- President Buhari has received criticism from all angles for his Sallah message to Nigeria which was in Hausa
- Igbo group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo blast presidency for the audio message
- The group wanders why President Buhari will address the nation in his native language and not the national language of the country
Ohanaeze ndigbo has attacked President Muhammadu Buhari for addressing the nation in his local language, Hausa in an audio tape released on Sallah day.
Deputy Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chuks Ibegbu said Nigeria has descended to the level of a ‘Banana Republic' if the nation's president could be addressing the country in his mother's tongue.
Recall that NAIJ.com reported that President Buhari in his audio message to Nigerians prayed for the Nation on Sallah day and advised Nigerians to stay away from hate speech and inciting comments.
READ ALSO: 6 things Buhari said to Nigerians in his Eid-el Fitri message
Ibegbu, while reacting to the message in Enugu on Sunday, June 25, said he is not sure that the person addressing the nation in the audio message is President Buhari.
He said: “First of all, we have to ascertain the veracity of the voice because in these days of technology, a lot of things can be cloned, including human voice.
“But if it is true that Mr. President addressed Nigerians in a local language, it means something is wrong somewhere.
“I want to believe that the voice is not real, but if it is Mr. President that actually spoke, then, it means that we have descended to the level of a Banana Republic.
“The Federal Government should tell Nigerians whether it is actually Mr. President’s voice, or not.”
Ibegbu added that the address couldn’t have been meant for Nigerians if it was delivered in Hausa.
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He said: “Which message; message to who; in what language? Is Hausa our lingua franca? If Mr. President wants to address us, he should talk to us in English, which is our lingua franca."
Meanwhile, the former aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri has questioned why President Muhammadu Buhari, would address Nigerians in his Eid-El-Fitr message, in Hausa.
In series of tweets on Sunday, June 25, he stated: "President Buhari is the President of all Nigeria. He is not the President of only those who can speak/understand Hausa! This is an outrage!!"
Lashing out at the president, Omokri stated that it would have been better for Buhari to have kept quiet than for him to have spoken and erased any doubt that he is a sectional leader.
Watch video of Nigerians given their opinions on the imminent return of President Buhari from London:
