There are so many conspiracy theories floating around that claim a person died and was replaced by a clone in a weird science experiment. Remember when Gucci Mane got out of jail and people thought he was a clone?
Muhammadu Buhari, president of Nigeria since 2015, is the latest person to have to deal with these cloning rumors. After claims of him dying and being replaced by a clone surfaced online, Buhari addressed the ridiculous rumors in Poland at the UN Climate Change Conference, calling them “ignorant.” The story came about after Buhari spent many months away in London to receive medical treatment back in 2017. A Twitter account, supposedly run by opposition leader Nnamdi Kanu, added fuel to the false claims with numerous edited pictures and videos drawing focus on Buhari’s features. Some pictures posted included on of Buhari writing with both his right and left hand. Reports found that the image was simply turned around. Buhari is naturally right-handed.
One of the questions that came up today in my meeting with Nigerians in Poland was on the issue of whether I‘ve been cloned or not. The ignorant rumours are not surprising — when I was away on medical vacation last year a lot of people hoped I was dead. pic.twitter.com/SHTngq6LJU
— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) December 2, 2018
His absence prompted extreme worry about his health and false reports circulated online saying Buhari had died. He put the rumors to rest with a tweet Sunday. “One of the questions that came up today in my meeting with Nigerians in Poland was on the issue of whether I’ve been cloned or not,” Buhari said. “The ignorant rumors are not surprising — when I was away on medical vacation last year a lot of people hoped I was dead.”
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In a Facebook post, presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said a Nigerian boldly asked Buhari if he was real or if he was ‘Jubril from Sudan,’ his rumored clone. This incident prompted Buhari to make the announcement. Buhari said these death rumors made people reach out to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in hopes he would be his deputy, something that Buhari says embarrassed Osinbajo. “That embarrassed him a lot; we discussed it when he visited me while I was convalescing,” Buhari said. “I can assure you all that this is the real me.”
Buhari will be celebrating his 76th birthday later this month.
