“I Don’t Miss Being The President Of Nigeria” — Muhammadu Buhari

Muhammadu Buhari

The immediate past President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari yesterday maintained that he did his best in the eight years that he governed Nigeria

“I tried my hardest, but I’m not sure if my administration produced the desired outcomes”

Muhammadu Buhari, the recently outgoing president of Nigeria, has insisted that he gave it his all during the eight years in office, but he has acknowledged that he wasn’t entirely certain he produced the desired outcomes.

In his first interview since resigning from office almost six months ago, the former president claimed he supported the divisive naira redesign policy toward the conclusion of his presidency in order to uphold his personal integrity and demonstrate to Nigerians that hard work paid off.

Speaking on Monday, November 20, to the state-run Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Buhari asserted that Nigerians were a challenging group of people to lead, saying they knew what was right to do but would typically refuse to follow it because they believed they knew better than the person in power.

When asked about the moral character of many of the individuals who were close to him during his eight years in office, the former president responded “It is their problem,” raising concerns about what each of the harsh critics of him had personally done to combat corruption.

In response to the question of whether he believed that a conspiracy had taken over his government, the former president answered, “It must have been,” but he wasn't certain that anyone had broken the law and had been granted authority to “walk away.” Insisting that he wouldn't do anything differently under Nigeria’s present system if given the same opportunity, Buhari said he let individuals complete their work when he gave them assignments.

The former president, who at times seemed to stray from the topic at hand, clarified that he made an effort to be as transparent as possible while in office.

Buhari claimed he was still being "harassed by people who throng his home on a daily basis," adding that he would have escaped out of Nigeria by now if the border with a neighboring nation had not been closed. But he was happy that he could now wake up whenever he wanted, he said. After leaving administration, the former president claimed he doesn't miss anything. "I tried my best, but God granted me the chance to serve my nation. But I leave it to others to decide if my best was sufficient," he said.

The former Nigerian leader noted the insecurity in Borno state and the Northeast when he took over, saying that Boko Haram had been substantially degraded at the time he was leaving government, even though he replied "not quite" when asked if he had succeeded in his four presidential attempts.

“Nigerians are extremely difficult. People know their rights. They think they should be there, not you. So, they monitor virtually your every step. And you have to struggle day and night to ensure that you are competent enough,” he added.

The former president said that, as president, he was too focused on domestic affairs to be troubled with international ones. He claimed that safeguarding the nation was his greatest challenge. Buhari said that he was “living in peace” after leaving government because he had not tried to compete with Nigeria’s affluent class by obtaining land, homes, and vehicles while serving as the country's leader.

He claimed that some Nigerians had tried to bait him with specific possibilities in an attempt to set up a trap, but he had escaped the trap because he knew that as soon as they discovered he had been compromised, they would take advantage of the circumstance to exploit the nation. They would prefer to take over as his boss, he continued.

He said that because God had witnessed the excruciating agony he went through following each defeat during his presidential campaigns, God had helped bring about the technological advancements in 2015 that allowed him to win the vote. “Instead of showing me compassion, people made fun of me for not having money and being unable to purchase influence in any way, from other powerful individuals or from myself. I replied, “God dey.” Additionally, he sent the PVC (Permanent Voter Card). implying that you now just have one vote,” he said.

Buhari emphasized that his patriotism was the reason he sobbed in public in 2011 after losing the election. Regarding the much criticized naira policy, Buhari stated: “Whether Nigerians believe it or not, we are an underdeveloped country. And in that sort of situation, there's materialism and sometimes ruthlessly they didn't care how they made the money.

“...I still feel that the only way I could deprive these people was just to make sure that my integrity became unquestionable...I think as a developing country we still have a long way to go. The motivation (for introducing the policy) was to try and make Nigerians believe that there is no shortcut to successful leadership,” he added.

Furthermore, he clarified that he wasn’t startled when governors from his own party sued him to change the policy at the time. Regarding the Ethiopian/Nigerian Air fiasco towards the end of his presidency, Buhari stated that if he had a weakness, it was allowing individuals to carry out their jobs without interference.