Obasanjo Breaks Silence On Buhari Being Alleged ‘Body Double’ From Sudan

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has broken his silence on President Muhammadu Buhari being alleged ‘body double‘ from Sudan.

BIGPENNGR.COM reports that Obasanjo spoke while answering questions in a virtual interview with historian, Toyin Falola, on Sunday, saying he does not agree with those who claim Nigeria has “a new Buhari from Sudan” in Aso Rock.

There have been multiple reports that since the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu resurfaced in Jerusalem, Israel in October 2018, he has been alleging that Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari is dead and has since been replaced by an impostor whom he referred to as ‘Jubril of Sudan’.

However, giving his take on the issue, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said he does not subscribe to the opinion of a cross-section of Nigerians that a purported impostor described as ‘Jibril from Sudan’ was masquerading as President Buhari as claimed by Kanu.

Former President Obasanjo, who has been a fierce critic of the Buhari administration, however, believes there is something amiss about his distant successor.

Recalls that Kanu who is also the director of Radio Biafra, has repeatedly fuelled conspiracy theories about President Buhari’s ‘body double’ from Sudan, on his propaganda broadcast channel, Radio Biafra where he argued that ‘Jibril’ was transformed to resemble and replace President Buhari, whom he claimed had died in a London hospital.

Surprisingly, Kanu’s claim garnered momentum amongst thousands of followers of the Biafra group, who reckoned that President Buhari now looked younger and healthier in his public appearances after his protracted stay in a London medical facility.

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In a virtual interview with prominent academic Toyin Falola on Sunday, former President Obasanjo stated: “I’m not subscribing to the people who say we have a new Buhari from Sudan or something, or that nonsense.”

Obasanjo, however, averred that President Buhari’s widely perceived lacklustre handling of critical national issues was particularly disturbing, as his estimation of the president’s abilities (having worked with him during the military era) was fairly impressive.

“I thought I knew President Buhari because he worked with me. And I use to ask; is it that I had not read him well or read him adequately? Or is it that he has changed from the Buhari that I used to know?” The former Nigerian President said while fielding questions on the turn of events under the Buhari regime.

Former Obasanjo noted that although he was aware of the president’s deficiency in the knowledge of economics and foreign affairs, he had thought that Mr. Buhari’s heroics in the military could be useful in tackling corruption, insecurity and other strains that have left the country’s economy hamstrung.

“I did not know the nepotic tendencies of President Buhari. Maybe because he was not exposed to that sort of situation when he worked with me,” Obasanjo added while urging the president to wake up to his responsibilities if he had any intention to leave a legacy for posterity.

He said, “I thought I knew President Buhari because he worked with me. But I used to ask people, is it that I have not read him well or read him adequately or is it that he has changed from the Buhari that I used to know? I am not subscribing to the people who say we have a new Buhari from Sudan and all that nonsense.

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“I know what I believed was his limitations and I have written about it – he wasn’t strong in economics, not all of us are strong in anything but you need to have sufficient knowledge of it for you to direct the affairs. He wasn’t particularly too strong in foreign affairs but I thought he was strong enough in the military.

“But with what I have seen now, I believe that maybe he will be thinking of a legacy. Maybe he will also learn from what has happened in recent times. If you are the commander-in-chief and banditry is taking place in your backyard, then you have to wake up.”

This story contains information from NewsOne and additional reporting from Independent