Ahead of the May 29 end of his second and last tenure in office, President Muhammadu Buhari has apologised to those who may have been hurt by his administration.
Buhari tendered the open apology while hosting the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja community, to his ninth and last Sallah celebration home as President, at the Presidential Villa.
Speaking at the celebration attended by key figures in the administration and from the Abuja community, led by the Minister of the FCT, Mohammed Bello, the President noted that God had been kind to him, having served the country in various capacities.
He, however, told the crowd of homage payers at the Villa that after his tenure, he planned to be as far away from Abuja as possible to allow the incoming administration run without any interference from him.
“I think this is a very good coincidence for me to say goodbye to you and to thank you for tolerating me for more than seven and half years now.
“I assure you, I have deliberately arranged to be as far away from you as possible not because I don’t appreciate the love you’ve shown to me, but because I think I’ve gotten what I have asked and I would rather quietly retire to my hometown.
“Having been a Governor, Minister and the President twice, I think God has given us an incredible opportunity to serve as your president and I thank God for that. So, please whoever feels I have done wrong to, we are all humans.
“There is no doubt I hurt some people and I wish you will pardon me and those that think that I have hurt them so much, please pardon me,” he pleaded.
Buhari also thanked Nigerians for tolerating his eight-year rule, saying “thank you for tolerating me…I consider myself lucky to have been a governor, minister and head of state and now president for two terms”.
The President also said that he could not wait to go home after eight years of being in the saddle of governing the country.
Buhari, who described himself as being lucky to have led Nigeria in various capacities, said “I can’t wait to go home to Daura. If they make any noise to disturb me in Daura, I will leave for the Niger Republic. I deliberately arranged to be as far away as possible from you people. I have got what I have asked and will quietly retire to my home town in Daura.”
The President praised democracy as the best form of government, saying that without it, he could not have become President after already serving as military head of state, given the side of the country he hails from.
He reminded the audience that he is from the extreme corner of Nigeria, Daura in Katsina State, which he said is just eight kilometers from Niger Republic.
President Buhari added: “I am counting the days. Democracy is a good thing otherwise how can somebody from the other side be a president for two terms? My home town to Niger Republic is 8 kilometers.
“I honestly consider myself very lucky, I was made a governor, minister of petroleum, head of state in uniform, then after three attempts, God through technology and PVC, I became president. I tried 2007, 2011 and 2015 and ended up at Supreme Court three times.”
President took a swipe at those who said they cannot get justice at the court, recalling that all Supreme Court justices in all the election cases he took to court were all from the north and Muslims and yet he lost. He said thanks to technology and the permanent voters card (PVC), he was able to make it in 2015 to Aso Rock.
The Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Senate President Ahmad Lawan; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation(SGF) Boss Mustapha; Chief of Staff Prof. Ibrahim Gambari; Senator Philip Aduda, and CAN Chairman in FCT, Rev. Timothy Amakum were also at the Sallah homage.
*(Courtesy, excluding headline, The Nation)
