From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Lere Olayinka, has rebuked the publisher of Ovation Magazine, Dele Momodu, accusing him of being mentally unwell and obsessed with the minister, Nyesom Wike.
Olayinka claimed that Momodu is “seeing the spirit” of Wike everywhere and needs urgent deliverance and rehabilitation before the situation worsens. Speaking in reaction to comments made by Momodu on a national television station, Olayinka said: “The mental case of the self-appointed chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) appears to have graduated from psychology to psychosis, such that he now sees Wike in everything he does, even in his sleep.”
Momodu had questioned Wike’s role during the June 12 struggle, stating, “Where was Wike during the June 12 struggle? Who knew him then? But today, he speaks as if he’s the founding father.”
In response, Olayinka challenged Momodu’s own credentials and motives: “As a presidential aspirant, not a single delegate voted for Dele Momodu during the 2022 PDP presidential primary election. Was Wike responsible for that? Or why this fixation on anything Wike?”
He further questioned Momodu’s right to comment on Nigeria’s democratic history:
“Where was Dele Momodu when Nigeria was being founded? Was he among the founding fathers of Nigeria to be living in the country? If those not part of the June 12 struggle are not entitled to speak about democracy, then those not part of the struggle for Nigeria’s independence should also not live in the country.”
Olayinka accused Momodu of exploiting the June 12 struggle for personal gain rather than genuine activism: “He only used the June 12 struggle to Japa. He didn’t struggle for anything other than his own well-being. Those who genuinely struggled for June 12 didn’t use the children of the man who incarcerated MKO Abiola till he died in custody as models for any photo book, as Dele Momodu has done. They also didn’t visit the mansions of military generals to take pictures for publication as Momodu did with his Ovation Magazine.”
He concluded by urging Momodu to stop falsely associating himself with the June 12 struggle: “When the register of those who fought for the actualisation of June 12 is being taken, people like Dele Momodu, who used it to hustle, should stop forcing their names into it.”