On August 2, 2024, a news article went viral across social media with the headline “Nigeria had the best years under military, democracy made things worst – IBB”
The statement was credited to the X (Twitter) handle of the former Military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida.
Claim: General Babangida said Nigeria had the best years under the military
Verification:
The CDD War Room found a parody X (Twitter) account, pretending to be General Ibrahim Babaginda.
We found that on August 1, 2024, amidst the ongoing #EndBadGovernance protest, the parody account with the handle “@General_Ibbro” tweeted “Some of the best years Nigerians ever experienced all came from the Military system of government; jobs, security, affordable cost of living, good roads & education. Accessing the Democratic system of government over the years has took us back to a much worse dilapidated state.”
We can confirm that this was the tweet that informed the news article and the headline being circulated across social media.
We found that this is not the first instance that news platforms will quote tweets from this handle, alluding it to the former Head of State.
The CDD War Room also found the statement signed by Mahmoud Abdullahi for the IBB Media Office, denouncing the statement and the X account. He clarified “This dubious account carries our principal’s picture and name and the coat of arms of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for added effect but it does not belong to him nor does the former President sanction any post appearing there.’
Verdict: FALSE
The former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida did not make the statement that Nigeria had the best years under the military. We found that the X handle that tweeted the statement is a parody account pretending to be the former military Head of State. We also found a statement from the IBB Media office distancing itself from the X account and the statement.