17/03/2025
AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT TINUBU
By Dele Momodu
My Dear Asiwaju,
I pray this message meets you well. This letter has become necessary because of the strange things happening under your watch. I once believed you were a hero of democracy, but many of your mentees from the 1990s are now thoroughly embarrassed, and we feel scandalized by your complete transformation—from a democracy fighter to an enabler of ruthless dictatorship. I have watched with incredulity and, at times, trepidation as you have squandered the immense goodwill you built and acquired during the days of military rule. How sad and unfortunate!
Your Excellency, let me tell you what your hangers-on will not. The deification by your hero-worshippers is a charade. Permit me to share two Yoruba folklore tales with you. The first is the story of A O Mérin Jọba—how the elephant was deceived into believing he would become the ultimate king of the jungle until he fell into a ditch dug by his own acolytes. The second is that of Èṣin Ọba Ṣonu—the king’s horse went missing, and a massive search ensued, yet not everyone looking for it truly wanted it found.
Have you forgotten the praises you and other members of your ruling party showered on President Muhammadu Buhari barely two years ago? Today, you are all singing a different tune. The same fate awaits you sooner or later. The coercive government agencies you are deploying today to harass your opponents will one day be used against you and yours—if and when tomorrow comes.
The polity is dangerously heating up at an alarming speed. Perhaps only you and your staunch loyalists fail to see it. The recent rebellion in the Lagos State House of Assembly should have been a clear signal to you of the impending resistance ahead.
Your open support for Minister Wike’s destabilization of Rivers State is most regrettable. God has been exceedingly kind to you. You have achieved what great men like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, M.K.O. Abiola, Chief Olu Fala, and Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua could not. Why, then, do you place your fate in the hands of gods with feet of clay? Your legitimate ambition to seek a second term does not justify this level of recklessness across the nation.
Best wishes,
Bob Dee
