President Muhammadu Buhari has said that given the amount of harassment he receives over his performance in office, he will not miss the presidential villa when he leaves office in about six months time.
He made the assertion in a documentary played during a private dinner organised for family and close friends to mark his recently attained 80th birthday on Friday night in Abuja.
Buhari noted that despite his efforts to make the country better, his critics believe that he has not done enough and, therefore, do not appreciate him.
Asked what he will miss about the presidency when he leaves, Buhari said: “I wonder if I am going to miss much. I think I’m being harassed. I believe I’m trying my best but still, my best is not good enough.
“Because there are people around that think that they can intimidate me to get what they want instead of going through certain systems to earn whatever they want to earn. And they are some people who want to be clever by half.”
President Buhari also dismissed the claim that the real occupant of the presidential villa is not him but one Jubril from Sudan.
Recall that following his protracted illness and hospitalization in the United Kingdom, the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, had mounted propaganda that suggested that the president was dead but had been replaced by Jubril from Sudan by a cabal, which he allegedly wanted to continue to reap from the system.
But reacting to the claim, President Buhari described it as a joke that was not funny.
He maintained that some Nigerians have a way of creating humour to feast on something they do not understand, saying that the rumour was the work of some mischief makers to demonstrate their cheekiness.
When asked by the interviewer whether he has heard of the Jubril from The Sudan allegation, he said: “Yes. People said I am somebody from Sudan. I didn’t bother with the name. Nigerians have mischievous ways of explaining themselves.”
When asked whether he thought it was funny, President Buhari responded: “No. Is not funny because those who made those statements, just want to be cheeky. They want to distract attention from the main issue.
“Our main issue is to do the infrastructure, make people aware that they need to work hard to live well. They just want to enjoy life without earning the respect of their community and so on.”
President Buhari revealed that he lost two of his children by his late wife to sickle cell anaemia, noting that he had to insist that his next wife’s blood group be AA genotype to avoid passing on sickle cell genes to his next children.
While proposing a toast for the president,
Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, described him as a forthright, good and kind man, as well as an exemplary leader.
According to him, Buhari would make a good entertainer in retirement because of his sense of humour.
Osinbajo recalled how the president used jokes to calm him down and got him to change his mind about submitting himself for investigation by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) following allegations of corruption levelled against him.
The vice president stated: “Mr President is a very humorous man and I think he would make a very good career in entertainment one way or the other when he retires.
“One day, I went to him because they were some allegations that were made against me. And I was so angry. So, I went to him to show him the letter I had written to the EFCC to investigate. He looked at it and looked at me because he calls me VP or Professor depending on his mood.
“This time he said, ‘VP, why do you worry yourself about all these people? These people just make all sorts of allegations, they make all sorts of stories up, even they are saying that I am about to get married again. And even some foolish people were waiting at the National Mosque, waiting for me to come and marry again.”
While inviting the invited guests to join him in proposing the toast, Osinbajo praised President Buhari for leading the nation with great courage, determination and commitment.
“I invite your excellences, ladies and gentlemen, to join me in proposing this toast to an exemplary leader, a forthright and honest man, a good and kind man, and a man who has led this country with great courage, determination and commitment for so many years.
“We pray that the almighty God will preserve his life for very many years to come and that he will live all of these many years in good health, peace, joy and with the love of all of our countrymen,” hr stated.
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