Dele Momodu has decided to say 'Good Bye' to column writing for ThisDay.

He bids you all farewell in his last column:

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=163231

I  had planned to say a different kind of goodbye to my ardent readers last week. A call to the Editor of THISDAY the Saturday Paper, Ms Ijeoma Nwogwugwu changed all that.

THISDAY was on holiday last Saturday, so I didn’t have to stress myself writing the Pendulum column. I had nearly completed what should have been my last piece for my THISDAY column. My target was to quit my weekly writing by the last Saturday of 2009. But that was not to be. That break turned out to be some kind of blessings, even if on some sad notes.


First was the unthinkable news of the alleged Nigerian bomber on an America-bound flight. I thought someone was cracking some cruel joke when the news broke. Nigerians have been widely advertised as the world’s happiest people. We often boast that a revolution cannot take place in our dear country for that simple reason.

We’d readily enter the Guinness Books of Records as the unsurpassable merry-makers on planet earth. How was I to believe that a 23-year old charming boy was capable of not just killing himself but also attempting to terminate almost 300 innocent souls? The story of the handsome young man remains stranger than fiction. Even as I write this the whole world is agog with the story of “The Nigerian”. 


As if that was not rattling enough, I was in the ancient city of Ile-Ife last Sunday, December 27, 2009, when a text message flew into my phone like thunderbolt. I was instantly dazed by its content: MARYAM BABANGIDA IS DEAD! Like a somnambulist, I tried to clear my head of the confused state I was in. 

And the journalist in me immediately took over. This was the second time in less than two months that I was receiving such terrible news. I decided to crosscheck with someone I knew was very close to the Babangidas and was able to confirm the breaking news.


I was more familiar with Maryam Babangida’s daughter, Aisha, but did not know where she was at that moment. As tradition demands in Africa, it was necessary to offer my condolences to the bereaved. I decided to send mine to Aisha and prayed for Allah to accept her mum’s soul. Surprisingly, I received a response from Aisha shortly after: “Dele, thank you very much for your thoughtful prayers. Thank you.” I could imagine how she felt at moment being a veteran of the same motherless status. My mum died over two years ago but I still cry like a baby once in a while. It is not easy to lose your mother, especially if she was as sweet as mine was.


Maryam Babangida’s battle with cancer had crept in like a thief in the night exactly ten years ago. As a matter of fact, Ovation International had published exclusive pictures of Maryam on her return from Paris where she had gone for the initial treatment in 1999. In the picture which appeared on our cover, she looked drained and darker. Our cover was a screamer of sorts: MARYAM BABANGIDA’S FIRST PICTURES AFTER HER PARIS OPERATION. But she bounced back to her usual gaiety in subsequent years and we all hoped the worst was over. In fact, she looked more radiant, and enjoyed life to the hilt.


But she had added a new kind of religious piety and her friendliness was palpable when we met at the swearing-in ceremony of Liberia’s first female President, Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, in Monrovia a few years ago. She was very warm and pleasant. She made appearances here and there at birthdays, weddings and other such celebrity events. She remained a head-turner and newsmaker to the end. 


I’m pleased to have had the opportunity to say goodbye to a stormy petrel whose stint as Nigeria’s First Lady was remarkable in many ways. Love or loathe her, Maryam Ndidi Babandida was a woman you couldn’t ignore. Her controversial Better Life for Women project was pursued with the agility of a wrestler. She eventually received her crowning glory when she won and shared The Hunger Project Award in 1991 with Kenya’s Nobel Peace Laureate, Professor Wangari Mathai. I was privileged to witness the powerful ceremony in London.


It was the tonic Maryam needed to continue her pet project to the very end of her tenure. Even when it seemed her husband had committed the terminal error of annulling Nigeria’s best election ever, and the people of the South-west of Nigeria felt aggrieved Maryam was the pathfinder who made it possible for the Babangidas to meander their way back to the Lagos social circuit. She was an energetic bridge-builder and a great networker. 


From paying tribute to Maryam, I have the pleasure of saying goodbye to my readers. Whatever has a beginning must have an end. For me, it is time to move on. I’ll be 50 by God’s grace in a few months and I need some time to finish my books. I owe that project to the strident calls of readers who believe I must make my works permanently available to my ardent fans.

I sincerely thank both my fanatical supporters as well as my vociferous critics for making it possible for me to enjoy the cult followership I seemed to have commanded in the past few years. I’m particularly flattered and bemused that I have my chief critics who hate my column with so much venom but can’t wait to read and attack it every week. I’ll surely miss you all.


