‘You have become a blind defender of Tinubu’, Dele Momodu slams Omokri

Veteran journalist and former presidential candidate, Dele Momodu has accused President Goodluck Jonathan’s former aide, Reno Omokri of being a blind supporter of President Bola Tinubu’s policies that have plunged the country into economic crisis.

The publisher of Ovation Magazine further denounced Omokri and described him as an opportunist and a modern-day ‘Tinubuist’ who now delights in attacking anyone who criticizes the negligence of the Tinubu administration.

Momodu, a top leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in an open letter on Wednesday called out Tinubu, saying the President was busy wasting money by buying private jets, building monuments and handing out handouts instead of fixing the crumbling economy.

The veteran journalist lamented the wastefulness of Tinubu’s administration as a sign of a failed government.

Momodu urged Tinubu to curb excessive spending, focus on economic development, vocational skills and local agriculture, while warning against what he described as hero worshippers in government and stressing the need to enforce discipline, particularly over Nyesom Wike’s actions.

In an open letter titled “Urgent Message to President Tinubu,” Momodu said:

“Your Majesty, I decided to write this open letter to you as a concerned friend and brother.

“As you know, I am a member of the opposition but you and I have had a long history together.

“I only owe you one thing, the TRUTH. It is very clear that the first thing that happened in the President’s villa was the TRUTH.

“The reason is simple. Some Nigerians are experts at wresting power from men and women. The process of deification is often rapid and irreversible.

“I am writing this letter not because I expect you to follow up on my suggestions, but to note that someone has given me the true picture. I also hope that some of your friends will read it and interpret it to you, in a calm atmosphere…

1. Nigeria is in deep trouble. Our economy is on the verge of collapse. And what is the way out? You have wasted too much money at a time when total austerity is needed.

Please, stop this reckless tendency to waste scarce resources. Buying presidential jets, building weird monuments, handing out cash as compensation, etc., are signs of a failed and reckless government.

If you can rein in excessive government spending, you will free up a lot of resources for serious development.

2. I believe you are wasting our resources because you are desperate for a second term. But the best guarantee of a second term is PERFORMANCE.

Nigerians don’t expect you to turn water into wine, but they don’t want you to turn their wine into water. Here are my tips: invest in vocational skills for our highly talented youth who can demonstrate their capacity for hard work. Invest heavily in local agriculture. Improve our educational institutions.

Giving politicians cash to hand out is unhealthy and unhelpful… It is the height of ignorance.

3. For God’s sake, beware of the hero worshippers in the National Assembly who have turned you into a God. NDUME is your friend. Listen to him. There is danger ahead.

4. You must enforce DISCIPLINE as a leader. Your new student, NYESOM WIKE, has openly disrespected you on the FUBARA issue. You must sanction him before he turns Nigeria into chaos.

After receiving the letter, Omokri used his X account to attack Momodu in defense of Tinubu.

“Response to My Beloved Senior, Dele Momodu: Nigerian Economy Is Not Collapsing. Far from It!

To the honorable Egbon Dele Momodu,

I read your open letter to President Bola Tinubu, in which you said, “Our economy has basically collapsed,” among other things.

READ ALSO: ‘Peter Obi will never be president in Nigeria’, Omokri vows

Respectfully, the facts do not support your statement, and in your open letter you did not provide any facts. Only opinions. So, let me present some facts that contradict your opinion.

First, just yesterday, the International Monetary Fund projected that due to reforms undertaken by the current administration, Nigeria will have a GDP growth rate of 3.1% by 2024.

This is one of the best projections for an African country in 2024, and does not signal an economy that is ‘near collapse.’

Second, Nigeria recorded a record high trade surplus of ₦6.52 trillion in the first quarter of 2024. This is unprecedented.

We have routinely run trade deficits in the past. This means that because of the monetary reforms by the current government, Nigeria now exports far more than it imports, and the growth is largely in the non-oil sector.

For example, Nigeria is now a net exporter of cement to Europe and a growing exporter of refined petroleum products to Europe and West African countries.

