Reno Omokri’s Flexible DNA and the Politics of the Stomach
By Matthew Eloyi
In Nigerian politics, few phrases have aged as badly, or as quickly, as Reno Omokri’s declaration that working with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was “not in my DNA.” At the time, it sounded like a bold statement of principle, a moral boundary drawn in permanent ink. Today, that same DNA appears to have undergone a miraculous mutation, complete with diplomatic immunity and an ambassadorial title.
Politics allows for change. People evolve. Circumstances shift. But what Nigerians are witnessing in the Reno Omokri saga is not evolution; it is convenient amnesia mixed with elite entitlement. Omokri was not a casual critic of Tinubu. His opposition was fierce, personal, and absolute. He spoke with moral certainty, presenting himself as a man whose values could never coexist with a Tinubu-led government. “Not in my DNA,” he said; not “unlikely,” not “difficult,” but fundamentally impossible.
Fast forward to today: Omokri has been confirmed by the Senate as an ambassador-designate of that same government. Faced with public outrage and media interrogation, he now tells Nigerians that he never said he wouldn’t work for Nigeria; only that he wouldn’t work for Tinubu. It is a clever semantic escape, but a dishonest one. Ambassadors do not float independently of governments. They are appointed by presidents, represent administrations, and defend the policies of the state under the authority of the very leadership Omokri once described as incompatible with his values. To pretend otherwise is to insult the intelligence of Nigerians.
What makes Omokri’s case especially troubling is not just that he accepted an ambassadorial appointment from the Tinubu administration after years of fierce criticism. It is that even before the appointment was announced, he had already begun a very public soft landing, gradually transforming from relentless critic to enthusiastic praise singer. Nigerians watched the shift in real time. The same Reno Omokri who once attacked Tinubu with uncompromising intensity began commending the president’s policies, defending his economic direction, and publicly applauding actions he might previously have condemned. The tonal shift was so dramatic that many observers suspected what would later become official: proximity to power was approaching. When the ambassadorial nomination eventually arrived, it did not feel like a surprise. It felt like the final act of a carefully managed political migration.
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Omokri now wraps his decision in the language of patriotism, insisting that he is serving Nigeria. But Nigerians know the difference between service and reward. An ambassadorial appointment is not a sacrifice; it is a privilege. It comes with prestige, comfort, influence, and global relevance. If Omokri truly believed his earlier words, the honourable path would have been to decline the appointment and maintain the credibility he once claimed to cherish. Instead, we are offered a familiar Nigerian script: when out of favour, shout principle; when invited in, redefine principle.
This is the deeper problem. Reno Omokri’s flip-flop is not just about one man; it reflects a broader political culture where ideology is disposable, outrage is transactional, and “principle” lasts only until opportunity knocks. Today’s loud critic becomes tomorrow’s beneficiary, and the justification is always the same: I am doing it for Nigeria. But Nigeria has heard that line too many times. True patriotism does not require a government appointment. It does not wait for foreign postings or official titles. It is consistent, costly, and often uncomfortable. Anything else is performance.
Reno Omokri may well carry out his diplomatic duties competently. That is not the issue. The issue is credibility. A man who told the nation that collaboration with Tinubu was not in his DNA cannot, without consequence, suddenly discover a compatible genetic code when an ambassadorial letter arrives.
In the end, what Nigerians see is not a triumph of national service, but the triumph of political appetite over principle. And in that contest, Omokri’s DNA has spoken clearly; not the DNA of conviction, but the familiar DNA of Nigerian political survival, where the stomach often wins and memory is expected to lose. Nigeria deserves better than elastic principles and rewritten histories. We deserve public figures who understand that some statements, once made, demand sacrifice, not explanation.