The president of Nigeria has responded to bizarre allegations that he is dead and has been replaced by a clone or imposter from Sudan.
Rumours about Muhammadu Buhari, who is currently running for re-election in February, have been circulated on social media for months and viewed by thousands.
The conspiracy theory, which had even been shared by some of his political opponents, claimed that a Sudanese lookalike named Jubril had replaced him.
Buhari had spent five months in the UK last year, undergoing treatment for an undisclosed illness, which appears to be where the speculation grew from.
In an attempt to quash this baseless theory, Buhari addressed the subject in a town hall session in with Nigerians in Poland on Sunday, saying:
It’s the real me, I assure you. I will soon celebrate my 76th birthday and I will still go strong
A lot of people hoped that I died during my ill health.
Some even reached out to the Vice President to consider them to be his deputy because they assumed I was dead.
That embarrassed him a lot and of course, he visited me when I was in London convalescing,
A statement was then sent out by the presidency, reiterating his words, bearing the title: 'It's Real Me, President Buhari Responds to Cloning Allegations.'
A video of the speech was also uploaded to his Twitter account on Sunday.
One of the questions that came up today in my meeting with Nigerians in Poland was on the issue of whether I‘ve bee… https://t.co/jYu9AVTl3n— Muhammadu Buhari (@Muhammadu Buhari) 1543776172
In follow up Tweets he consoled his Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, for having to deal with the rumours and assured everyone that he is looking forward to his birthday later this month.
I can assure you all that this is the real me. Later this month I will celebrate my 76th birthday. And I’m still going strong!— Muhammadu Buhari (@Muhammadu Buhari) 1543777007
However, his statement really didn't help his situation as people were quick to point out that denying that you are a clone is exactly what a clone would say.
Sounds like the kind of thing a clone would say 🤔 https://t.co/vQx4MGvgGY— Tara Mulholland (@Tara Mulholland) 1543798379
People have been saying this about me as well lately and it’s total bullshit https://t.co/8kAvDlVwq1— Ike Barinholtz (@Ike Barinholtz) 1543797939
Besides the jokes, Buhari's statement hasn't won him any more supporters as people are still claiming that there is an imposter at work.
@MBuhari This act of yours is a confirmation of what Nnamdi KANU is saying. That you're a body double, a Jubril fro… https://t.co/ITsCHPWQtX— CHYCHY CHUKWU (@CHYCHY CHUKWU) 1543804531
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