Buhari On Third Term: The Man Who Tried It Did Not End Very Well

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday reiterated that he had no plan to extend his tenure.

He spoke during a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, at the sideline of the ongoing 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda.

The Prime Minister had asked if President Buhari would run for office in 2023, to which the latter responded: “Another term for me? No!

“The first person who tried it didn’t end very well.”

His response elicited laughter in the room.

Presidential spokesman Femi Adesina, made this known in a dispatch from Kigali. He added that the President told Johnson that the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyers have full access to him.

He denied Kanu’s lawyers’ claim that they are sometimes denied private access to him.

President Buhari said the detained separatist has every opportunity under the law “to justify all the uncomplimentary things he had been saying against Nigeria in Britain”.

“He felt very safe in Britain and said awful things against Nigeria.

“We eventually got him when he stepped out of the United Kingdom and we sent him to court.

“Let him defend all that he has said there. His lawyers have access to him.

“Remember he jumped bail before. How are we sure he won’t do it again if he’s admitted to bail?”

President Buhari reiterated his resolve to respect the maximum term limit in the Constitution.

On the keenness expressed by Johnson to help Nigeria on security, the President said helping to stabilise Libya could be an initial good step.

According to him, the fall of Muammar Gadaffi after 42 years in power unleashed his armed guards on countries in the Sahel.

“They are causing havoc everywhere, as the only thing they know how to do is to shoot,” he said.

On Boko Haram insurgency, President Buhari said there was serious effort to educate the people to know they cannot kill innocent people and say Allah Akbar (God is Great).

“God is justice. You can’t take innocent souls and ascribe it to God. The education process is working. The people now understand Boko Haram as anti-God and not about religion.”

Johnson described the relationship between the countries as a “very strong attachment”.

“I just want to be sure that we are doing enough. It’s a massive partnership for us, and we need to capitalise on it,” he said.