Tobias Sylvester
American TV shows, The Daily Show, hosted by South African, Trevor Noah and Jimmy Kimmel, has mocked President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigeria over the controversy surrounding ‘Jubril from Sudan’.
The ‘Jubril from Sudan’ controversy started in 2017 when Buhari returned from one of his periodic medical trips to London.
Nnamdi Kanu, the exiled leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) told his followers that the real Buhari that was elected in 2015 had died during one of his medical trips to London and been replaced by a clone known as Jubril from Sudan was hired and trained by Buhari’s handlers to take his place.
The story has since spread on social media with many Nigerians sharing different angles and presenting their proof to back the claim.
On Sunday, December 2, 2018, During an interactive session with members of a Nigerian community living in Poland, he was asked whether the cloning rumor was true or not.
Buhari finally reacted and dismissed the rumors, branding it ‘ignorant and irreligious’. He said:
“It’s real me, I assure you. I will soon celebrate my 76th birthday and I will still go strong.”
His response to the controversy has been the subject of conversation all week as the international media took quite a hilarious position in reporting it.
Sitting beside Noah on the show, one of his correspondents, Michael Kosta, said:
“Nigeria’s real news sounds like a Nigerian scam email.”
While mockingly speaking in a Nigerian accent imitating a scammer composing a scam email, he continued:
“Dear sir, I’m a real president who’s trapped in my country because they think I’m a clone. Please send me $10,000.”
Kosta further joked that if a cloning technology exists, it would probably be first tested on ‘somebody who doesn’t matter’ like the Nigerian president. He said:
“Now, we’re supposed to believe that he’s not a clone because, you know, if the CIA did have that technology, they’re gonna test it on an African first. You don’t just try that out on rich white people.
“The CIA chief is gonna be like, ‘This might not work the first time, so find me somebody who doesn’t matter. The president of Nigeria? Yes, that’s perfect.”
BUHARI has finished us. Full video@MrFixNigeria @MrStanleyNwabia @YarKafanchan @henryshield @PDPVanguard @akaebube @Tutsy22 @The_Jonathanian @AMADICHIMA @KakaakiSocial @renoomokri @PremiumTimesng @I_Am_Ilemona @YemieFASH @bolanle_cole @AbdulMahmud01 @adeyanjudeji pic.twitter.com/cD1LV7uQTy
— Dos Santos (@MyksonDosSantos) December 5, 2018
The host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, also dedicated around two minutes of his show to put a hilarious spin on the Buhari Cloning story.
Is Nigerian President @MBuhari a clone??? pic.twitter.com/hZw6FIbuwS
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) December 4, 2018
While many Nigerians felt the segment, and the reaction of the international media, brought ridicule on the entire country, Buhari’s Senior Special Adviser on Foreign Relations and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, took to her Twitter account on Wednesday, December 5, to dismiss its seriousness.
Cracking up on @JimmyKimmelLive joke on the issue of @MBuhari cloning. Jimmy is a comedian . His source of livelihood. The joke is 👎to the stupidly of even believing in the cloning narrative at all , not on PMB @Omojuwa @segalink . Won’t waste energy on this . That’s all
— . (@s2_vpd) December 5, 2018
She posted:
“Cracking up on JimmyKimmelLive joke on the issue of @MBuhari cloning. Jimmy is a comedian. His source of livelihood. The joke is to the stupidly of even believing in the cloning narrative at all, not on PMB @Omojuwa @segalink . Won’t waste energy on this . That’s all.”
