performance as the President of the country.
Buhari, who was a military governor at 33 and Head of State at the
age of 40, said he would have loved being a President when he was at a
younger age . He will be 73 on December 17, 2015.
The President, according to Punchng.com made the statement when
speaking with Nigerians resident in South Africa on Monday after
taking part in the 25th assembly of Heads of State and Government of
the African Union in Johannesburg.
Hear Him:
"I wish I became Head of State when I was a governor, just a few
years as a young man. Now at 72, there is a limit to what I can do."
"Despite my advancement in age however, my administration would make
a difference.
'"hat brought me to this current position was my love for the country.
He recalled that he was in the war front for 30 months during the
civil war, adding that like any other Nigerian, he lost relatives and
loyal people to the war.
Buhari said considering the fact that two million Nigerians died
during the war, nobody should come forward to talk about a breakup of
the country.
He stressed that Nigeria would remain one country since God had given
him another opportunity to reorganise its affairs.
The President promised that his administration would "kill"
corruption before it wrecks the nation.
He added that the All Progressives Congress government which he
leads was determined to secure the country and improve its economy.
"Our government is determined to secure the country, manage the
economy, create employment and fight corruption. Some articulate
writers have said if we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill
Nigeria. This APC administration intends to kill corruption in
Nigeria. We will do our best, I assure you," Buhari stated.
The President said he was at a time afraid that Nigeria might become a
nation like Somalia which "self-centered elite" had succeeded in
turning to a war zone in the last 20 years.
He said Nigerians were more vulnerable because the country has many
nationalities who were merged in 1914 in spite of their religious and
cultural differences.
Buhari stated that only crazy people whom, according to him, are not
in short supply, would talk of dividing the country.
He said there was no big deal in the claims by those who accused him
of jailing them because he was also jailed for over three years.
"After being in the military for 25 years, and getting to the highest
rank and becoming Head of State and under unusual circumstances, as
Head of State, I went straight to detention for three-and-a-half
years. So, those who accuse me of locking them up, I too have been
locked up; so what?" he declared.
The President said he would not have believed if he had been told
during his days in the military that he would one day join partisan
politics.
He explained that he joined partisan politics with a view to meeting
the needs of the people.
Buhari said, "Why did I join partisan politics in spite of that? When
I went home people knew that I have no money and I thought they will
leave me alone, but they didn't.
"They were coming to me asking me to do this and do that. I found
out that the only way I could do it is by joining partisan politics.
"And maybe if I speak even if I'm not a member at any level, people
will listen to me.
"But then I joined the opposition (the All Peoples Party). I didn't
want any political office at first, if I wanted, I would have joined
the PDP(Peoples Democratic Party) then and maybe I would have got to
where I am much earlier. But then, I wanted to go with the opposition.
"The second thing that finally convinced me to join partisan
politics was what happened in the Soviet Union. You know the Soviet
Union was an empire in the 20th century that collapsed without a shot
being fired.
"Everybody went home, there was confusion. Now, there are 18
countries out of the old Soviet Union."
Buhari said he believed that the best form of governance was
democracy, but elections must be free and fair.
That, he said, was why he was in trouble and he had to move from the
APP to the ANPP(All Nigerian Peoples Party) to CPC(Congress for
Progressive Change) and eventually to the APC.
Buhari explained that he contested his defeats in 2003, 2007 and
2011 up to the Supreme Court because of his belief that elections must
be free and fair.
He said, "In all those cases from the High Court to the Supreme
Court, we sent people to the field, they found out why the elections
were not fair.
"They came to the court and gave evidence but in the end, they will
say 'oh well, there were some flaws in the elections but the PDP has
won.
Read more at ThePUNCH:
http://www.punchng.com/news/old-age-will-limit-my-performance-buhari/
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