President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the claims that he is one Jubril from Sudan is the concoction of some Nigerians who wish to distract his administration from serious issues.
Buhari stated this in a documentary, ‘Celebrating a Patriot, a Leader, an Elder Statesman’, which was shown on Friday night at a private dinner in Abuja to celebrate his 80th birthday.
The President was responding to a popular conspiracy theory that began in 2018 that he had died and was being impersonated by one Jubril from Sudan.
The rumour became widespread when Buhari had just returned from the United Kingdom after spending some months away treating an unknown ailment.
In the documentary, Buhari attributed the rumour to the work of mischief makers whom he said were simply being “cheeky.”
On whether he found the claims funny, the President said he didn’t, adding that it was a ploy to distract him from “the main issues.”
“No. It’s not funny because those who made those statement, they 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 (while) earning the respect of their community and so on,” the President replied.
Asked what he will miss about the Presidency when he leaves office in 2023, Buhari said he won’t miss much, claiming that he is being harassed by some people who think they can intimidate him. He also said that he is trying his best but it seems his best isn’t enough.
“I wonder if I will miss much. I think I’m being harassed, I believe myself because I am trying my best but it seems my best is not good enough because there are people around that think they can intimidate the authorities to get what they want instead of going through established systems to go and earn whatever they want to earn,” Buhari said.