Nigerian President Buhari denies being dead, replaced by impostor

Repeated claims were spread via tweets, Facebook posts and YouTube videos that the leader of Africa’s most populous nation was an imposter called “Jubril”.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari (Photo by Sodiq ADELAKUN / AFP)

New Delhi: Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday had to refute reports about his death and his alleged replacement with a Sudanese impersonator, which had been circulating rife in the country for many months. In what can be termed as the most bizarre rumour of the country, social media posts were doing rounds claiming that the president operating was not the real president of the country but an impostor from Sudan.  The posts claimed about the death of the Nigerian President. The repeated claims were spread via tweets, Facebook posts and YouTube videos that the leader of Africa’s most populous nation was an imposter called “Jubril”. The claims began a month after Buhari who took seriously ill last year returned from medical trip to London which extended over six months. The serious illness for which he spent a large part of 2017 in London has never been revealed to the public. Those spreading the rumour were reportedly some known critics of the president and his government. "It's real me, I assure you. I will soon celebrate my 76th birthday and I will still go strong," Buhari was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.  He was addressing the Nigerian diaspora in Poland, where he is attending the UN COP24 climate summit in Katowice. He was answering a question from the audience about the repeated claims. "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,"he said. He referred to those who started the rumour as "ignorant" and "irreligious". Buhari is seeking re-election next year.