ABUJA: Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday quashed a rumor stemming from his ill health that he had died and been replaced by a lookalike impostor from Sudan, his spokesman said.
“It’s real me, I assure you. I will soon celebrate my 76th birthday and I will still go strong,” Buhari said as he met with 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 repeated claims — spread via tweets, Facebook posts and YouTube videos — that the leader of Africa’s most populous nation was an imposter called “Jubril.”
“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,” Buhari said, according to a statement signed by his spokesman Garba Shehu.
He referred to those who started the rumor as “ignorant” and “irreligious.”
Buhari, who is seeking re-election next year, spent a large part of 2017 in London for treatment for a serious illness, which has never been revealed to the public.
A lack of specific information about the illness, along with Buhari’s gaunt features and a reduction in public appearances have fed speculation about his well-being.
Claims about the president’s identity emerged a month after Buhari returned from another lengthy medical trip to London.
Those pushing the rumor were known critics of the president and his government.
Nigerian president denies rumors surrounding his ill health
Nigerian president denies rumors surrounding his ill health
- Buhari, who is seeking re-election next year, spent a large part of 2017 in London for treatment for a serious illness, which has never been revealed to the public
Nantes axe coach Kantari, turn to club hero Halilhodzic
- The 73-year-old Halilhodzic was a star striker for Nantes in the 1980s
- Halilhodzic’s first match in charge will be against Strasbourg
NANTES, France: Struggling Nantes fired coach Ahmed Kantari on Tuesday and announced veteran Vahid Halilhodzic would take over “until the end of the season.”
Kantari was hired on December 10 but lost eight out of 10 Ligue 1 matches, concluding with a 1-0 home loss to Angers.
Nantes are 17th in the table facing automatic relegation.
The 73-year-old Halilhodzic was a star striker for Nantes in the 1980s and led the club to the 1983 French title with 27 goals. He had an earlier stint as the club’s coach, when he took over eight games into the 2018-19 season.
His long management career has also included stops at Lille, Rennes, Paris Saint-Germain, Raja Casablanca, Dynamo Zagreb, Trabzonspor (twice) and coaching the national teams of Japan, Algeria, Ivory Coast and finally Morocco, where his three year stint ended in 2022 with what appeared to be retirement.
Halilhodzic’s first match in charge will be against Strasbourg, contenders for European qualification, on the March 22, before two crucial away games at last-placed Metz and then Auxerre who are currently two points and one place above Nantes in the relegation-playoff spot.
