Publisher and former presidential aspirant, Dele Momodu, says he is prepared to give President Bola Tinubu his full support if the administration upholds the democratic principles Nigerians fought for during the military era.
Momodu said he would even “swim to the depth of the Atlantic Ocean” for Tinubu if the President remained committed to those ideals, but warned against replacing military dictatorship with what he described as civilian dictatorship.
He made the remarks during an interview on Arise TV.
According to Momodu, his criticism of Tinubu is not driven by personal hostility but by concerns over democratic governance and the need to preserve the values for which Nigerians fought under military rule.
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“I will ordinarily swim to the depth of the Atlantic Ocean for Tinubu if he was practising what we fought against when we were fighting the military,” he said.
“There is no earthly reason why I would not, but I would be a bloody hypocrite if after we claimed to have changed the way of military dictatorship, we now replace it with civilian dictatorship. That’s my only problem with him.”
Momodu also distanced himself from personal attacks against the President, saying he continues to hold Tinubu in high regard despite his disagreements with aspects of the administration.
“Everything else, you see, when they are abusing him, you won’t see me abusing him. I have tremendous regards for him,” he said.
The publisher described Tinubu as one of the political figures who influenced him and helped instil the courage to challenge established authority.
“He was one of those who trained me and instilled this kind of discipline that, look, you can take on the establishment and win. And he did win,” Momodu said.
He also credited Tinubu’s political achievements in Lagos with helping establish the reputation that eventually propelled him onto the national political stage.
“And that is why that was the record he carried from Lagos as a local champion to a national champion,” he said.
Momodu’s remarks come amid renewed debate over Nigeria’s democratic trajectory, executive power and the effectiveness of the country’s institutions in checking political authority.