Saheed Aderinto, the US-based Nigerian professor, who won the 2023 Dan David history prize, has disowned a Twitter account taunting Bola Tinubu, the country’s president-elect.
Aderinto, a professor of History and African Diaspora Studies at Florida International University, became the first Nigerian to clinch the award considered the largest history prize in the world.
He was among the nine winners who received the prize of $300,000.
Tinubu, who recently won the presidential election, took to his verified Twitter page on Monday to congratulate Aderinto for making the “black race proud”.
“By this rare achievement, Prof Aderinto has not only further etched his name in academic excellence but has also made Nigeria, Africa and the entire black race proud, for which we must all remain thankful to him,” a statement by Tinubu reads in part.
“I congratulate Prof. Aderinto our worthy ambassador. I hope and pray that this award Spurs many of our young people to rise to the zenith in their careers.”
Reacting to Tinubu’s congratulatory message, a Twitter page that identified itself as a parody of Aderinto appealed to the former Lagos governor to restore “our stolen mandate.”
“Thanks anyway for the recognition, I hope you restore our Our Stolen Mandate,” the tweet reads.
Aderinto, however, took to his Facebook page to state that he doesn’t have a Twitter handle.
The professor, while appreciating Tinubu for the congratulatory message, added that he didn’t make the Twitter remark.
“Another additional pressure ti wa! Thank you sir! PS: I don’t have a Twitter account. I see that a parody account has been created in my name,” he wrote.
“It has come to my attention that a fake Twitter account has been opened in my name. I don’t have a Twitter account. And didn’t make those statements.”
