Ayodele Olalere
His name is Ayobamidele Momodu, the husband of Mobolaji Abiodun. He is also the publisher of Ovation magazine. A member of the defunct National Democratic Coalition, NADECO, he was instrumental in dislodging the military government of late Head of State, General Sani Abacha. He fought for the mandate of his godfather, Chief MKO Abiola, to be restored but like every other member of NADECO, they couldn’t achieve the objective.
Over the years, Uncle Dele, as he’s fondly called has prided himself to be a man of integrity, who stands by his word. His foray into politics was in 2011 when he was the presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP) in the 2011 presidential election but ended up with just over 26,000 votes.
In 2015, ‘Uncle Dele’ threw his weight behind the candidature of the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. According to him, Buhari was the ‘best’ for the job. He slammed the People Democratic Party, PDP, for destroying Nigeria, and to him, the APC had come to ‘rescue’ Nigeria.
Hear Uncle Dele: ‘Well, the mood of the nation favours a change in our state of affairs. The average Nigerian, except maybe those who are profiting from the government, believes that the government has not performed. So I have looked at the political situation, based on my vast experience working with late Chief M.K.O Abiola, working with Chief Olu Falae, and working for myself and I can see that the only way to dislodge the PDP is if we all join forces. I’m not a member of the APC, I’m a member of the National Conscience Party and I never thought a day would come when I won’t support my own presidential candidate. But the reality on the ground is that we have to face the reality.”
Hear him further: “I now know what it takes to win a presidential election. I went through it. All the idealism that I had has evaporated. I was one of those who felt that Nigeria was ready for change in 2011. They would look at the track records, merits and they could see that I was one of the best candidates that was available in the country but the truth is that it takes much more than your personal character, achievement, popularity to win a presidential election and that is why I’m humble enough to say enough of contesting and let me find one of the candidates who has the ideals that I had in 2011. Unfortunately, I can’t find any other person than Buhari. It does not mean Buhari is a saint; it does not mean Buhari does not have his own faults because he’s human being and we are all mortals. But if I have to choose between Buhari and Jonathan, I will go for Buhari.”
Fast forward six years later, October 29, 2021, ‘Uncle Dele’ seems to have gone back to his vomit. He announced he has moved back to the party he derided, the PDP.
Listen to him; “I have consulted widely. And it is clear to me that given the dangerous and disastrous drift that our nation has experienced in the past six years, the only party from which amends can be made to rectify our situation is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).”
“This accords with my vehement opposition to the policies and practices of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and its leadership, which has denuded our country of everything we hold dear – national unity, cohesion, security, economic prosperity, educational advancement, social infrastructure, and above all, our cherished moral values.
For these reasons, I’m happy to declare that I am now a full-fledged participating member of the great and patriotic Peoples Democratic Party.”
On why he left APC, hear him: “It is deeply saddening and regrettable that some of the biggest and landmark achievements recorded under the PDP administration have been diluted, wasted, or diminished by the present APC government.”
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The question on the lips of political watchers is ‘Has ‘Uncle Dele’ joined the league of politicians who junket from one political party to another when they failed to get the attention needed in their former party? Has he gone back to his vomit? Time will tell.
