The Rat Trap: How Buhari's Spokesman Fabricated a Scandal to Shield the President's Health

In a stunning admission that pulls back the curtain on the inner workings of political spin, Garba Shehu, the former Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, has confessed to fabricating the widely publicized "rat invasion" story at the Presidential Villa in 2017. His revelation, made in his newly launched tell-all book, 'According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesperson's Experience,' exposes a deliberate tactic to divert public attention from President Buhari's grave health issues.

The year 2017 saw President Buhari return to Nigeria after a prolonged period of absence due to sickness, immediately raising questions about his fitness to govern. Rather than address these concerns directly, a crisis management strategy was swiftly deployed. Shehu details in Chapter 10 of his book, aptly titled 'Rats, Spin and All That,' how the narrative began after a fellow aide, Bashir Ahmad, announced that the President would be working from home.

As journalists, including the BBC Hausa, pressed for details and questioned the nature of these "Villa rats" that could supposedly chew through wires, Shehu saw an opportunity. He confessed to intentionally referencing an obscure 1980s "rice armada" rat infestation to further mystify the situation. His goal was clear: "I wanted the discussion to shift, to move to any other issue besides the president's health and his ability to continue in office as the leader of the country."

Shehu candidly admits that this "spin" succeeded in its immediate objective, taking the heat off the President's health. He even recounts being questioned later by then-Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo about his chosen narrative, to which he affirmed its deliberate purpose.

This confession offers a rare glimpse into the lengths to which political strategists go to control public perception, even resorting to inventing fantastical scenarios. While Shehu believes the tactic was successful, one can't help but wonder if the Nigerian public, known for its astute political awareness, ever truly bought into the outlandish tale of invading rodents.

Posted on: Thu Jul 24 2025 Back to posts