Benoit Tessier/Reuters
The president of Nigeria on Sunday assured citizens that he had not died and been replaced by a Sudanese look-alike after months of bizarre social media rumors. “It’s real me, I assure you. I will soon celebrate my 76th birthday and I will still go strong,” President Muhammadu Buhari told a group of Nigerians at a town hall session in Poland, according to Reuters. “A lot of people hoped that I died during my ill health,” he said. Buhari, who was in Poland to attend a conference, also said those spreading the rumors online were “ignorant and irreligious.” Buhari reportedly spent five months in Britain last year while being treated for an “undisclosed illness.” The mystery reportedly prompted some to theorize that Buhari died and was “replaced by a lookalike from Sudan called Jubril.” The rumor spread online through YouTube and Facebook videos, which were reportedly viewed thousands of times despite the fact that no evidence was presented to back up the theory. Some of Buhari's political opponents also reportedly circulated the theory.