Award-winning Prof Saheed Aderinto disowns fake Twitter account mocking Tinubu

Prof Saheed Aderinto, a professor of History and African Diaspora Studies, who won the 2023 Dan David Prize has washed his hands off a Twitter account that appeared to embarrass President-elect Bola Tinubu.

Aderinto, who only operates a Facebook account, announced on Monday that he had nothing to do with the Twitter account @AderintoO.

The bio on the Twitter handle adequately spells out it is parody in accordance with Twitter rules.

Operator of the parody account on Monday replied Tinubu’s congratulatory message to Aderinto by saying he hoped the President-elect restores “stolen mandate”.

“Thanks anyway for the recognition, I hope you restore Our stolen Mandate,” the operator wrote.

Thank you My President elect https://t.co/Uc4Oz5Cijy

— Saheed Aderinto Parody (@ElluP01) March 12, 2023

On Sunday, a tweet from the parody account called Obi “My President elect”, thanking him for congratulating Aderinto on the award.

Aderinto said on Facebook that he did not make the statements.

“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,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, the selection committee for the Dan David Prize praised Aderinto’s work “for situating African history at the cutting edge of diverse literatures in the history of sexuality, nonhumans, and violence, noting that it is exceptional to see a single person leading scholarship in all of these fields.”