Reno Omokri Should Not Talk When Real Men Are Talking –  Rochas

By Charles Igbo

Omokri: “Before Tinubu, Nigerians were living in a fool’s paradise”

Architect Uche Rochas, a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party, has tackled Reno Omokri, a former strong critic of President Bola Tinubu who suddenly turned round and became his very strong admirer and defender.

Rochas’ tackle on Omokri followed the latter’s defence of Tinubu’s economic policies which not a few Nigerians say have reduced them to paupers.

Responding to Omokri In a post  on his official X  handle on Thursday, July 10, 2025, Rochas pointed out  his “hypocrisy and cowardice.”

He reminded the Omokri that he was on a self-imposed exile during Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Rochas: “During President Buhari’s 8-year rule as a democratically elected leader, Reno Omokri was in exile the entire time. He shouldn’t speak when real men are talking. Coward,”

Omokri attracted this rebuke from Rochas when he spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.

He had posited that Nigeria’s economy is presently on a more sustainable path under Tinubu compared to the Buhari years.

He also described Tinubu’s  predecessor as  being on an “economic illusion,” and insisted that Nigerians were living in a “fool’s paradise.”

Omokri: “We were living beyond our means. Tinubu has taken that away, and we are now living within our means. Borrowing to fund consumption was unsustainable.

“Under Buhari, the government borrowed excessively”, he said. As example, Omokri pointed at the ₦28 trillion in loans allegedly taken by former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele without National Assembly approval.

“They were using that money to artificially inflate the value of the Naira. We cannot keep borrowing just to give people food. We need to produce. That’s why exports are going up, and imports are coming down”

Omokri also said that Nigeria’s debt stock has dropped under Tinubu — from $113 billion at the end of Buhari’s tenure to $97 billion.

His word: “As of 2015, Nigeria owed $63 billion. When Buhari left, it stood at $113 billion. Under Tinubu, it’s now $97 billion. That’s a reduction of over $14 billion. We should appreciate this man.”

Explaining the hardship in the land, Omokri said:

“The impression people have is that things are worse, but we have to look inward. Everything Tinubu is doing are the same things Peter Obi and Atiku promised they would done.”