Ghana, another oil exporter, is heavily dependent on LPG from Nigeria. The projections show growth, not collapse.

Third, in terms of revenue, all Nigerian states, except one, have received significantly higher federal allocations since May 29, 2023 than they did under the Buhari regime.

Each state is now getting at least 45% more in federal allocation, with Nasarawa getting almost 100% more and Anambra getting 70% more, while their wage bills have not increased.

The above projects illustrate economic strength, not collapse.

Fourth, according to Financial Derivatives (FDC), with a Return on Investment of 22.90%, the Nigerian Stock Exchange is now the most profitable capital market on Earth, bar none. Please note that. Bar none.

The National Bureau of Statistics has also corroborated this. For the first time in our history, the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index (ASI) surpassed the 100,000 mark in 2024.

I wouldn’t categorize that kind of growth as a collapse, and I’m sure even investors smiling at the bank wouldn’t.

Fifth, capital inflows into Nigeria increased by 66.27% this year. This is probably why Fitch and S&P Global Ratings upgraded Nigeria’s economic rating to Stable B, and why foreign capital inflows into the capital market jumped five-fold in the first quarter of 2024 to N93.37 billion from N18.12 billion in the same period last year.

Sixth, even though the Central Bank of Nigeria has paid off foreign currency debts owed to foreign airlines and other foreign investors, Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves hit a year-high of about $34 billion. How can a country with such huge reserves be said to be on the verge of economic collapse?

Finally, the promised Student Loans are now a reality and are being disbursed. This means that Nigeria will witness a dramatic increase in its human capital, as more youth will have access to education.

Therefore, with the above in mind, is it not possible, Egbon Dele, that you are focusing too much on assumptions and not enough on facts to come to the conclusion that the Nigerian economy is collapsing?

Not happy with the attack, Momodu also wrote on X to criticize Omokri’s defense of Tinubu’s policies, stressing the difference between economic theory and real-world economic conditions, warning him against blind support, and urging him to tell the honest truth to prevent the worsening of the crisis in Nigeria.

In his response titled “Re: Urgent Message to President Tinubu,” Momodu schooled Omokri on the difference between economy and economics.

“I just read Mr. Reno Omokri’s response to my previous article, entitled URGENT MESSAGE TO PRESIDENT TINUBU.

Since I am not a fan of false economic theories that have no positive impact on society and citizens, I will not waste my readers’ time arguing with Reno. I will simply make the following observations:

1. What happened to Brother Reno that made him feel compelled to defend many of the most brutal policies of the Tinubu administration?

I believe Reno is too brilliant to waste his talents on a government that can’t even defend itself with a clear conscience.

2. When did Reno become a reborn Tinubuism believer that he forcibly took over the combined work of Ajuri and Onanuga. Otherwise, he would have known the difference between economy and ECONOMY.

Economics mainly deals with textbook theories while ECONOMICS deals with the practical and realistic conditions of everyday society.

All the economic rankings cited by Reno are meaningless to Nigeria today. No textbook can imagine or mitigate the unprecedented hunger and suffering in Nigeria.

Our country is bleeding while pseudo-economists regale us with overly romanticized IMF/World Bank miracles.

3. What enablers like Reno and his friends do through their blind support for a government that needs the honest TRUTH reminds us of the story of Marie Antoinette, the bride of King Louis XVI, who told the lumpen proletariat of France to eat cake if bread was too expensive for them.

In her delusions of grandeur and provocative ignorance, the Queen had no idea that bread and cake came from the same source and that cake was actually more expensive.

What happened next? THE REVOLUTION wiped out most of the French privileged class.

Nowadays, Nigerians are replacing tomatoes with watermelons to cook food…
I would never wish such a crime on my beloved country, Nigeria, but prevention is often better than cure.

I pray that President Tinubu can halt this clear trend towards destruction.”

The post ‘You have become a blind Tinubu defender’, Dele Momodu slams Omokri appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.

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