There’s ruckus on social media: President Muhammadu Buhari should never have delivered his Eid-el-Fitr message in Hausa. No. Yes. No. Yes.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED

It all started when the state-run News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) announced that an audio message from the President was “aired by some radio stations, including BBC”.

As translated by ICIR’s Asmau Adamz, Buhari wished his “fellow Muslim brothers/sisters a happy Sallah”. He prayed for the almighty Allah to “accept our prayers” and “give us the ability to work with the lessons we learnt during the month”.

He thanked those who “remembered me in their prayers to get better in this holy month” and urged “Nigerians to desist from spreading news that will cause chaos; peace in Nigeria is all we seek from God”. He prayed for “rain of blessings” and “peace” upon the country.

THE OUTRAGE

The President’s message was retrievable from BBC Hausa, but many could not understand it. There are more than 500 ethnic groups in the country; why did the President choose the language of one to address all?

THE ARGUMENT FOR

The President has done absolutely nothing wrong. He spoke exclusively to BBC Hausa. You don’t expect him to speak English to the Hausa service of a radio station.

THE FACTS: It’s true that the audio was aired by BBC Hausa, but was it an exclusive interview? No. NAN already confessed that “other radio stations” aired it. Therefore, it was not a BBC exclusive. Also, it was NOT an interview. It wasn’t a question-and-answer affair. Buhari wasn’t answering any questions. His speech was premeditated; it was his making.

RULING: Since this was not an interview, Buhari chose both the language and the medium through which he wanted to talk to his people. Was he wrong to have acted in this manner? YES!

THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST

Why would the President speak in Hausa when millions of Nigerians don’t understand the language? Was Buhari addressing northerners alone?

THE FACTS: Although the Hausa make up one of the country’s three largest groups, there are more than 500 others. For all these people who wanted to hear their President talk after two months away, they couldn’t understand him. Yes, they could listen to him on BBC Hausa, but they didn’t understand anything of what he said.

RULING: The President ostracised millions of his people from his message. Was he wrong, on this count? YES. Any justification for this? None.

FINALLY… THE PRESIDENT WAS UNFAIR TO HIMSELF

Buhari was trying to say something to some people. Who are they? “My fellow Muslim brothers/sisters”, “Nigerians — those were the people he listed. In addition, NAN’s translated version even mentioned “our Christian brothers”.

THE FACTS: In the end, millions of these same people couldn’t directly understand the President’s message, even if it was his intention to address them. To be sure, there are millions of Muslims in the southwest who don’t understand Hausa. Even in a south-south state like Edo, Islam is a widely-practised religion.

THE RULING: Communication is a two-way process; it’s an exchange of ideas between a protagonist and the receiver. If the active end talks and the receptive end cannot decode, communication hasn’t at all taken place. Therefore, Buhari did NOT communicate to millions of Nigerians in his Sallah message. How on earth could he be this unfair to himself? Baffling.

TOTALLY WEIRD SCENARIO

Want to truly process the weirdness of Buhari’s Eid-el-Fitr message? Just imagine former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in 1999 or say 2006, addressing the country in Yoruba at Easter: Eyin Omo Naijiriya, e je ka dupe l’owo Olorun fun bi o se lora emi wa lati ri odun omiran… As though there aren’t northern Christians. Let’s not just imagine it!