On the day Nigerians gathered in mourning to bid farewell to former President Muhammadu Buhari, a controversial social media post by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, ignited widespread outrage.
In a tweet that has since been deleted, Onanuga shared an old video clip of Buhari’s campaign rally in Ibadan, saying it was intended to “refresh the memory” of those who claimed Buhari’s consistent bloc of 12 million core votes delivered his victories in the 2015 and 2019 presidential elections.
The timing of the post was widely condemned as deeply inappropriate, with many viewing it as a calculated insult to Buhari’s memory on the day of his funeral rites in Daura. Northern political circles and staunch Buhari supporters, in particular, criticized the tweet as insensitive and politically tone-deaf.
Public affairs analyst Morris Monye was among those who expressed strong disapproval. He wrote, “Again this morning, Bayo Onanuga an official under PBAT is attacking Buhari, forgetting the man hasn’t even been buried yet.”
Observers described Onanuga’s comment as a subtle attempt to undermine Buhari’s electoral legacy, suggesting it was a political shot intended to downplay the former president’s enduring popularity among his northern base.
The backlash online was swift and intense. Critics accused the Tinubu administration of disrespect and hypocrisy, arguing that members of the president’s own team were ridiculing Buhari while he was being laid to rest. Screenshots of the deleted post circulated widely, fueling anger and debate.
“The North remembers,” one user warned, underscoring the risk of alienating a region that played a crucial role in delivering votes in past elections. Others suggested the incident was symptomatic of deeper divisions and mistrust within the ruling party, with some Tinubu loyalists eager to rewrite Buhari’s legacy to consolidate their own political standing.
Ultimately, faced with mounting condemnation, Onanuga removed the tweet, but the damage was done, leaving the Tinubu administration scrambling to contain the fallout from what many saw as a needless and ill-timed provocation.
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