According to a report from vanguard, Prominent activist Aisha Yesufu's recent criticisms of President Bola Tinubu have sparked a heated exchange on social media, drawing a strong response from the presidency.
The controversy began when Yesufu tweeted allegations that Tinubu was disgraced and ignored by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at an inauguration event following Tinubu’s re-election. Yesufu's tweet quickly went viral, triggering a wave of reactions.
In a sharp rebuttal, Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga labeled Yesufu and her supporters as "an uncouth horde of pessimists" who remain embittered over their candidate's third-place finish in the 2023 elections.
Onanuga stated, "Aisha and her uncouth horde of pessimists are always quick to rush to judgment with any whiff of what appears to them to be negative about the leader of Africa’s biggest democracy.
More than a year after the 2023 election, in which their candidate came third, they remain incurably negative."
Onanuga accused Yesufu of hasty judgment and maintaining a consistently negative attitude towards Tinubu, contrasting her behavior with that of supporters of the second-place candidate.
Similarly, O’tega Ogra, Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on New Media, joined in the criticism, accusing Yesufu of displaying "crass ignorance" and engaging in behavior aimed at garnering social media approval rather than constructive engagement.
Ogra remarked, "Aisha, you have the constitutionally guaranteed right to express yourself, but your consistent display of crass ignorance and shameful behavior, seemingly aimed at garnering likes and retweets in the name of your disdain and hatred (which you profess at any given opportunity) for Nigeria, is shameful to say the least."
Ogra clarified, "For the record:
1. That first row at today’s inauguration was reserved for South African kings/royalty.
2. The South African President wasn’t expected to start greeting dignitaries at the time of the video you shared, and he was respectfully recalled to the podium by the inauguration compere.
3. Immediately after President Ramaphosa finished the anthem, he went ahead to greet the visiting presidents who were all seated in the second row (similar to the way visiting presidents were seated in the third row during Nigeria’s own inauguration on May 29, 2023)."