CNN mocks Nigeria over Buhari’s continued absence

The Cable News Network (CNN) has mocked Nigeria in its latest edition of “The Global Public Square (GPS)”, a foreign affairs show anchored by Fareed Zakaria.

In an apparent mockery of Nigeria and its President, Muhammadu Buhari, CNN, on its programme displayed at 4:59pm local time on Sunday posed a teaser: “The head of state from which country has not set foot in his homeland in over two months?”

It went ahead to tick an option with the name Nigeria as the correct answer. The options were given as Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Nigeria and Syria.

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A screenshot of the mockery became a subject of discussion on tweeter on Sunday. 

Amid conflicting reports on the health of the 74-year-old president, his office released a photograph on last week – the first for almost three months – showing a smiling Buhari looking less gaunt than when he was last seen on television in Nigeria.

Buhari left Abuja for London on May 7 for treatment of an unspecified illness, his second trip abroad this year for health reasons. The first trip, also to London, lasted nearly two months and a number of photographs of him were published.

“I am making good progress, and as soon as doctors advise, I shall return to my duties and continue serving the Nigerian people who elected me and are daily praying for my recovery,” Buhari said in a letter to Guinea President Alpha Conde, dated July 24, according to the presidency statement.

Buhari, a former military ruler who took office in May 2015, handed over to his deputy, Yemi Osinbajo, to allay concerns about a possible power vacuum in his absence.

The refusal of officials to disclose details of Buhari’s illness has triggered fierce speculation in Nigeria’s media and on social media over the last few months about whether he will seek a second term in the 2019 election.