The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret.d), has referred to the assertion that he was deceased and that his alleged body double, “Jibril Aminu from Sudan,” is the one residing in the presidential palace in Aso Rock as a costly but amusing joke.
At a special dinner celebrating his 80th birthday dubbed “Celebrating a Patriot, a Leader, an elder statesman,” hosted by his family and very close friends, Buhari responded to the accusation in a documentary that was aired on Friday night.
According to the President, certain Nigerians are adept at crafting humor to capitalize on what they do not understand.
When by asked by a journalist if he heard the unsettling rumor that he wasn’t Buhari, he responded with a smile saying, “Yes! People said I am somebody from Sudan. I didn’t bother with the name. Nigerians have mischievous ways of explaining themselves.”
He added that the joke 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.”
Buhari also said that he will not miss Aso Rock all that much because he is being harassed and that not everyone is appreciative of his attempts to improve the nation.
In his words; “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.”