This voyage began about 30 months ago. I had just landed in Lagos that brilliant morning from my base in Accra, Ghana. As soon as we touched down, I had planned to speak to the THISDAY publisher, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, on some important issues affecting a few of our mutual friends.

I was already on the Third Mainland Bridge when I got through to Nduka and he told me he was on his way to the airport to catch a private flight to Benin City. He insisted I must join him on the flight in order to discuss the matter of our friends. In less than one hour thereafter, we were already airborne and cruising towards the ancient city of the once powerful Benin Kingdom.


It was in the course of our flight that Nduka revealed that Segun Adeniyi was on his way to joining the Yar’Adua team in Aso Rock. I asked what would happen to his extremely popular column, and Nduka said he would find a good replacement. He asked if I was interested, and if I’ll be able to find the time from my very hectic lifestyle to write a regular column and I answered in the affirmative. I love challenges and the discipline required to oil it. I was ready to resurrect Pendulum again, and that was it.


It was really a kind of homecoming. I had been a part of the foundation that packaged the birth of Leaders & Company, the parent company of THISDAY newspapers, as far back as 1992. I had secured the services of some of the key staff at that tough beginning in the Ikoyi office. THISDAY would always be dear to my heart for that reason. I’m proud that the THISDAY media brand has grown into an octopus with fingers in many pies. It was only natural that I’ll always love to contribute to its phenomenal growth.


My biggest challenge was the difficulty of creating the time every week to write the column. The fact that I was constantly on the move made matters worse. A lot of the times, I found myself typing frantically on the plane. There were times I had to contend with the problems of time difference and internet connections, even in the United States.

I was fortunate to have had to deal with understanding editors like Simon Kolawole, at first and later Ijeoma Nwogwugwu and Laurence Ani, who gave me some flexibility. Ijeoma in particular became my chief critic. We discussed issues a lot and I found her extremely knowledgeable. She was as comfortable with financial matters as with political topics. Her versatility extended even to the choicest wines in the vineyard. Nigerians should watch out for this terrific Amazon in the future.


A second challenge was how to respond as quickly as possible to a nation and a people perpetually on the fast lane. News items are often produced in Nigeria with the rapidity of popcorn. Keeping up sometimes could be breath-taking. We also had a cynical public to deal with. They sometimes know you more than you know yourself, and they judge you by your appearance than by your real thoughts. The critics sit in the comfort of their homes to dictate who you should be and not what they should become.

Some people have taken permanent residence on the internet to attack fellow citizens without any justification. My only sin is that I publish a very popular magazine that gives space to saints and sinners to feature their events. Our magazine is largely pictorial, and we don’t write editorials which glorify “thieves and rogues”. My critics can’t seem to appreciate the risk I take by speaking up against those they claim to be my friends. Is it not easier to dine with the devil and see no evil?
There is also the issue of literary appreciation which has become lacking in our society. Some readers find it hard to appreciate the literary skills of a writer. They are only interested in his message. But writing is not always about its didactic relevance, the literary styles of the writer must be enjoyed and enjoyable. Experience they say is the best teacher. But when a writer writes from his personal experience and encounters, he’s often attacked as a boastful, name-dropping and egoistic columnist.

My favourite columnists and reporters are those who throw themselves into their art. May Ellen Ezekiel’s column, MEE, was extremely influential and inspiring because she was able to feed her readers with her incredible life experience. It is difficult to forget her Classic, Over Cognac, in which she detailed what she had to go through to have a child, including being asked to drink concoctions made from her own body fluids. An ambitious writer must be bold and be ready to shock sensibilities.


There is no law that says all columnists must write alike. That is why a column is the personal property of the writer. A reader is at liberty to read his favourite column and ignore the ones he doesn’t like. You may choose one for his message and read the other for its literary style. It is wrong to insist that every writer must embrace the same ideology and methodology. A writer is a member of our society.

He’s not a saint on account of being a social critic. He must feed his family and pay his bills like the rest of us. He’s not a masquerade from heaven. His mission is to seek for a better society, not necessarily a perfect society, because none exists in our world today.


Those who attack Segun Adeniyi for doing his job today are very unrealistic. What do they expect of him? Once a man accepts a job, he must obey his boss. He may privately advise his boss, but it would be reckless of him to criticise him in public. Segun has not behaved like the usual loquacious spokespersons of government. He has comported himself with decorum. The vicious attack on people like him is one reason good people are afraid to serve in government. The alternative is for bad people and rogues who don’t care about the name-calling to continue to rule us.


