CLAIM: “First Lady plans to establish a private university in memory of late husband“, alleges blog
FALSE: The only truth to that claim is that a private university in Adamawa is to be built. It is to be established in collaboration with partners from Sudan and Qatar. Location, timeline or motive for development are details currently unavailable.
FULL TEXT:
The Eco City Reporters publication alleging that the first lady claimed her “real” husband is dead, has been making the rounds. Similar to the Jibril of Sudan hoax which circulated shortly before the president’s first tenure came to an end, another story has emerged. Emphasis was laid on the phrase “in memory of” to suggest the demise of the president and the presence of an imposter on the seat.
VERIFICATION:
Having conducted research, it was found that the alleged post misconstrued information regarding the first lady which was reported by major media platforms. This was pertaining to the prospective Buhari University which hit major headlines across the country on April 20-21, 2019.
In the news reports, it is evident that the First Lady is dissatisfied about the academic conditions in her home state. This took place on a Saturday during a town hall meeting in Yola, a place where talks regarding the prospective Buhari University started. Plans regarding an Adamawa Development Trust Fund aimed at facilitating prioritized government projects were discussed as well. The only available information regarding the prospective private university is the intent to collaborate with partners from Sudan and Qatar. A location or timeline for development has not been disclosed at this point in time.
Although, we cannot objectively verify the First lady’s intent to establish a private university named after her husband, it is totally false to assume his demise. More so, the phrase “in memory of” was never used; she simply revealed information regarding the prospective university in a bid to tackle the state of education in her home state. Also, findings show the first point of contact for this news was the News of Agency of Nigeria and not Channels TV as the claim alleged. Additionally, Dubawa found no evidence of this on Channels TV’s YouTube page.
CONCLUSION:
The only available evidence shows that a private university in Adamawa is to be built. It is to be established in collaboration with partners from Sudan and Qatar. Location, timeline or motive for development are details currently unavailable. More so, an individual does not have to be dead before he/she can be honoured in the form of naming a place or thing after them. Goodluck E. Jonathan way and Olusegun Obasanjo way are both roads named after very alive ex-presidents.
