'We are not criminals' Nigerians tell their president

It's the home of the "419" scam - the infamous online swindle named after a Nigerian anti-fraud law - and it's no secret that this country's international reputation has been tainted by allegations of criminality.

But it's not something Nigerians expected to hear from the mouth of their president himself, especially while he was on an official visit to the UK.

In an interview with the Telegraph newspaper, President Muhammadu Buhari said that Nigerians abroad have "made it difficult for Europeans and Americans to accept them because of the number of Nigerians in prisons all over the world accused of drug trafficking or human trafficking."

"We have an image problem abroad," he said. "And we are on our way to salvage that. We will encourage our countrymen to stay at home, work hard and make a respectable living at home."

Nigerians reacted to his remarks by the thousand - with rage, humour and some insightful self-reflection too.

Opposition senator Ben Bruce-Murray was one of the first to respond, urging people to get the hashtag #IamANigerianNotACriminal trending.

That hashtag rapidly evolved into the snappier #NigeriansAreNotCriminals which was used more than 35,000 times in a couple of days. There were a slew of tweets criticising the president for slandering the reputation of his own people. 

 Including some tweets from the president's political opponents.

It's a thorny issue for Nigerians living abroad who feel they sometimes have to deal with stricter immigration checks and visa restrictions than people from other parts of the world. And some who believe they face heavier oversight and regulation when it comes to working in the banking and finance sectors because of their nationality.

Nigeria is in the middle of an economic crisis. Dropping oil prices mean there is less money around for investment and the value of the naira is falling rapidly. 

Some people believe President Buhari's comments may make things worse, putting off investors from abroad at a time when the country really needs them.  

Some are calling this a gaffe but so far the president has made no effort to backtrack on what he said.
Blog by Stephanie Hegarty - BBC Trending

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