Day Festus Keyamo Strayed into Dele Momodu’s Disciplinary Class

By Eric Elezuo

Hitherto one of Nigeria’s toast when it comes to voicing out against perceived injustice, attack to human rights and good governance based on equity, integrity and attendant due process, Festus Keyamo, a product of a university in the sleepy town of Ekpoma, Edo State, has suddenly lost all accolades shortly after he inadvertently strayed and enrolled in Chief Dele Momodu’s Disciplinary Class. He has been tutored a great deal, and left beret of all ego, sarcasm and shallow argument ostensibly a consequence of speaking for the benefit of a pay master.

Keyamo’s latest job in addition to handling a ministry that has so far not received any form of praises as regards the abysmal performances since his inception, is the office of the spokesperson of the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu Presidential Campaign Council, a job he handled for President Muhammadu Buhari during the runoff to the 2019 Presidential Election.

The man, who bears the tag of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) has over the years since assuming a spokesperson’s job known to bark at any individual whose opinion contradicts his or his principals vis a vis Buhari, before now, and Tinubu presently. Many Nigerians have frowned, not at his defence of his principals and party for that is what he was paid to do, but the manner he goes about it, throwing caution to the wings, neglect to respect and barefaced attacks at anyone that cares to raise his voice against his camp.

It would be recalled that in no organized or coordinated manner, Keyamo lambasted the Hakeem Ahmed-led Northern Elders Forum and the Chief Ayo Adebanjo-led Afenifere over their views about the presidential candidates, and where their pendulum may swing as the 2023 presidential elections fast approach.

However, like they say, ‘everyday for the thief, but one day for the owner of the house’, Keyamo, who the media world have come to know as ‘attack dog’ or ‘certified nuisance’, all from the lexicology of Dele Momodu, strayed into the disciplinary class of the Ovation magazine publisher, and Director, Strategic Communications of the presidential campaign council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who wasted no in introducing the syllabus for the season, with additional dose of the curricular that may hopefully last a while.

It all began with the release the previous weekend of the Campaign document of the presidential candidate of the APC titled Renewed Hope. The 80-page document, which portrayed the manifesto of the candidate, was critique by analysts and stakeholders from across the political parties.

In his capacity as a research based journalist, an eyewitness and a communication expert, Dele Momodu did not waste any time in dictating that the document was another white washed paper, a typical copy and paste yeoman assignment devoid of any professional input; academical or otherwise. He voiced his opinion in no coded language, telling everyone that cares to listen that Tinubu’s presidential manual was nothing but a word by word lifting of Chief MKO Abiola’s manifesto of 1993, which he titled Hope ’93.

In his response to the manifesto in an article titled APC: Renewed Hope or Forlorn Hope?, Momodu dismissed the document as “half-thoughts, poor reasoning, and copied notes” from Abiola’s ‘Hope ’93’ presentation. He maintained that he was in a very good position to know as he was a co-traveller with Abiola during his political and electioneering seasons. Momodu wondered why a serious minded person will situate 1993 in 2022 knowing very well that close to 30 years have made a huge difference.

Her wrote in part: …And the APC candidate should be reminded that 1993 is far different from 2023,” the Ovation publisher said.

“The late MKO Abiola was known for industry and brilliance. Shall we ask what the APC candidate is known for? Whereas MKO’s Hope ‘93 was a genuine course; for the APC and Nigerians, it’s a forlorn hope ~ and that’s the message of Bola Tinubu and the APC campaign in 2023

“In all honesty, the 80-page document that the APC has put together comes across as a little more than an insult to the sensibility and needs of Nigerians.

“At a time when the country is in dire need of clear leadership with vision and courage, all the APC seems capable of doing is to generally copy and paste regurgitated ideas of others with nothing original or breathtaking. Asiwaju says he “knows the way”. With due respect, he does not. On more than one occasion, he has advertised himself as the architect of the victory of the APC in 2015. Their party’s slogan then was “Change.”

“In eight years, they have not been able to change anything positively. They have led Nigeria into a ditch. Inflation is close to 21%. Unemployment rate is 33%. The Naira is one of the worst-performing currencies against the dollar in the world. The suicide rate in the country has risen terribly, because the people have lost hope. Divorce rate too because the APC and its leaders have castrated families, and ruined “the other room:”. Thus, they have worsened the condition of Nigerians. Now, in 2022, Tinubu says he wants to take Nigerians on a journey. A journey to nowhere, most certainly; or, to be precise – to perdition. A week ago, he promised that he would ensure the continuity of the current administration. What does he want to continue? If I may ask: the poverty, agony and cluelessness that the APC have imposed on Nigerians?

But the fact that he must respond to everything in usual braggadocio attitude, Keyamo went to town, describing Momodu as a hatchet man, doing a hatchet job for the PDP, and ‘worming his way into Atiku’s pocket’. That was how he enrolled into the disciplinary class of the one man, who knows almost everything about every Nigerian whether negative or positive, and he didn’t spare the SAN and his principal with copious downloading of some incontrovertible facts about them that left Keyamo running with his tail in between his legs.

In another writeup, which he titled Festus Keyamo and His Erratic Vituperation, Momodu came hard on the SAN without sparing his principal, Tinubu. Having described Keyamo as an attack dog’ and certified nuisance, Momodu qualified Tinubu as a potential dictator, who has intimidated every friend he ever had including the two deputy governors, he served with during his eight years reign as governor of Lagos State. He went ahead to describe Tinubu and Keyamo as two of a kind, harping that it is only a Tinubu that can appoint the likes of Keyamo.

“Tinubu has declined in the last few years. I used to see him as a man of his people but no supposed generalissimo would ever abandon his people in days of trouble and tribulation. None of the people around him could tell him the truth for pecuniary reasons. He knows it himself but he desperately wants to be President of Nigeria, by fire by force, after he has lost most of his formidable foot soldiers, and now relying on outsiders to activate and actualize his lifelong ambition for him, which is his legitimate right. But Nigerians have the right to scrutinise his action plans,” he said.

Momodu further dismissed Keyamo as attention seeker, who is nothing but a ‘social media creation’.

A tiger must not be touched by the tail; dead or alive, and so did Keyamo unfortunately found out, and so late indeed.