. Rivers State has been extremely generous to you. GOD has blessed you beyond imagination. You have such a beautiful family. Your people love you stupendously for services delivered to them. PDP has been your solid platform. You should never destroy a bridge after crossing the river. Even if you no longer need the bridge, what of your friends and family? I pray you kill this excessive and perpetual ANGER. It is getting out of hand. Most people around you will keep quiet for fear of losing patronage. Many politicians survive only on power. My Brother, I love you. But someone must be able to tell you the truth. No General fights on too many fronts. Please, apply the brakes, before it is too late…”
To his credit, Wike called me that night and although he was still simmering we spoke briefly, but cordially, about my humble admonition.
Wike has been like a combination of Ronaldo and Messi in our Party and I believe he must be appeased by all means possible. I was encouraged when I saw pictures of his meeting with our Party’s Presidential candidate with a few of our Governors having dinner in London. But nothing seemed to have come out of what I thought was an auspicious meeting.
So I wrote a second letter addressed to the generality of the Party faithful as follows:
“A LETTER TO PDP MEMBERS
My dear party members, good morning. I woke up thinking about the sad and unfortunate crisis rocking our party. I’m wondering if we’ve not been victims of mass hypnotism. Someone needs to wake us up from this state of somnambulism.
Months after we concluded our Presidential primary, we are still busy fighting and calling ourselves unprintable names, thus forgetting that, once upon a time, we were friends, with shared dreams and aspirations. We all looked forward to how our party would dislodge the APC behemoth that deceived Nigerians with highfalutin promises but failed spectacularly on delivery.
Agreed, costly mistakes were made in our party Presidential primary, some of them avoidable, but we cannot continue to dwell on it, lest we throw the baby away with the bathwater.
Now that we’ve narrowed the principal actors to our National Chairman, Governor Nyesom Wike and our Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, I wish to appeal once again to them to urgently rise above this war of attrition for the sake of long-suffering Nigerians who need our attention desperately. PDP is the oldest party in Nigeria, since 1999, with the requisite experience to tap into in order to reverse our perfidious descent into anarchy.
I salute the courage of Governor Wike in boldly and vociferously letting the world know what went wrong and what should be done moving forward. He should please sheath his sword and allow party machinery fix the rest. I also appeal to our party elders to resist making inflammatory statements that may further escalate the crisis. Truth is, we can, and should, defeat APC spectacularly in the next election and hopefully form a Government of National Unity in 2023, as suggested by our candidate. Let’s not destroy this opportunity with our own hands.
Nigerians are waiting to see the practical presentations and demonstrations of our manifesto. Majority of the other candidates and members of their parties were at different times members of our party, PDP. For every finger they point at us, four others will point back at them.
Time has come for our party to retake the victory and regain the glory.”
My personal takes today are that one, we must recognise that issues of injustices in our Party must be addressed and not swept under the carpet. No attempt should be made to make the Southerners in our Party feel like bystanders. We need massive votes from every part of Nigeria. Two, whatever promises were made privately to Wike should be re-visited and reviewed and if they have changed and can no longer be sustained, fresh decisive and sincere negotiations should take place between our candidate and Wike. The aim should be to try and meet him at a point closely aligned to those initial promises. That is the hallmark of justice and integrity on which our great Party was founded and built. I’m not saying anyone is indispensable, but Wike deserves our respects for his humongous support for our Party. There was a time that PDP would have been consumed and destroyed, but Wike was one of those few who stood tall like a colossus and held the Party together. Three, I will plead with Wike to calm down and let God fight his fight. I’m not happy the way the media is exploiting the crisis while making him look too cantankerous and obstinate. He has proven his point too well. Now he should let his cause take its course. I believe history will eventually vindicate him. The head that will wear the crown can never be denied. No matter how long it takes, it will happen if it is God’s will. King Charles III is the most recent example of this truism!
Four, PDP should link up more to the many younger talents and self-accomplished technocrats that abound in Nigeria and abroad and stop giving attention only to career politicians. A political party that wishes to dislodge a ruling government must target and attract first time voters.We must appeal to those in the Diaspora who send money back home to their families and friends.
I pray our leaders and elders would see reason and embrace peace urgently…
GOOD NIGHT OUR DEAR BELOVED QUEEN
I have often been asked who’s the greatest personality I ever met and my unequivocal response was always: HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II. The extraordinary and remarkably graceful and regal woman and monarch has impacted the whole world in a way none other has. She is one of the few people known only by their Titles, the Queen. But, of course, she is the most renowned of them all.
On July 29, 1995, I landed at the London Gatwick Airport from Accra, Ghana. For me, it was the beginning of an unplanned and unanticipated sojourn in the land of unpredictable weather for the next three years.
I will forever treasure the unbelievable support and the unimaginable protection my family and I enjoyed as asylum seekers and later, refugees, from Her Majesty’s Government…
I was so grateful on behalf of myself and family that I started dreaming of meeting Her Majesty, but never knew how this tall dream could ever be actualized. However, nothing is impossible with God. And when things happen for me they do so oftentimes in a blaze of honour and glory. Indeed, when the appointed time came, the Deputy British High Commissioner was the one who contacted me, shortly before Her Majesty’s last visit to Nigeria in 2003. Apparently, the High Commission had been trying to reach me for a while because they had a mission for me. I recall that I was in Ghana when the call came through that Ovation International magazine and Thisday newspaper were the only two publications shortlisted by Buckingham Palace as the official titles allowed to cover the extraordinary visit…. I was thrilled beyond measure at the recognition and honour. I knew then that dreams come true in the most unusual of ways. Naturally, I was invited to be a guest at the cocktail reception organized by the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Sir Philip Thomas, and I got an opportunity to introduce myself to the Queen.
I had rehearsed and rehearsed what I would say to her within the few minutes of standing before her and it was a most fulfilling experience indeed…
The rest is now history…
May her beautiful soul Rest in Peace…
Related


