Presidency Speaks on Man Who Named his Dog Buhari

Presidency Speaks on Man Who Named his Dog Buhari

Joachim Iroko, now popularly known as the man who named his dog Buhari, may have regained his freedom – even though he still has to stand trial, only now able to attend from his home – but his story continues to generate reactions across the country.

Iroko who was initially and wrongfully identified as Joe Chinakwe shot into national limelight after the report of his arrest for naming his dog Buhari and parading same in a market dominated by traders of northern extraction.

A neighbour, it was, who took offence at Iroko’s action and filed a complaint at a police station in Sango, alleging that Iroko was mocking his (the complainant’s) father popularly known as ‘Alhaji Buhari.’

The police stated that Iroko’s action was capable of breaching public peace and that he had to be taken to court to answer to a charge in that regard.

Many Nigerians reacting to the arrest and prosecution of the trader described the act as excessive display of power and a repressive action by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The president’s spokesman, Mr Garba Shehu, late Thursday however, described the criticism of the president over the incident as having been borne out of ignorance.

According to Garba, the president is a man who enjoys cartoons and finds caricatures of himself most exciting.

The presidential spokesman added that it was impossible for the president to order police action with respect to Iroko’s alleged action, tagging such claims as “cheap and sensational.”

His tweets below:

He enjoys cartoons and likes sharing them. The  ones he enjoys the most are those that caricature him.

— Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) August 25, 2016

It is cheap and sensational to say he can order a police action against a caricature.

— Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) August 25, 2016

When he picks a paper, the first page he reaches for is the cartoon page. He laughs and laughs.

— Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) August 25, 2016

The President must be having a good laugh over this whole thing.

— Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) August 25, 2016

One possibly unintended consequence of the clarification made by Mr Shehu however is that the presidency sees the arrest of the man who named his dog Buhari as a laughable matter. It matters little if the liberty of a poor trader at the centre of it all is at stake.

Now that the presidency has established that the president is not in any way angry about the incident, it remains to be seen if the police command in Ogun state will take a cue and withdraw the charges against the man who named his dog Buhari.