I have been asked by many readers why we bother to write in a nation where leaders don’t seem to read, and even if they do they don’t really care.  My answer had always been that I write personally as a form of psychotherapy. It heals my mind to think that I can talk freely when others have been cowed. I feel good that I can risk my business and everything to criticise a system that has kept us down as a people. Writing for me is a personal victory over the principalities that inhabit our corridors of power. Nobody should take that joy away from us.


We must all engage in constructive criticism. Abusing people for fun will never change any system. Our country needs to be rescued, and we can no longer afford to keep our arms akimbo. The days of arm-chair criticism should be over. It has led us nowhere. If we truly love our country, we must join hands to liberate Nigeria from the backwardness that stares us all in the face.


I have had great fun on this page and I’ll always treasure the memory of the wonderful goodwill the Pendulum column has brought to me. May God bless us all.
Happy New Year.

Halleluyah!!!!

One less hypocrite to bother us with his self-righteous twaddle

Some people have taken permanent residence on the internet to attack fellow citizens without any justification. My only sin is that I publish a very popular magazine that gives space to saints and sinners to feature their events. Our magazine is largely pictorial, and we don’t write editorials which glorify “thieves and rogues”. My critics can’t seem to appreciate the risk I take by speaking up against those they claim to be my friends. Is it not easier to dine with the devil and see no evil?

When I started reading the story, I was just too sure Dele will not forget his 'friends' on Nairaland, and other less popular internet forums. I was sure he will ahve a message for Mbulela and co, and I was right. I came across this!!!

Good riddance to bad rubbish!

Somebody shout Halleluyah! Glory be to God that he was unable to realise his ambition of starting a column by being appointed an SSA or CPS (to the President/Governor).

I never liked his style of writing, his ovation magazine and his personality. I see him more as a sycophant, an AGIP man and  a proud man who thought he knows everything and everybody that matters.

I see him more as a columnist of soft sell than hard sell. Dele would have been successful as a columnist in City People. I would have appealed to Susan Eyo to offer him a column but I know Dele knew he could not realise his ambition through this paper. I will therefore advise him to please face his ovation mag and leave Nigeria alone with its problems which he contributed to.

I am sorry you were not awarded a title today as Otun something of the Source, or were you?.[s] Honestly, I never knew that Ife name is now[b] the Source[/b].[/s] Naija wonder.

Anyway, adieu Dele!

What does he mean by people attacking him from the comfort of their homes using internet facilities. This is false self assesment. He has critics everywhere, even other popular columnists.

I expected him to quit after one columinst floored him with that "dele momodu your shit is weak" piece.

Anyway he has more time to concentrate on making better Nigerian dishes for people in his ovation resturant in Ghana. abi?

We won't miss him.

I dont think he would be missed. He comes off as a sycophant.

Those who attack Segun Adeniyi for doing his job today are very unrealistic. What do they expect of him? Once a man accepts a job, he must obey his boss. He may privately advise his boss, but it would be reckless of him to criticise him in public. Segun has not behaved like the usual loquacious spokespersons of government. He has comported himself with decorum. The vicious attack on people like him is one reason good people are afraid to serve in government. The alternative is for bad people and rogues who don’t care about the name-calling to continue to rule us.

The voice of a charlatan making excuses for his reactionaries of his ilk!
i don't know what i hate more about Segun Adeniyi, is it the fact that he cozened most of us? Or that he is a perfect fit in destructive regime??
Beats me!

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/akinola-ma/dele-momoduwhere-is-eratus-akingbola.html

Read the above article about Dele Momodu.

Jarus:

Dele Momodu has decided to say 'Good Bye' to column writing for ThisDay.

And the journalist in me immediately took over. This was the second time in less than two months that I was receiving such terrible news. I decided to crosscheck with someone I knew was very close to the Babangidas and was able to confirm the breaking news.


I[b] was more familiar with Maryam Babangida’s daughter, Aisha, but did [/b] not know where she was at that moment. As tradition demands in Africa, it was necessary to offer my condolences to the bereaved. I decided to send mine to Aisha and prayed for Allah to accept her mum’s soul. Surprisingly, I received a response from Aisha shortly after: “Dele, thank you very much for your thoughtful prayers. Thank you.” I could imagine how she felt at moment being a veteran of the same motherless status. My mum died over two years ago but I still cry like a baby once in a while. It is not easy to lose your mother, especially if she was as sweet as mine was.

