PIGEONS' REFUSAL TO FLY: PRESIDENCY CLEARS THE AIR, SAYS "IT IS A NATURAL PHENOMENON"

Kayode Olawuni

The presidency has attributed the refusal of some pegions to fly during the January 15th Armed Forces Remembrance Day ceremony to natural occurrence. 

The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina stated this in a Facebook article shared on his Twitter handle @FemAdesina, titled "Reflections from a wreath laying ceremony".

According to Mr. Adesina, the pigeons had been kept for a while, hence their reluctance to fly, apparently arising from being adapted to their new restrained status.

I his words, "The pigeons had been kept in a cage. For how long. I do not know. And when birds and some other roaming animals have been circumscribed for a while, they get accustomed to their new status as lawful captives. Therefore, when you offer them freedom, they first baulk, thinking it's too good to be true. It's a natural phenomenon.

"President Buhari opened the cage that held the pigeons, about a score or so. One hesitated, then flew, followed by another. The others temporized a bit. And then, two, three minutes later, they all took to the sky. Nothing extraordinary in the development, you would think", he wrote.

The pigeons' behavior at the event held at the National Cenotaph, Eagle Square, Abuja, the nation's capital last Friday had generated series of mixed social media reactions from Nigerians.