In an eye-opening revelation, celebrated Nigerian journalist and media mogul Chief Dele Momodu, has opened up about a low point in his career that saw him go from being the country’s highest-paid editor to selling bread for survival.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Bola Ray on Starr Chat, the Ovation magazine boss reflected on the moment he lost his prestigious editorial role and how the abrupt change forced him to start over most unexpectedly.
“I realised that the biggest embarrassment about not having a job is people asking you, ‘So what are you going to do now?’ And you have no answer,” he said. “I became a bread seller. Imagine going from being an editor, the highest paid, coming down. I came down to rock bottom.”
Dele Momodu revealed that after he was removed as Editor and offered a role as Managing Editor, he saw the writing on the wall. “I lost my job as the highest-paid editor in Nigeria. I was removed as Editor and promoted as Managing Editor which to me I knew was promotion into redundancy.”
According to him, the decision was made behind his back while he was in the UK. “I was in London when it was done. The day I returned to Nigeria on Sunday, by Monday I resigned. They took my official car, they took my driver.”
He also spoke candidly about the politics that sometimes come with power in the media space. “When you get too powerful in your job, you should always know there are people who will come for you. I became too powerful.”
