Mr President And The Doopleganger: Fact or Fiction?

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About a year ago, I had a conversation with a friend about unpopular opinions and conspiracy theories. We exchanged ideas and opinions on these two topics, and I was surprised that some conspiracy theories that I concluded were false were actually believed to be true by her. She also mentioned some conspiracy theories that didn’t make sense to me. It was a lengthy conversation, and when it ended, I reflected on it. I concluded that we are all free to have our perspectives and opinions on matters. Also, having certain opinions about subjects doesn't mean you should impose them on others.

Growing up, my ears were filled with fantasies, superstitions, myths, and conspiracy theories (crazy ones). This morning, while engaging on Hive, I read a post about a very popular myth about the Nigeria-India football match. My memories are flawed and I don't remember who exactly shared this myth with me. According to the myth, Nigeria played a football match with India. The Indian footballers used black magic and turned the ball into wild animals. India scored 99 goals, but when Nigeria scored one, they were declared the winners. Looking back, it is funny and interesting that we believed these stories as kids.

I am familiar with so many conspiracy theories. I remember coming across a thread on Twitter about conspiracy theories, both the ones in my country and other countries. There's a conspiracy theory about the ocean's gate submarine incident. For those who do not remember or know about this incident. On a quest to locate the lost Titanic ship, four people; a man, his son, and two others, traveled deep into the Atlantic Ocean in a submarine. Unfortunately for them, the submarine exploded and they all died. There's a conspiracy theory that those guys didn't die, but escaped and are now living on an island. This is a conspiracy theory about something outside my country.

In 2020, during the lockdown, there was a popular conspiracy theory that the president at that time, Mohammed Buhari, had died and been replaced by a doppelganger. At that time, I was so interested in the theory that I did my digging. The whole thing started when Buhari fell ill. The sickness was so bad that he had to put his presidential duties on hold. Before he went off, he appeared on TV, looking tired. According to a Twitter user, the president sought medical treatments in another country. During that period, the vice president filled in for him and addressed the people during the tough times.

After a long time, Buhari returned and appeared on TV. This time, he was looking really well and healthy. However, this raised suspicion among people. I don’t know who started the rumors, but all of a sudden, we started seeing different posts, threads, and articles about how the president had died and been replaced by a doppelganger. The person who started the theory was probably bored and wanted to do something. Some people claimed that the president was left handed (or right handed) and the person on the seat was different. Others claimed that his ears were different and that he spoke differently, proving that he was really a doppelganger. One thing about these rumors is that they spread like wildfire. Soon enough, the theory about Buhari was everywhere. Even on the lips of those not on social media.

I remember when I traveled out with my mom when the lock down ended. I don't know why drivers cannot just keep quiet and focus on the road instead of sharing their life stories. The driver also believed the theory. According to him, Buhari died in a plane crash on his way to America, and that the person on the presidential seat was Jubril , a farmer who lived in Sudan. He added that the doppelganger was controlled by the vice president.

The most interesting part is that, despite all these claims, the president took his time before he addressed this issue. I'm sure he must have been laughing in his room. To some extent, I believed this theory. Twitter users crafted this theory in a way that'd make anyone buy it. However, with time, I realized that this theory was completely false.

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Thank you so much for reading.