President Muhammadu Buhari has said he looks forward to retiring at his home in Daura, Katsina state, but will go to the neighboring Republic of Niger if disturbed there.
Buhari revealed this when speaking to guests who came to celebrate with him on Sallah Day at the State House on Friday, April 21.
Buhari, in a statement from his spokesman, Garba Shehu, said he looks forward to retiring to Daura, away from Abuja, to rest after years of work.
“I can’t wait to go home to Daura,” he said.
“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. I got what I wanted and will quietly retire to my hometown,” he added.
The President said he remains grateful to Nigerians who voted for him in 2015 and 2019 without any monetary incentive, with some trooping to campaign rallies in different states just to catch a glimpse of him.
He told his audience that his journey was not all smooth, and he was incarcerated for three years after the coup that ousted him from power in August 1984.
Buhari noted that he contested elections three times in 2003, 2007, and 2011 without success.
He said the flaunting of ethnic and religious cards in elections was “rubbish” as the presiding justices at the Supreme Court that squashed his cases in previous elections he contested before 2015, were Northern Muslims from Zaria in Kaduna State, Niger, and Jigawa states.
He highlighted the strengths of democracy as a system of government, particularly in providing opportunities to participate and fostering a sense of belonging among citizens.
“God gave me an incredible opportunity to serve the country. We are all humans; if I have hurt some people along the line of my service to the country, I ask that they pardon me. All those that I have hurt, I ask that they pardon me.
“I think it is a good coincidence for me to say goodbye to you, and thank you for tolerating me for almost eight years,” the President said.
