Messi Scorer, Tinubu Dodger, Says Omokri

A former aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, has described Lionel Messi as a ‘scorer’ while saying the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is a ‘dodger.’

Omokri said Messi and Tinubu could not be compared, making reference to a photoshopped image of Messi wearing Tinubu’s headgear, and posted on Tinubu’s Twitter page on Sunday with the caption ‘Emi lokan,’ meaning ‘I’m next.’

“Immediately after Argentina won the 2022 World Cup on Sunday, December 18, 2022, Tinubu put up a photoshopped image of Messi in an Asiwaju BAT headgear. Tinubu comparing himself to Messi, who won the Golden Ball awarded to the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup best player, is laughable,” Omokri said in a statement on Monday.

Omokri said Messi did not always run from task unlike Tinubu, whom he said was allegedly dodging presidential debates.

“Whenever Messi is called to take a penalty shot or play in a game, he does not dodge and run. He does not give an excuse. He fulfils his duty to his nation and club. But each time Tinubu is called for a presidential debate or town hall, he runs and dodges. He neglects his duty to the Nigerian electorate.

“No two people can be more unalike than Tinubu and Messi. One is a scorer, and the other is a dodger!

“Bola Tinubu was invited to all the presidential debates, and meet and greet fora organised by professional associations, like the Nigerian Bar Association, and the Nigerian Society of Engineers, etc. He dodged every one of them.

“If Tinubu wants to compare himself to anybody, he should compare himself with Charles Dickens’s fictional character, the Artful Dodger.

“Only one presidential candidate fits the mould of Lionel Messi in Nigeria. Only one presidential candidate consistently sets goals, like the goal to create millions of jobs for Nigerians via his $10 billion plan. And only one candidate not only attends presidential debates and town halls but additionally dominates at those events, to the extent that other candidates copy his answers.

“That person, the Greatest of All Time and Lionel Messi of the 2023 presidential election is no other than Atiku Abubakar,” he said.