Nigerian media tycoon Aare Dele Momodu holds private meeting with Ghana President John Mahama

Nigerian media tycoon Aare Dr. Dele Momodu met Ghanaian President John Mahama at his residence in Accra on Sunday evening in a private meeting that brought together two longtime figures in West African public life.

Momodu described the meeting as an evening spent discussing African soccer, politics, literature and history. In a post on his official Instagram account, he said the conversation ranged from African writers including Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Ayi Kwei Armah, Ama Ata Aidoo, Kofi Awoonor and Albert Adu Boahen to William Shakespeare.

“This evening, I spent quality time with the great African leader, PRESIDENT JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA, at his residence, in Accra, Ghana,” Momodu wrote. He said Mahama recalled his father buying him the complete works of Shakespeare when he was younger. “It was an evening well spent between us,” Momodu said, describing the meeting as “such a huge privilege.”

Meeting underscores Aare Dele Momodu’s regional influence

The meeting also reflects the longstanding relationship between Momodu and Mahama, who has returned to Ghana’s presidency at a time when the country is working through the economic pressures that followed its 2022 debt crisis. Ghana has been pursuing measures to strengthen public finances, increase foreign-exchange earnings and support economic stability.

For Momodu, the meeting adds to a career that has stretched across journalism, publishing, business, politics and philanthropy. Over several decades, he has remained a prominent figure in Nigeria’s media industry, while his work has also brought him into contact with political and business leaders across Africa.

As chairman of Ovation Media Group and the founder of Ovation International Magazine, Momodu built a media business that became widely known for its coverage of prominent personalities, social events, and public figures across Africa and beyond. The publication also provided opportunities for journalists, photographers and other media professionals at a time when Nigeria’s private media industry was expanding.

Leadership center expands Momodu’s impact and reach

Momodu’s impact extends beyond publishing and business, with a focus on supporting younger professionals and creating opportunities in education, leadership and professional development. One of his projects is a leadership center in Ibadan, Oyo State, built to provide space for learning, research, meetings and accommodation. The facility includes a library, conference hall, administrative offices, residences for scholars and a separate building for staff.

The center is also expected to support local employment, with at least 30 jobs created through its operations. That focus reflects another side of Momodu’s work: using his business and professional experience to create opportunities for younger Nigerians. Over the years, Momodu has received several traditional titles in Nigeria and elsewhere in West Africa, including Ehanikhaye of Ihievbe Kingdom, Akinrogun of Gbongan, Onu Na Ekwuru Oha 1 of Etiti in Abia, Basorun of Oke-Ila and Kiazolu of Grand Cape Mount County in Liberia.

The titles are a measure of the relationships he has built across different communities during a career that has taken him from journalism and publishing into business, public affairs and philanthropy. His meeting with Mahama in Accra fits within that broader story. Away from the formal settings of politics and business, the two men spent the evening talking about subjects that have long connected African public life: football, politics, books and history.