Cash Returns to ATMs As Banks Confirm Receiving More Money

PDP Suspends National Chairman, Ayu at Ward Level

Declare Ogun Guber Polls Inclusive, Order Re-run, Group Tells INEC

Former Chief of Staff, Oladipo Diya is Dead

I’ll Never Validate an Illegitimate Outcome of a Flawed Process – Atiku Abubakar

Voice of Emancipation: Thriving in a Global Crisis

Timi Frank Congratulates Osun Gov Adeleke, Lauds Appeal Court Justices

Nigerian Engineer Wins $500m Contract to Build Monorail Network in Iraq

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Will Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Join Presidential Race?

World Exclusive: How Cabal, Corruption Stalled Mambilla Hydropower Project …The Abba Kyari, Fashola and Malami Connection Plus FG May Lose $2bn

Rehabilitation Comment: Sanwo-Olu’s Support Group Replies Ambode (Video)

Pendulum: Can Atiku Abubakar Defeat Muhammadu Buhari in 2019?

Fashanu, Dolapo Awosika and Prophet Controversy: The Complete Story

Pendulum: An Evening with Two Presidential Aspirants in Abuja

Who are the early favorites to win the NFL rushing title?

Boxing continues to knock itself out with bewildering, incorrect decisions

Steph Curry finally got the contract he deserves from the Warriors

Phillies’ Aaron Altherr makes mind-boggling barehanded play

The tremendous importance of owning a perfect piece of clothing
Trending
-
News5 years ago
Nigerian Engineer Wins $500m Contract to Build Monorail Network in Iraq
-
Featured5 years ago
WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Will Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Join Presidential Race?
-
Boss Picks5 years ago
World Exclusive: How Cabal, Corruption Stalled Mambilla Hydropower Project …The Abba Kyari, Fashola and Malami Connection Plus FG May Lose $2bn
-
Headline4 years ago
Rehabilitation Comment: Sanwo-Olu’s Support Group Replies Ambode (Video)
-
Headline4 years ago
Pendulum: Can Atiku Abubakar Defeat Muhammadu Buhari in 2019?
-
Headline4 years ago
Fashanu, Dolapo Awosika and Prophet Controversy: The Complete Story
-
Headline5 years ago
Pendulum: An Evening with Two Presidential Aspirants in Abuja
-
Headline4 years ago
2019: Parties’ Presidential Candidates Emerge (View Full List)