EXCLUSIVE: Video shows Yunus is mentally, physically unstable

A recent video of Bangladesh’s self-proclaimed chief adviser Muhammad Yunus has created hype on social media as it shows the 84-year-old having serious old-age problems like former US president Joe Biden.

Yunus will observe his next birthday on June 28, but his physical decline and inconsistent remarks on crucial issues, like the elections, Rakhine Corridor, and Chittagong Port handling, make him laughable.

What he can do without fumbling is to consistently blame the previous Awami League government for his failures and incompetencies, implying that he is not fit for the job, and unleash his terrorist and jihadist gangs upon his rivals.

Yunus reportedly has been suffering from Parkinson’s and has had to undergo several surgeries since August last year. Though the details of his surgeries are unknown to the public, sources say he has complications related to the prostate gland.

It should be noted that his mother, Sofia Khatun, had inherited mental illness when Yunus was nine and suffered for 33 years before her death in 1982. Before that, she gave birth to 14 children, of whom five died young, with Hazi Dula Mia Saudagor, a Pakistan Muslim League leader from Chittagong.

Dula Mia married Sofia Khatun back in 1930 when he was 22.

In his book, Banker to the Poor, Yunus writes that she started becoming irritable for no reason. “Her behaviour became more and more abnormal. These were the first signs of her mental affliction, which would become the dominant factor of our family life.”

Yunus mentions that his maternal grandmother and two aunts had suffered the same mental illness.

Is Yunus fit?

His health condition became visible during his Japan visit, specifically on May 30, when he met with his Japanese counterpart, Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru.

The video, which is accessible on YouTube, captures a brief but telling moment involving Yunus. It depicts Yunus navigating a formal setting, likely a ceremonial event, where he is expected to show respect to national flags before proceeding with his counterpart.

The video highlights Yunus’s physical and mental state, drawing attention to his slow movements, apparent confusion, and difficulty in orienting himself, which have sparked discussions about his health, particularly when compared to public perceptions of Biden’s condition during his tenure.

Yunus appears frail and unsteady as he walks alongside his Japanese counterpart. His movements are noticeably slow, with a cautious, almost hesitant gait, suggesting physical limitations often associated with advanced age.

As the two approach the spot where they are to pay respect to the national flags, Yunus seems disoriented, fumbling to determine the correct direction.

His Japanese counterpart, by contrast, moves with more confidence and clarity, subtly guiding Yunus through the moment.

Yunus’s hesitation and apparent confusion are evident as he struggles to align himself properly for the ceremonial gesture, a task that requires minimal but precise coordination.

This moment underscores a perceptible decline in his mental sharpness and physical agility, raising questions about his capacity to handle the demands of his role as Bangladesh’s chief adviser.

The footage captures a microcosm of the challenges elderly leaders face in maintaining the appearance of vigor and mental acuity in public settings.

Comparisons to Joe Biden, who was 82 at the end of his presidency in January 2025, are inevitable, as both leaders have faced public speculation about age-related decline.

Biden’s tenure was marked by frequent discussions about his physical stamina and cognitive health, with critics pointing to gaffes, slow speech, and occasional disorientation during public appearances.

Videos of Biden tripping on stairs, pausing mid-speech, or appearing confused at events fueled narratives of mental and physical frailty, though his administration and supporters often dismissed these as exaggerated or ageist.

Similarly, Yunus’s fumble in the video feeds into concerns about his ability to lead effectively, particularly in a country navigating political instability and state-sponsored mobocracy.

Both Yunus and Biden exhibit signs of aging—slower movements, moments of confusion—but Yunus’ advanced age and the physical frailty evident in the video suggest a more pronounced decline compared to Biden, who, despite criticism, maintained a rigorous schedule until the end of his term.

What happened to Yunus’ mother?

In his book, Yunus writes that his mother’s mental instability grew steadily worse every year.

Excerpts from his book are given below verbatim:

In her calmer periods, she talked disjointed nonsense to herself. For hours on end she would sit in prayer, read the same page of a book or recite a poem over and over again without stopping. At first, we children did not know what to make of her trance-like state.

In her more disturbed periods, she started insulting people in loud voices and often in bad language. Sometimes she would hurl abuse at a neighbour, a friend or a family member, but it could be a politician, or even some long-dead figure. She would insult imaginary enemies, and then without much warning she would become violent.

This was a nightmare for all of us, as she attacked adults and children alike. Usually Father bore the brunt of it. At night while we slept, we were never sure whether it would be an undisturbed and peaceful night, or whether she would erupt in shouts and physical attacks. When she became violent, I had to help Father restrain her, and I also had to protect my younger siblings from the blows and missiles she would throw. After such crises, she would be nice and soft, giving us as much love as she could, taking care of the younger ones.

As her condition worsened, she gradually lost track of our schooling and studies, and what we were doing.

The ordeal she had to suffer when we physically restrained her and when we tried to find a cure for what ailed her was another source of anguish. My father tried everything. He paid for the most advanced medical tests available in the country.

In despair, my father turned to unorthodox solutions, incantations, mumbo-jumbo, superstitions, even hypnosis. Mother never co-operated with any of these treatments, and none of them bore fruit. Some were downright cruel.

But some we children found interesting. After watching a renowned psychologist apply post-hypnotic suggestions to Mother, we performed our own hypnotic experiments on one another. In the course of trying to find anything that would help her, one doctor prescribed too much sedative, and she became addicted to opium.

Gradually we children came to terms with the situation. We learned to live without Mothers help. Her younger sister, ‘Auntie’, and Mumtaz became substitute mothers for us. And we eventually accepted these difficulties with a certain humour which made the pain easier to bear.

‘What is the weather forecast?’ we asked one another, meaning what did we expect Mother’s mood to be in the next few hours. Whenever she grew quiet, we knew a storm was coming, sometimes a tidal wave. In order not to utter someone’s name which would provoke a fresh bout of abuse from Mother, we gave code names to various persons in the household: number 2, number 4, and so on. The code names stuck, and adults as well as children used them even when it was not necessary. My brother Ibrahim wrote a hilarious skit at the- age of ten, in which he called our home a radio station, with Mother always ‘on air’, broadcasting her sermons in various languages and moods with ‘active accompaniments’.

The one who shone brightly through this whole sad reality of life was my father. He adapted himself to the situation with grace and fortitude and created a surprising normality for the family within this chaos. He took loving care of Mother in even’ possible way and in all circumstances for the thirty-three years that her disease lasted.

He tried to behave towards her as if nothing had changed, and she was the same Sofia Khatun he had married back in 1930 when he was only twenty-two. And he taught us to do exactly the same. He was loyal and good to her all the fifty-two years of their marriage until her death in 1982.