Classic Dele, still hadto go out like his selfish self, make Maryams death about himself and inform us subtuly how he has the number of the Zamfara State first Lady

My favourite columnists and reporters are those who throw themselves into their art. May Ellen Ezekiel’s column, MEE, was extremely influential and inspiring because she was able to feed her readers with her incredible life experience. It is difficult to forget her Classic, Over Cognac, in which she detailed what she had to go through to have a child, including being asked to drink concoctions made from her own body fluids. An ambitious writer must be bold and be ready to shock sensibilities.

dele momodu and his usual style of name dropping.

what has May Ellen Ezekiel got to do with this his yeye write up? Why bring the late woman's name into this?  
Whats the correlation between that trashy piece he wrote and the late woman's story about the issues she went through to conceive?

She was an excellent collumnist and she was not known for dele momodu's trashy style of journalism.

He wont be missed. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Shior !!!

Jarus,
Please extend my gratitude to your friend.
This is a triumph of truth and decency over sycophancy, name-dropping and silly arrogance.
Dele, should please go away and stay as far away as possible from the psyche of a traumatize public.
I do not hold my breathe as i am sure that very soon, he will claim that his bosom friend Nduka begged him to come out of retirement.

aisha2:

Classic Dele, still hadto go out like his selfish self, make Maryams death about himself and inform us subtuly how he has the number of the Zamfara State first Lady

i have a suspicion that Dele might have a psychiatric condition that bothers on an extreme case of low self worth,hence the need to name drop and seek worth from his association from celebrities.
Some times i just feel pity for the obese fellow.

Dele Momodu,a disgracefull human being,onijekuje and a disapponting fellow,i am short of words about him.

Asiwaju.

Some times i just feel pity for the obese fellow

by that you mean he now need the use of 2 walking sticks not one anymore. waooh.

Oh My dele! My dele my pendulum!

I will miss you bad bad

Although I never read any of the column on Thisday, I read it when it was on soft sell paper.
Otunba Dele thank God you are alive, these sons of Naija would have celebrated your demise like they did for Abacha!

@All,
What was My mentor's offense?

What was My mentor's offense?

jimi the bald head man , wetin you dey do 4 here.

Una de Brutal.
No single GOOD comment about the man, For Earth's sake, this fat guy is bowing out, please give him an encore(ovation?)
Believe he'll go concentrate on his suya business in central london.

This fat nigger is proud to openly admmit that he's a good friend to the man who betrayed his Mentor(MKO).
Trust the yoruba man,-bloody psycophant.
Abeg commot 4 road Mr dele, go and hide in London forever. U'havent contributed anything meaningful to ur generation or our nation!

CHAIRMAN1:

Una de Brutal.
No single GOOD comment about the man, For Earth's sake, this fat guy is bowing out, please give him an encore(ovation?)
Believe he'll go concentrate on his suya business in central london.

This fat nigger is proud to openly admmit that he's a good friend to the man who betrayed his Mentor(MKO).
Trust the yoruba man,-bloody psycophant.
Abeg commot 4 road Mr dele, go and hide in London forever. U'havent contributed anything meaningful to your generation or our nation!

Good for the public good

mbulela:

Jarus,
Please extend my gratitude to your friend.
This is a triumph of truth and decency over sycophancy, name-dropping and silly arrogance.
Dele, should please go away and stay as far away as possible from the psyche of a traumatize public.
I do not hold my breathe as i am sure that very soon, he will claim that his bosom friend Nduka begged him to come out of retirement.

I wanted to see what Jarus will have to say about his "friend's" resignation

mbulela:

i have a suspicion that Dele might have a psychiatric condition that bothers on an extreme case of low self worth,hence the need to name drop and seek worth from his association from celebrities.
Some times i just feel pity for the obese fellow.

Aha,Mbulela,be careful,this could drag Dele out of retirement

mbulela:

i have a suspicion that Dele might have a psychiatric condition that bothers on an extreme case of low self worth,hence the need to name drop and seek worth from his association from celebrities.
Some times i just feel pity for the obese fellow.

Jarus:



When I started reading the story, I was just too sure Dele will not forget his 'friends' on Nairaland, and other less popular internet forums. I was sure he will ahve a message for Mbulela and co, and I was right. I came across this!!!

