A recent exchange between activist Aisha Yesufu and the presidency has ignited a social media storm, following Yesufu’s critique of President Bola Tinubu, News About Nigeria reports.
The incident began when Yesufu took to Twitter, alleging that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had snubbed and embarrassed Tinubu during an inauguration event.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga was quick to respond, labelling Yesufu and her followers as “an uncouth horde of pessimists.”
He said that their bitterness stemmed from their candidate’s third-place finish in the 2023 elections, accusing Yesufu of being overly hasty and persistently negative towards Tinubu, unlike supporters of the second-place candidate.
O’tega Ogra, Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on New Media also criticised Yesufu for what he termed “crass ignorance” and added her actions were more about seeking social media validation than constructive discourse.
He also said there were inaccuracies in Yesufu’s claims about the event, pointing out that the first row was reserved for South African royalty and that Ramaphosa was called back to the podium, which Yesufu had misinterpreted.
“Aisha and her uncouth horde of pessimists are always quick to rush to judgement 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.”
He continued, “Aisha, have the constitutionally guaranteed right to express yourself, but your consistent display of crass ignorance and shameful behaviour, 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…).”
