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African Business Interests: When Hindenburg Research Took Neo Colonialism Too Far

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…Hindenburg Faces Tingo Group After Raising False Alarm Against Jumia, OPay, Adani Group, To Harm Their Operations

I have read with utter disgust but not with total disappointment how a supposed forensic financial research firm which goes by the name Hindenburg Research goes about tarnishing hard-earned images of rising business interest, especially those with African, Asian and Middle Eastern ownership.

It goes about acting like a colonial master, seeking to conquer and cower African businesses to subservience. Many companies on the continent have been victims of its character assassination and malicious damage for a reason one can hardly decipher. Not everyone is surprised that Tingo Group, one of Nigeria’s leading aggro-tech and fin-tech companies has come come under Hindenburg Research’s criticism that is not short of anything but poorly conducted hatchet job with a nefarious intention. The recent publication of Hindenburg against Tingo Group, where is alleged that the Nigerian-owned firm parades inaccurate accounting record is most disappointing and nauseating.

As a South African that has lived in Nigeria in the past seven years, I have not heard about anything that excites farmers more than the advent of Tingo Group.

Hindenburg Research claimed to have reached out to some persons in Nigeria and they were told there are no farming cooperatives in Nigeria and where one exists, they are less than 100. Really? In a country of 36 states where farming is arguably the largest provider of employment across the country’s various regions?

Hindenburg Research’s blackmail packaged in form of “investment research” should just have been ignored and not attract any response for what it is — fact twisting and outright falsehood.

One would have imagined that in the 21st century when the world knows better, Hindenburg would do itself the favour of not misleading people with malicious publications like it has done in the past just to thwart peoples efforts for its own advantages.

It still carries on with the hangover of the colonial mentality where it believes that nothing good can come out of Africa and anything with African or Asian signature, that will challenge the existing status quo of over-dependence in the West is a “fraud”.

It is really shocking and most appalling that frantic efforts being made by Tingo Group to mop of the agriculture value chain especially in Nigeria is being called out in a negative light in a desperate effort to to plummet its market strength. The age-long obnoxious notion that “as far as it’s black, it’s evil” has continued to becloud Hindenburg.

To tell you their track record of notoriety and deception, Hindenburg published a report alleging that Jumia Group, an e-commerce platform that operates in Africa and the Middle East was a “fraudulent scheme”, accusing it of inflated sales and customer numbers. On the account of this unfounded information which Jumia denied, its stock plummeted by 50% on the New York Stock Exchange.

That is not all, Adani Group, one of India’s largest multinational conglomerates lost $70 billion in market value after this same Hindenburg accused it of manipulating its stock price and falsifying its accounts.

Just in case Hindenburg needs to be tutored, Nigeria has a robust agricultural potentials which has not been fully harnessed over the decades and that is the gap Tingo Group through its Tingo Mobile has come to fill. There are dozens of farmers associations in Nigeria but the mother of them all is All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) which recently reached a multibillion Naira deal with Tingo on supply and storage of agro produce, particularly rice and wheat.

This deal is targeted at ensuring that farmers do not have a lot of produce that end up a waste in their homes due to lack of storage facility. The deal is to give them value for their efforts and ensure that the rhetoric about food security is not only heard but seen. Apart from targeting adequate supply to under-served regions, Tingo Group has also reached an advanced stage in discourse to supply foreign markets with Nigerian agro products. Where is the fraud Hindenburg is alleging in all these?

A short-sighted imaginary investment research firm like Hindenburg that goes about twisting facts achieved its nefarious aim when the shares of the Tingo Group dropped by 82.85 percent to close at $0.06 on Tuesday after its false claim against the company.

Who would want his country to suffer acute food shortage in the midst of plenty? The Russia-Ukraine war exposed how vulnerable Africa is to food insecurity and it is the same gap that the United States where Hindenburg operates from always exploits, masquerading as saviour of Africa while indeed it is not.

In January 2020, Hindenburg Research released a report about OPay, Opera’s financial services operating in Nigeria and Kenya. Hindenburg’s report suggested that Opera’s U.S.-listed stock was grossly overvalued.

Since the allegation, OPay has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in funding while also ramping up customers. The fact that Tingo Group is also working towards bridging the gap of financial inclusion leaves much to be desired about Hindenburg’s outburst. Does it benefit from the widening financial exclusion in Africa?

The accusation of financial inaccuracy again Tingo Group is nothing short of the figment of the imagination of Hindenburg and its sponsors. Africa has numerous problems which Tingo Group is making frantic efforts to bring solutions to. Hindenburg is comfortable with over-reliance of Africa in the western system which at the end of the day leave the continent exploited and cheated.

Hindenburg should focus on the problems bedevilling the West such as organised crimes, gun, drugs, internet fraud and more. Tingo Group is a brand of pride Africa is proud of and should be spared unnecessary vilification and targeted antagonism.

