A recent social media spat involving activist Aisha Yesufu and President Bola Tinubu’s aides has escalated, following Yesufu’s criticisms of Tinubu at a recent international event.
The controversy began when Yesufu alleged via Twitter that President Tinubu was snubbed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during an inauguration event following his re-election.
In her tweet, Yesufu claimed that President Tinubu had been “disgraced and shunned,” sparking a flurry of social media reactions.
The presidency quickly issued a response through Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, who described Yesufu and her followers as “an uncouth horde of pessimists,” further accusing them of bitterness stemming from their candidate’s third-place finish in the 2023 elections. 
Onanuga criticized Yesufu for her hasty judgment and consistently negative attitude toward President Tinubu, contrasting this with the behaviour of supporters of the second-place candidate in the elections.
The Senior Special Assistant on New Media to President Tinubu, O’tega Ogra, also joined the rebuttal, accusing Yesufu of “crass ignorance” and of actions aimed more at gaining social media traction than engaging constructively.
Ogra took pains to refute specific allegations made by Yesufu regarding the incident at the inauguration event, pointing out factual inaccuracies in her statements.
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 to the leader of Africa’s biggest democracy. More than a year after the 2023 election, in which their candidate came third, they remain incurably bitter and toxic, more than the supporters of the man who came second.”
Similarly, Ogra said, “Aisha, 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.
“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 (see video below). 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…).”
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