- Garba Shehu, former Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, revealed a fabricated story about rats in the Presidential Villa.
- The 2017 tale was created to divert public attention from concerns regarding Buhari’s health.
- Shehu shared these insights in his new book, “According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesperson’s Experience.”
Garba Shehu, who formerly served as the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, has admitted that the widely circulated 2017 tale of rats taking over the Presidential Villa was intentionally fabricated to steer attention away from growing concerns about Buhari’s health.
In his new book, According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesperson’s Experience, which was unveiled on Tuesday in Abuja, Shehu recounted how the story was crafted as a media diversion tactic during a period of intense national scrutiny.
The incident occurred shortly after President Buhari’s return to Nigeria on August 19, 2017, following an extended medical stay in the United Kingdom that lasted nearly three months. Upon his arrival, the presidency announced that Buhari would be operating from home due to supposed damage caused by rodents in his official office.
This announcement came amid rising public anxiety and speculation, particularly fueled by claims from Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who alleged that Buhari had died abroad and been replaced by a lookalike from Sudan.
In Chapter 10 of the book, aptly titled “Rats, Spin and All That,” Shehu disclosed that the rat story stemmed from an informal lunch conversation among top government officials.
He wrote, “Shortly after the president returned, I overheard a conversation in the Chief of Staff’s office. While discussing some discovered cable damage, someone jokingly suggested that rats might have been responsible since the office had been unused for months.”
With journalists pressing for clarity on why Buhari was working from home if he had truly recovered, Shehu decided to lean into the rat explanation.
“When media pressure mounted, I told reporters that the president’s office required repairs due to potential damage by rodents during his absence,” he explained.
The explanation quickly gained international attention and sparked widespread amusement and criticism. According to Shehu, the story was so sensational it ranked among the top stories on BBC World News at the time.
He added humorously, “To throw the press off balance, I even referenced the notorious rats from the 1980s, known for destroying all sorts of goods aboard ships carrying rice from Southeast Asia.”
However, not all government officials were on board with the spin. Shehu revealed that Information Minister Lai Mohammed and then Vice President Yemi Osinbajo later questioned his choice of narrative.
“They asked why I used such a story,” he recounted. “I told them it was a deliberate move. The goal was to change the conversation get people talking about anything other than the president’s health. From my perspective, the strategy worked.”
Despite his reasoning, both Mohammed and Osinbajo reportedly disagreed, arguing that the approach was misguided.
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