The Nigerian Presidency on Friday described as “animals’, Nigerians who were slandering renowned supermodel, Naomi Campbell in the social media following controversies about her photograph with President Muhammadu Buhari in Lagos.
The Special Assistant to President Buhari on New Media, Mr. Tolu Ogunlesi in a tweet Friday said; “Naomi Campbell met Nelson Mandela more than once. He hugged her, called her his “honorary granddaughter”. She visits Nigeria for a fashion festival and meets President @MBuhari, and some of you animals are slandering her. YOU’RE RAVING MAD WITH NOBODY TO TELL YOU.”
Naomi Campbell met Nelson Mandela more than once. He hugged her, called her his “honorary granddaughter”. She visits Nigeria for a fashion festival and meets President @MBuhari, and some of you animals are slandering her.
YOU’RE RAVING MAD WITH NOBODY TO TELL YOU. pic.twitter.com/f9hoAi8aPy
— tolu ogunlesi (@toluogunlesi) March 30, 2018
When called out by Nigerians on social media for his very poor choice and condescending use of language unbefitting the office of a presidential aide, Mr. Ogunlesi doubled down, waxing linguistical about the dictionary meaning of the word “animal”.
“Synonyms for ‘animal’ include brute, beast, monster, savage, devil, demon, fiend, villain, barbarian, ogre, according to the Oxford Dictionary”, he tweeted.
President Buhari on Friday met with Ms. Campbell, as he toured the Eko Atlantic City on Friday.
The supermodel was in Lagos for the Arise Fashion Week 2018, and many Nigerians were surprised to see her with the President during his tour of the new city under construction.
Campbell shared several photos of her at the event with Buhari and tweeted: “Was a pleasure to be invited by His Excellency The President of The Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari to the private launch of Eko Atlantic. ♥️ @NGRPresident @MBuhari.”
But in a hurried denial by the Nigerian Presidency, Personal Assistant to President Buhari on New Media, Bashir Ahmad said that Campbell “bumped” into her principal and requested to take pictures.
“For the sake of clarity, President @MBuhari didn’t invite Ms. Naomi Campbell to any event during his 2-day visit to Lagos State. They only met at the Eko Atlantic City while Mr. President was touring the project, and she requested to take photos with him,” Ahmaad tweeted.
Following the tweet from Ahmad’s handle, Ms. Campbell was ‘forced’ to delete her initial tweet and posted a new one claiming she only met President Buhari.
In recent years, Campbell has been rumoured to be dating Kola Aluko, a Nigerian oil dealer currently on the run for alleged fraud, raising concerns about President Buhari’s anti-corruption mantra in the wake of the photo ops with Campbell.
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