By Abraham Ogbodo
If I were the All Progressives Congress (APC), I would not lie about the health of General Muhammadu Buhari. If the man is actually ill and has gone abroad to seek medical attention, the party, through its national publicity secretary, Lai Mohammed, or any other spokesman, should simply say so, and not lie about it. To posture and make it seem as if Buhari cannot fall ill because there is a presidential election to contest and win is to make the man appear superhuman.
All human beings must cave in to ill health and ultimate death at some point. Everybody, including the politicians of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), knows this. That was why the party tried to disconnect itself from Governor Ayodele Fayose’s ‘death wish’ advertisement on Buhari.
Whether in Christian or Islamic theology, others are required to show sympathy through prayers to people who are ill. Even animists and atheists do same. But nobody has said Buhari is ill and has gone to London for medical attention. What the APC said was that its presidential candidate left for UK last week to continue his campaign to become Nigeria’s president by way of interaction with Nigerians living in UK. It was only Governor Fayose, who has been all over the old man like a gadfly that said Buhari was admitted to Cavendish Hospital in London.
Because people say Fayose is always shouting wolves when there are even no sheep in sight, nobody took him seriously when he said that the APC was on a mission to misinform Nigeria about Buhari’s visit to London. Soon, pictures were floated in the air to support the APC position that Buhari was in London for a different purpose, which included speaking at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, otherwise known as Chatham House, on his presidential ambition.
There was apparent desperation to create a scenario that never existed regarding Buhari’s visit to the United Kingdom. And this was where the publicity machinery of the APC got it all wrong. Dummies were sold to newspapers as photos of Buhari in London. One showed him with former British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun and former governor of Kwara State, now a senator, Bukola Saraki. That was confirmed real by some people. But another captioned: Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari (right) with the Chief Executive Officer, All Eyes TV Show, Kemi Fadojutimi (left), during Buhari’s working visit to United Kingdom also came.
Coming from Mallam Shehu Garba, media director of the Buhari Campaign Organisation and a fine professional and Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the national publicity secretary of the APC, I did not probe to uncover any hidden motives. And I am sure most editors did not, which was why either of the photos made prime news pages last Sunday. When my Executive Director, Mr. Toke Ibru, first mentioned it that I had put a fake photo on the front page, I urged caution so that we did not hastily contradict ourselves on the right point.
But before the end of day, my phone had been inundated with messages from readers, analysing the graphics of the photo and saying why the shot was taken at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja, and not a location in the UK as claimed in the photo caption. I tried to piece together the puzzle, but nothing was adding up to anything meaningful. I mean, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Mallam Sehu Garba and then fake photographs of General Buhari in London coming from both of them. What could be the purpose behind that piece of propaganda? To prove that they could do better than a Joseph Goebbels in the art of misinformation when there was no Second World War to prosecute and win?
Ever before Ayo Fayose left for Hilton Abuja to conduct a ‘forensic’ investigation of the photograph of Buhari’s media interview in London, Pat Enechukwu, who follows this column every Sunday, had done his and sent to me his findings: “My brother good afternoon. Please look at that front page photograph of Buhari critically and watch issues I am raising. That bottled water on the table (Aquafina) is a Nigerian product. The newspapers are Nigerian papers with the one on top looking like The Guardian and I mean our own The Guardian and not London Guardian that I have bought and read severally in London. The magazine on top is DSTV Magazine. What’s DSTV in London and who uses DSTV in London?”
Credits: Informationng.com
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