Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has criticised what he described as the rush by Nigerians on social media to “de-market” the country following the road accident involving Anthony Joshua in Ogun state.
Joshua, a British-Nigerian former world heavyweight boxing champion, sustained injuries in a fatal accident on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway on Monday morning.
The incident has generated international headlines following unverified claims on social media alleging the absence of emergency response at the scene.
In a post on X on Monday, Omokri said foreign media outlets in countries such as India and Australia had quoted Nigerian social media users in portraying the incident as evidence of a “failed state”.
“Instead of de-marketing Nigeria, why don’t you and I wait for the full details of what occurred to our beloved boxing champion before making dramatic and damaging statements whose veracity we cannot be sure of?” he wrote.
Omokri said many of those criticising the country were not present at the accident scene and relied solely on online videos.
“You were not at the scene of the accident; you are relying on videos you see online; you don’t know the full details. But your first instincts are to attack Nigeria and paint the worst possible picture to the outside world,” he added.
Omokri said eyewitnesses began assisting Joshua within two minutes of the accident before professional responders arrived.
He said Joshua was already close to a hospital before an ambulance arrived, contrary to claims that help took an hour.
The former aide said the two people who died in the accident were foreign nationals who suffered immediate trauma from the collision.
“How is that the fault of emergency response personnel? I see no blame for Nigeria in this, but I will still wait for the full official statement,” he added.
Omokri urged Nigerians to exercise restraint and patriotism by waiting for official reports before drawing conclusions.
He compared the incident with global cases, noting that emergency response delays occur even in developed countries.
He cited the death of Princess Diana in Paris, where it reportedly took 101 minutes to transport her to hospital, and a Spanish football accident involving Diogo Jota.
“Please be patriotic and wait for an official statement before hastily crucifying Nigeria,” Omokri said.