President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed that the goodwill he has been enjoying from the masses remains the major factor that keeps him in politics.
The President spoke in a documentary, The Human Side of President Buhari, put together my his media team and was aired on the Nigerian Television Authority on Sunday.
The central theme of the documentary is to provide the human side of Buhari that is largely unknown to Nigerians.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, state governors, ministers, presidential aides and leaders of the All Progressives Congress who spoke portrayed the President as a man of impeccable integrity, discipline and humour.
The President himself said his objective was to provide transparent government for Nigerians.
He said, “I pray five times a day thanking God that allows people to understand and believe me.
“This goodwill that I enjoy from the masses is what is keeping me in politics.
“And of course, my central objective is to provide transparency and accountable government.”
He said he had advised his children to study hard in other to be able to be independent because he would not steal the country’s money.
Osinbajo said Buhari had turned almost 360 degrees from being a military dictator to being a real democrat.
He said the President was concerned about the constitution’s position before taking any action.
The Vice-President said, “He believes in the competence of those who work around him.”
Osinbajo added, “He gives you things to do, and leaves you strictly to do those things. No interference at all, once he has confidence in you….And he cracks those jokes, and manages to still keep a straight face,” Osinbajo said.
The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, said he had had reason to complain to Buhari that he had become “excessively democratic.”
The governor said with the traits he had seen in the President, “I will remain with him till the end.”
The Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, also described the President as a true democrat.
He cited examples of the Council of State’s meetings where he said Buhari always allow everybody to speak.
“He loves Nigeria and love to see that things are done appropriately,” he said.
He added, “I wish I had his patience. He would listen to everybody, and then take a decision. He is a reformed democrat.”
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said the President gave him a mandate to ensure the completion and repair of the Ilorin-Mokwa-Jebba Road and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
“He asked me to advise him on how he can quickly complete the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. He also said the Second Niger Bridge is his priority,” he said.
The Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, noted that Buhari was in the habit of formally handing over to his deputy before embarking on medical vacations.
“How more democratic can he be? I know some governors who will hand over to SA or nobody,” he said.
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Okechukwu Enelamah, said Buhari respected the rule of law in fight against corruption, saying that is why the campaign appears slow.
