Pres. Buhari on his visit to London last week made some statements during an interview with British Journalist which some Nigerians, Home and abroad found absurd.
They accused him of labelling them as criminals.
He added that because of the number of Nigerians imprisoned for law-breaking in Britain and elsewhere, they were also unlikely to get much sympathy.

Reacting to this, Some Nigerians have launched a Harshtag on social media; ”#NigeriansAreNotCriminals”.

One of the angry citizens,Tony Osborg wrote on Facebook:
My name is Ossai Tony Osborg. I am a Nigerian from Aboh Kingdom of Delta State. I am a graduate of Philosophy. I am a fellow at the Chartered Institute of Management. I am a Project Manager, Website Designer, Bid Documentation Expert, Public Relations Consultant and an Author. I have contributed in my little way to the development of my community and Nigeria and I have equally contributed to the field of knowledge in the world stage. I am a Nigerian and I love Nigeria even though Nigeria does not seem to love me. I am not a criminal. ‪#‎NigeriansAreNotCriminals‬

Other Nigerians resident in the United Kingdom have launched a hashtag attacking the president for labeling them criminals.

My name is Obinna D. Ogbuagu. I am a Legal Practitioner practicing in Nigeria for over sixteen years now. I pay my tax regularly and have contributed in my own way to national development. I am not a criminal. ‪#‎NigeriansAreNotCriminals‬

Reacting to the statement Portia Emilia Anthony wrote: “My name is PMB (Portia Means Business) not the PMB that said we all are criminals. I am a business lady. I sell Vessels, refined products (downstream). I am a hardworking, honest, compassionate Nigerian, I must add I have integrity. I am a decent Nigerian that has Nigeria first and foremost as paramount in my heart in all I do. I live both in Nigeria and UK. I am not a criminal and would never be. I stand with Nigerians to say ‪#‎WeAreNotCriminals‬.”

When President Muhammadu Buhari took over power in May 2015, many Nigerians expected him to wave a wand and bring about change. They felt that their votes had hired the right man who would immediately fix all that was wrong with our country.

But now Buhari has formed the habit of denigrating his fellow countrymen.

For example, while delivering a speech to commemorate Nigeria’s 55 years of independence from the UK on 1 October, President Buhari made clear his view of the citizens calling them “unruly”.

While he invited every Nigerian to share the burden of change with him he said, “We must change our lawless habits… We must change our unruly behaviour… To bring about change, we must change ourselves.”

Two days ago in the United Kingdom Nigeria’s president again warned his fellow citizens to stop trying to make asylum claims in Britain, saying that their reputation for criminality has made it hard for them to be “accepted” abroad.

Muhammadu Buhari, the tough ex-general elected last year, said those who had joined the migrant exodus to Europe were doing so purely for economic reasons rather than because they were in danger.

Someone did rebrand Nigeria as “Good people great nation”. That is how it should be. A good CEO promotes his brand no matter what, a good president should promote his country no matter what too. ‪#‎NigeriansAreNotCriminals‬

Mr Buhari, 73, made his remarks in a wide-ranging interview during a three-day trip to London, where he was among world leaders attending Thursday’s international conference on the Syrian crisis and the ongoing war on terror.

“We have an image problem abroad and we are on our way to salvage that”

“Some Nigerians claim is that life is too difficult back home, but they have also made it difficult for Europeans and Americans to accept them because of the number of Nigerians in prisons all over the world accused of drug trafficking or human trafficking,” he told The Telegraph.

“I don’t think Nigerians have anybody to blame. They can remain at home, where their services are required to rebuild the country.”

But according to Okey Okpala; “I am a lawyer, A serious lawyer at that. I work my ass out and keep calling another fellow My Lord on daily basis in other to make a living. I make a living standing on my feet and solving other people’s problems. I have no criminal record. I am a Nigerian. ‪#‎IAmNotACriminal”‬

A UK based solicitor told Elombah.com, “Nearly one in ten of the 11,000 foreign prisoners ­clogging up our overcrowded jails are from one country. An official figure shows that 989 are from Poland. The next worst offenders are Ireland, Jamaica and Romania followed by Pakistan, Lithuania and Nigeria. Further down the list are Somalia, India, Albania and Bangladesh. Yet none of these countries leaders have come to this place to label their nationals CRIMINALS”.

Indeed, a UK Home office publication stated that 11,719 foreign criminals are either in jail, in immigration detention centres or at large. In total, 177 nations are represented on the list, entitled the Foreign National Offender Caseload.

When ordered by nationality, Jamaica comes out on top: 1,026 Jamaicans from a total population in Britain of 47,000 Jamaican nationals have been convicted of crimes. Nigerians and Polish are next on the list, accounting for 832 and 679 convicted criminals of those nationalities respectively, but from much larger immigrant populations.

Eze Eluchie’s reaction was more acidic. He wrote on Facebook: “The President of a Republic of Criminals is certainly a Presidential Criminal! Mr. President in the same interview with the British Daily Telegraph asked Nigerians to stay back in Nigeria whilst his children all schooled in the UK and have residency there. Mr. President, sir, the Nigerians I know living abroad, are not criminals. But you, ‘saint’ Muhammadu Buhari, are a hypocrite!