Having searched the Chatham House website thoroughly, our platform, BDB, can say without more, that General Muhammadu Buhari has no business with the Chatham House between now and early March contrary to Gen. Buhari’s spokesman, Garba Shehu statement that the Gen has been scheduled to give a talk at the House.
We reproduce below the Chatham House’s Time Table from now till March 2 showing all its events during this period, none of the events has Gen. Buhari in mind for any programme either as a keynote speaker, ordinary speaker or guest. See http://www.chathamhouse.org/events
Garba Shehu on behalf of Gen Buhari had issued a statement that:
‘The Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday left Abuja on a short working visit to the United Kingdom. In the course of this visit, General Buhari is expected to hold meetings with key members of the British political establishment and interact with some global institutions with stakeholder interest in the affairs of Nigeria. General Buhari would hopefully give a talk at the prestigious foreign policy hub, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatam House in London.’
Another platform, Ourexclusive.com, also reports that they called the contact phone number on Chatham House website to inquire about the attendance of Gen. Buhari, and was categorically told ‘he is not expected’ by a female voice who answered the call.
According to Ourexclusive.com, they later sent an e-mail to Chatham House Head of Conferences; Alison Archer who promised to get them the log of their expected guests, but who however confirmed that ‘no Buhari from Nigeria is expected’.
Investigation one the website further showed that the last time Buhari was a guest was in June, 2011 after the presidential poll, when he and his then running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare went to discuss ‘Nigeria’s 2011 Elections: Reflections on the process and prospects for Nigeria’.
EVENTS
Conference
Security and Defence
23 Feb 2015 – 09:00 to 24 Feb 2015 – 13:30
Chatham House, London