I really love you guys, how will my day be without reading from u both everyday. LOL

Jarus:

Those who attack Segun Adeniyi for doing his job today are very unrealistic. What do they expect of him? Once a man accepts a job, he must obey his boss. He may privately advise his boss, but it would be reckless of him to criticise him in public. Segun has not behaved like the usual loquacious spokespersons of government. He has comported himself with decorum. The vicious attack on people like him is one reason good people are afraid to serve in government. The alternative is for bad people and rogues who don’t care about the name-calling to continue to rule us.

Oh please,how convenient for a hypocritic and charlatan to defend one of his own

Ah ha u guys should spare the guy and giv him some credit. Or are you people jealous of him?

May God save us frm the likes of bob dee, As for a revolution not ever taking place in this country , He had better be very sure,

Nizoral:

Ah ha u guys should spare the guy and giv him some credit. Or are you people jealous of him?

Jealous? of who? dele momodu?
Who gives a rat ass about that pathetic sycophant, who got is fame in an hypocrital manner.

Pleaese Dele? Good bye and get ur self in the brothel of sicily.

Adieu dele.

Please Dele do me a favour, don't try to come out of retirement cos that will be a bad news for all

mbulela:

Jarus,
Please extend my gratitude to your friend

rasputinn:


I wanted to see what Jarus will have to say about his "friend's" resignation

I am not Dele's fan. I'm his critic. I don't fancy his style and I have told him to his face.
The fact that I communicate with him doesn't mean I am his fan.

Here are some of my previous posts on NL to criticize him, far back August last year:

Wow!   This guy beat me to writing rejoinder to that Dele Momodu article. I have been thinking and conceiving my rejoinder to that article since I read it in his column, PENdulum, this week Sunday. I have already captioned my rejoinder: DELE MOMODU: THE COLUMNIST AS A PRAISE-SINGER but have not had time to sit down and pen it.

My own rejoinder however slightly differs from the guy up there's. I do not support envy and Pull Him Syndrome syndrome, and Indeed, in my piece, ENTER SANUSI THE SANITY HARBINGER , I also expressed reservation over how some people went beyond issues to jubilate over the sack of Ibru and Akingbola, but Momodu's slighting of a genuine move, to me, is praise-singing taken too far. I'm not unaware of his association with the Akingbolas and Ibrus. My own piece is more general. I follow Dele Momodu's writings in his Sunday column, PENdulum, and if he's not praising MKO Abiola or Mike Adenuga, he will be praising Ghana. The most predictable columnist. It's not a crime to praise-sing really, but I just can't help penning my view of his writings in that my DELE MOMODU: THE COLUMNIST AS A PRAISE-SINGER and it was triggered by his latest piece on the sacked bank chiefs.

I'm so surprised to know I'm not the only one having this opinion.
Dele Momodu should stick to his celebrity journalism(which is about praise-singing or as nairalanders would call it, backside-licking) where he's earning his bucks and which has made him one of Nigeria's richest journalists.
Most of his analyses in serious political and economic debates are at most laughable.


Quote
More frequent statements like, 'When i saw with Aunty Dora at. . .' or 'At a party i sat between Ndukwe and. . .'.
Makes me remember one of his recent pieces where all he had to write was how he sat in the 3rd row in Michael Jackson's burial.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-314903.0.html

DELE MOMODU: ABUSE OF COLUMNISM
There is no disputing the fact that Dele Momodu is one of Nigeria's most successful journalists, if popularity, connection and depth of pocket are anything to go by. We can't take that away from him
I don't have any problem with his Ovation magazine, my problem with him is what he writes at the back of ThisDay every Sunday in the name of column writing. If he's not praising MKO Abiola or Mike Adenuga, he will be praising Ghana. At other times, he will be telling us how he flew from one airport to another or how he sat close to one personality. That is all he has to write on serious national issues. The most predictable columnist, if you ask me.
Doesn't he see what other ThisDay columnists like Simon Kolawole, Kayode Komolafe, Yusuph Olaniyonu,Ijeoma Nwogwugwu and Chidi Amuta write on weekly basis.

His analysis on serious issues are at best laughable.

Dele needs to go back to his celebrity journalism. I can point to tens of Nairalanders that can do better, if given the opportunity to write weekly in ThisDay. Let ThisDay stop wasting that space.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-316170.0.html

not one single good comment on d guy? never knew he was hated dis much!!!

And i thought i was the only one who couldn't place the guy