Former PDP presidential aspirant and publisher, Dele Momodu, says a last-minute disruption to his planned trip to Cotonou may have saved him from being caught in the failed coup attempt in Benin Republic.
Momodu explained on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday that he was due to travel early Sunday morning—right as the coup unfolded—but an unexpected setback prevented him from leaving.
Momodu said: “The night before, I discovered my driver only had a photocopy of the vehicle particulars. I searched everywhere and decided the trip was off. I called my travel companions and cancelled. That was what saved us.”
He described the experience as “very surreal,” noting that he frequently made the Lagos-Cotonou-Lome-Ghana trip on Sundays. Linking the narrow escape to his faith, Momodu said, “I was born in an Aladura church. I believe God intervened because we would have been right inside Benin Republic during the unrest.”
Momodu also drew parallels to his 1995 escape from Nigeria, when he fled through the Seme border to Cotonou, then to Lome, Ghana, and eventually to England, evading military rule.
Momodu said it raises concerns about democracy in Africa.
“I thought democracy had taken root, but it seems we are going backwards. Let’s thank God it was quickly aborted,” he added.
On Sunday, Benin’s government confirmed it had thwarted an attempted coup after a group of soldiers announced on state television that they had ousted President Patrice Talon.
The incident comes amid a wave of coups in West Africa, including in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau.
