A recent tweet by activist Aisha Yesufu criticizing President Bola Tinubu has ignited a heated online exchange with the presidency. On Wednesday, Yesufu posted on X.com, claiming that Tinubu was disgraced and snubbed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at his inauguration event.
In her tweet, Yesufu shared a video and wrote, “My people say pikin wey no hear word for house, na for outside dem go disgrace am! Tinubu disgraced once again in South Africa.”
However, Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on New Media, O’tega Ogra, and another presidential aide, Bayo Onanuga, swiftly issued rebuttals to Yesufu’s claims.
Ogra condemned Yesufu’s comments, describing them as a “consistent display of crass ignorance and shameful behavior” aimed at garnering likes and retweets. He clarified that the first row at the event was reserved for South African royalty and that President Ramaphosa was recalled to the podium before greeting dignitaries. Ramaphosa subsequently greeted visiting presidents seated in the second row after the national anthem.
Ogra responded, “Aisha, you have the constitutionally guaranteed right to express yourself, but your consistent display of crass ignorance and shameful behavior, seemingly aimed at garnering likes and retweets, in the name of your disdain and hatred (which you profess at any given opportunity) for Nigeria is shameful, to say the least.
“For the record: 1. That first row at today’s inauguration was reserved for South African kings/royalty. 2. The South African President wasn’t expected to start greeting dignitaries at the time of the video you shared and he was respectfully recalled to the podium by the inauguration compere (see video below). 3. Immediately after President Ramaphosa finished the anthem, he went ahead to greet the visiting presidents who were all seated in the second row (similar to the way visiting presidents were seated in the third row during Nigeria’s own inauguration on May 29, 2023).
“Madam Yesufu #AishaYesufu, your persistent ignorance and hatred create a very toxic mix, which you have shown a remarkable ability to embody and fully personify.
“A cautionary word: With or without your personal enmity, Nigeria will succeed. I truly hope you receive your “Elon Cheque” in full this month.”
Onanuga also joined the fray, calling Yesufu and her supporters “an uncouth horde of pessimists” who remain embittered over their candidate’s third-place finish in the 2023 elections.
He stated, “Aisha and her uncouth horde of pessimists are always quick to rush to judgment with any whiff of what appears to them to be negative to the leader of Africa’s biggest democracy. More than a year after the 2023 election, in which their candidate came third, they remain incurably bitter and toxic, more than the supporters of the man who came second.”
