Muhammadu Buhari, the president of Nigeria, has issued a public apology for plagiarizing President Barack Obama’s 2008 victory speech.
The Nigerian President added that he will punish those responsible. Buhari presides over Africa’s largest economy and most populous country.
The public apology came in the wake of Obama setting out to meet Muhammadu Buhari next week in New York.
Many noted that Buhari’s speech was nearly identical to Obama’s 2008 speech and one the Nigerian President made September 8 titled “Change Begins With Me.” The aim of Muhammadu Buhari’s speech was to promote a new way of thinking that would rid Nigeria of widespread corruption.
“We must resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship, pettiness and immaturity that have poisoned our country for so long. Let us summon a new spirit of responsibility, spirit of service, of patriotism and sacrifice. Let us all resolve to pitch in and work hard and look after, not only ourselves, but one another,” Buhari told listeners in his speech.
Likewise, President Obama stated: “So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. … Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. ”
The U.S. president is set to meet with Buhari on Tuesday at the U.N. General Assembly session, and the two are expected to discuss American support for security and economic changes in Nigeria as well as efforts to stop the Boko Haram Islamic uprising.
Obama also has plans to promote trade U.S. – Africa trade on Wednesday in a summit with an odd 200 U.S. and African CEOs and African heads of state.
As for those responsible for the plagiarism, their fate remains unknown at this time.
