Garba Shehu, former media aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, has confessed that the infamous 2017 story about rats invading the Presidential Villa was a calculated distraction aimed at downplaying concerns over Buhari’s health.
In his newly released memoir, According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesperson’s Experience, launched on Tuesday in Abuja,
The incident occurred after Buhari returned to Nigeria on August 19, 2017, following nearly three months of medical treatment in the UK. Upon his return, the presidency announced that the president would work from home instead of his office at the State House, a decision that sparked further doubts and rumors—especially as IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu had publicly claimed Buhari had d+ed and was replaced by a Sudanese clone, “Jibrin.”
In Chapter 10 of the book, titled Rats, Spin and All That, Shehu detailed how the controversial story came to be. He recalled hearing a conversation in the Chief of Staff’s office about some cable damage possibly caused by rodents during Buhari’s absence. Sensing an opportunity to steer the media narrative, Shehu told journalists that the president’s office required renovation because rats had damaged vital cables.
“To get them off my back,” Shehu wrote, “I pointed to the notorious rats from the 1980s rice armada era—those that reportedly ate anything in sight aboard ships from Southeast Asia.”
Despite criticism that the story was a cover-up, Shehu insisted the diversion was intentional. He also revealed that both then-Information Minister Lai Mohammed and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo later questioned him about the rat claim. He told them the strategy was a conscious attempt to shift attention from the president’s health. However, both men disagreed with his approach, saying it missed the mark.
In hindsight, Shehu maintains the move achieved its intended goal: changing the public conversation even if it raised more eyebrows than expected.
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