In a startling revelation that has reignited public discourse, Garba Shehu, former Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, has admitted that the infamous 2017 "rat invasion" narrative at Aso Rock was a calculated fabrication designed to divert attention from the president’s deteriorating health.
The disclosure comes from Shehu’s newly released memoir, According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesperson’s Experience, launched earlier this week in Abuja. In Chapter 10, aptly titled “Rats, Spin and All That,” Shehu recounts how the narrative was born from an offhand remark during a lunch meeting among senior officials, where a damaged cable in the president’s office was casually blamed on rodents.
“At the time, the media frenzy surrounding President Buhari’s prolonged medical absence was reaching a fever pitch,” Shehu writes. “I deliberately chose to shift the conversation. The rat story was a spin — not based on verified facts — but it succeeded in changing the narrative, even if only temporarily.”
The story, which claimed that rats had damaged furniture and air conditioning units in the president’s office during his three-month absence, made international headlines and was even featured in BBC World News bulletins. Shehu now admits the tale was a strategic distraction to quell mounting speculation about Buhari’s fitness to govern.
The revelation has sparked renewed debate about transparency in government communications and the ethical boundaries of political spin. Notably, Shehu’s account includes internal pushback from then-Minister of Information Lai Mohammed and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, both of whom reportedly disagreed with the tactic and questioned its credibility.