Public revulsion has continued to greet President Muhammadu Buhari’s speech which aped the 2008 speech of US President Barack Obama when he won the Presidential election. Buhari at the launch of the re-orientation philosophy had said: “We must resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship, pettiness and immaturity that have poisoned our country for so long. Let us summon a new spirit of responsibility, spirit of service, of patriotism and sacrifice, Let us all resolve to pitch in and work hard and look after, not only ourselves but one another, What the current problem has taught us is that we cannot have a thriving army of rent seekers and vested interests, while the majority suffers.”
This mirrors to a great extent the exact lines of Obama in 2008: “In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let’s resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.
“So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.
“Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.”
Since the plagiarism was exposed, the social media has been buzzing with revulsion and rebuke of those who deceived the President into reading a speech laced with plagiarized lines especially when it was for an occasion that sought to rally Nigerians to change from bad to good.
One of Nigeria’s best columnists and writer, Uthman Shodipe poured out his revulsion thus: “Plagiarism is not only a theft of intellectual property, it implies a sickening immorality that devalues human worth and purpose. It is a betrayal of a vacuous, ill-defined emptiness; an aridity of thought and purpose that must rob others to cobble a feigned, pitiable presence. This very fraud summarizes the hobbled vision of the CHANGE leadership”.
For another Nigerian who simply addressed himself as Darlinton, “Even the “change Begins with Me” initiative was stolen from the person that conceptualized it by Lair Mohammed. Buhari’s government is a mess. This is what you get when you appoint aides base on tribe and religion not competence and merit”.
Another respondent on the internet with the identity Oilman24: “This shows how lazy his aides are. Simply cross checking with some anti-plagiarism software would have helped to stop this embarrassment. However, “nemo dat quod non habeat” – no one gives what he does not have. Buhari is plainly incompetent, clueless, and intellectually uninspiring”.
Toby responded thus: “His aides are not lazy. They actually stole Obama ‘ s work and gave their Oga. But they forget that this is 2016 and not 1983. Internet, Facebook etc at the beck and call”.
“Buhari and his APC are bunch of shameless Nigerians. They don’t know shame hence they are carrying on as if things are ok while most Nigerians are dying by installment since they got into power via campaign laced and padded with lies and dubious promises”, yelled another respondent who goes by the moniker 4thetruthonly.