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Dele Momodu @65: The Billionaire of Hearts, the Common Man’s King

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By Gite Igiehon
In a world where affluence often breeds distance, and fame creates fences between the privileged and the people, Chief Dele Momodu, at 65, continues to walk a different path—one paved with humility, empathy, and human connection.
Many know him as the media mogul, the respected publisher of Ovation International, the presidential aspirant, and the seasoned journalist with global acclaim. But few truly understand the weight of the name Bob Dee, as we fondly call him, and what it means to those whose lives he quietly touches without headlines or hashtags.
At 65, Dele Momodu is not just a public figure. He is a living bridge—between wealth and poverty, between celebrity and humanity, between the elite and the everyday Nigerian. Despite his exposure to kings, presidents, and pop culture royalty, he has never forgotten how to sit, eat, and laugh with the poor. He listens when others speak over. He shows up when others send excuses.
I remember vividly when I celebrated my 40th birthday. I called him just two weeks before the event. He was in the UK and told me plainly that he had no plans to return to Nigeria anytime soon. I understood. I thanked him and moved on. But a week later, he called back with words that still echo in my heart: “Princess, you’ve never invited me to anything before.”
On the day of my celebration, I looked up—and there he was. My mentor. My inspiration. My “Oga,” in every sense of the word. Dele Momodu showed up. Not because of status, politics, or press. But because that’s who he is—a man of his word, a man of the people.
At 65, it’s not his global network, his powerful interviews, or even his political aspirations that make him remarkable. It is his consistent humanity—a rare virtue in these times. He carries the weight of the world with a smile and wears his wealth not in fabric or fortune, but in the countless lives he has uplifted, empowered, and remembered.
Dele Momodu is not just a man. He is a movement of grace, of loyalty, and of love.
As he turns 65, may the world not only celebrate his achievements but take a moment to learn from his greatest legacy—his heart.

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A Glorious 65th Birthday Tribute to Bashorun Dele Momodu

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By Azuh Arinze

On Friday, May 16, 2025, the world will celebrate not just a man, but a living legend – Bashorun Ayobamidele Ojutelegan Abayomi Ajani Momodu – a visionary journalist, media titan, political thinker, cultural ambassador, and an unrelenting force for truth, excellence, and the African dream.

Happy 65th birthday, Bob Dee!

Your life’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary and exceptional. From the newsroom to all the rooms that matter, from political corridors to international stages, you have remained a beacon of hope, courage, and intellectual brilliance – just like your astounding mentors, Bashorun Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola and Otunba Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Adenuga. Through Ovation International magazine, you ingeniously gave Africa a mirror to see its own beauty, elegance, and potential. You equally created a platform that elevated our celebrity stories and interviews with pride, power and possibilities.

Your voice has echoed across continents – not just reporting history, but shaping it. Your words have inspired millions, your boldness has challenged systems, and your generosity has uplifted countless lives. Even in adversity, especially while in exile, you carried your convictions with grace, proving that truth is not only worth telling, but also worth living for.

At 65, you effortlessly embody the wisdom of a sage and the vigour of a man still on a mission. May this new chapter bring you deeper joy, divine health, and even greater impact. The world may change, but your legacies – your light and your life – will continue to grow brighter and brighter.

On behalf of all those you have touched, mentored, empowered, and inspired – like my good self – I say thank you and thank you and thank you. You are indeed a national treasure and a global gift that will continue to be cherished and adored.

Happy birthday, Sir, and long may you reign.

With deepest admiration and warmest wishes to one of the best things that ever happened to the journalism profession in Nigeria and Africa.

Azuh Arinze, KSM is the 
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine and Odenigbo I of Azia

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A Tribute to Chief Dele Momodu at 65: The Man Who Wears the World Like a Cap

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By Dr. 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 multidimensional success.

How does one describe the essence of Chief Dele Momodu?

To some, he is a journalist who tells truth to power, a role he has been playing for over four decades.
To others, he is the publisher of Ovation International Magazine, the CEO of Ovation Media Group, pan Africanist, and the ink behind many untold stories.
To the politically inclined, he is a fearless voice, a candidate of conscience, a mirror held up to Nigeria’s democracy.
To the culture custodians, he is a walking archive, every handshake, every smile, every frame a testimony to history.
And to those who know him beyond the headlines, he is simply “Bob Dee”, a brother, mentor, bridge-builder, and friend.

Chief Dele Momodu is the embodiment of the ancient parable of the blind men and the elephant. Each man touches a part of the animal and draws a different conclusion, so vast is its form, so layered its truth. So it is with Dele Momodu. You may think you know him, but you have only touched a tusk, or a trunk, or a tail. The whole of him? It is too expensive for one perspective.

This is a man who has worn many caps, not as decoration, but as duty: journalist, activist, publisher, publicist, diplomat, politician, peace promoter and above all, a global citizen. Each role he has worn with authenticity and audacity.

He has stood in exile and yet spoken louder than those at home.
He has been in rooms where power whispers, yet he chooses to shout truth on behalf of the voiceless.
He has witnessed the worst of Nigeria’s turmoil, yet he continues to believe in its best tomorrow.
He is not just an observer of history, he is a participant, a provocateur, a preserver.

At 65, Chief Momodu does not merely carry years, he carries stories, nations, and generations. His journey is not a straight line but a vibrant tapestry: woven with faith, resilience, reinvention, and love. It is a story that tells us that greatness is not a destination, but a life lived fully, courageously, and selflessly.

Sir, today we do not just celebrate your birthday. We celebrate the light you carry. The platforms you’ve built. The battles you’ve fought. The people you’ve inspired. And the generations you continue to prepare.

May your cap never fall. May your pen never dry.
And may history forever remember you, not just as one who told stories,
but as one who became a story worth telling.

Happy 65th Birthday, my dearest mentor…

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