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A statement from the former president's office said the reports are
false and a creation of individuals who wish to use the former President
of Ghana’s name for their own political interests.
Former President Jerry John Rawlings has denied media reports that he has backed comments of President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria that the nation's youth are lazy
"The attention of the office of Flt. Lt. Jerry
John Rawlings, former President of Ghana, has been drawn to a post on
various media, especially in Nigeria, professing his support for
comments made by President Muhammadu Buhari on Nigerian youth," the statement noted.
It continued: "The
office wishes to state that former President Rawlings has made no
comment whatsoever or issued a statement on the comments by President
Buhari."Any comments purportedly coming from Mr. Rawlings are false and a creation of individuals who wish to use the former President of Ghana’s name for their own political interests.
"All official statements or comments by Flt Lt Rawlings can be found on his Twitter handle @officeofJJR or his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/President.J.J.Rawlings/.
The Nigerian leader is facing backlash on social media following the remarks he made in reply to a question posed to him at the Commonwealth summit.
"We have a very young
population. More than 60% of the population is below the age of 30. A
lot of them haven't been to school and they are claiming that Nigeria
has been an oil-producing country, therefore they should sit and do
nothing and get housing, healthcare, education free," Buhari said in
reply.
Many Nigerians on social media interpreted the comments to mean he was branding the nation's youth as lazy.
Using the hashtag #LazyNigerianYouth on social media, they expressed
their anger with the comments, which many said did not reflect the
entrepreneurial drive of young people in the country.
