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Reno Omokri, an ex-aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, has engaged in an exchange of brickbats with celebrity journalist turn social commentator, Dele Momodu, over the latter's criticism of President Bola Tinubu on the economy.
It all started after Momodu penned an open letter to Tinubu on Thursday, July 18, 2024, in which he urged the President to be frugal with the nation's scarce resources, noting that "the economy has collapsed."
In the missive, the Ovation Magazine publisher claimed "Nigeria is in big trouble" as the economy has virtually collapsed, asking what's the way out of the conundrum.
He also accused Tinubu of frittering away Nigeria's money at a time that required absolute frugality.
“Please stop this reckless propensity for wasting scarce resources. Purchasing presidential jets, building outlandish monuments, distributing cash as palliatives, etc. are signs of a failed and careless government.
“If you can curb the excessive spending of your government, you will free up a lot of resources for serious development.
“Invest in vocational skills for our highly talented youths who can demonstrate their capacity for hard work.
“Invest heavily in local agriculture. Upgrade our institutions of learning. Giving cash to politicians to distribute is unhealthy and unhelpful… It is the height of cluelessness,” Momodu's letter partly read.
Reno replies Momodu
Taking to his X handle, Omokri attacked Momodu while defending Tinubu.
In a post titled, ‘Response To My Beloved Senior, Dele Momodu: Nigeria’s Economy Is Not Collapsing. Far From It!’, he referred to the publisher's letter to the President.
“Respectfully, the facts do not support your assertions, and in your open letter, you did not provide any facts. Only opinions. So, please let me present some facts that contradict your opinions.
“Firstly, only yesterday, the International Monetary Fund projected that due to the reforms being undertaken by the current administration, Nigeria will have a 3.1% GDP growth rate in 2024.
“This is one of the best projections for an African country in 2024, and does not signal an economy that has ‘virtually collapsed.’
“Secondly, Nigeria had a record high of ₦6.52 trillion trade surplus in the first quarter of 2024. This has never happened before,” he wrote.
Momodu fires back at Omokri
Displeased by the former presidential aide's rebuttal, Momodu also went on his own X account to criticise his defence of the President's policies, pointing out that there's a difference between economic theories and real-life economic situations.
He warned Omokri against blind support, urging him to tell the truth to prevent Nigeria from descending into the abyss.
He also highlighted the differences between economics and economy in his rejoinder which he titled 'Re: Urgent Message For President Tinubu.'
Omokri refuses to back down
However, Omokri doubled down on his stance, alleging that Momodu's magazine had published over 50 articles to praise the government of Governor Ademola Adeleke in Osun State.
“My egbon Dele Momodu has written over fifty publications praising Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun. And I do not begrudge him that. But is he saying the situation in Osun is better than the situation at the centre?”
Gloves off between Momodu and Omokri
Meanwhile, Omokri's retort further infuriated the Ovation publisher who didn't hold back in his response.
“RENO. I challenge you to quote the 50 times I praised GOVERNOR ADEMOLA ADELEKE. You’re desperately looking for justification for your TINUBU project. Awaiting your list MR TABLESHAKER…”
The former Jonathan aide also fired back at Momodu saying, “Haba, egbon! Please go through your Instagram posts. Your social media is virtually a shrine to Governor Adeleke. It is beneath you to deny it. This is a notorious fact! Please, egbon, I make this an open challenge.
“If you have not used your social media profiles to praise Governor Adeleke at least fifty times, then take me to court! I will meet you there with documents. I am nothing if not a meticulous record keeper!”
This further elicited an even more infuriating response from the publisher, who asked if Omokri was too lazy “to see quotation marks on my posts of press releases like I do with others.”
“I challenge you to post the 50 praises or keep quiet…,” he wrote.
Reno fires the last shot
In his response, Omokri said, “Thank you for your feedback, sir. It is not that I am too lazy. How can anybody look at me and accuse me of laziness? I am slim, fit and very active in the boardroom, bedroom and newsroom. When you see a lazy person, you can tell by their body.”
He also posted a video of himself at the gym doing pushups with a caption that reads, ‘Anyone accusing me of laziness should do this.’