- Nigeria will continue whether or not we are here- Buhari
BBC said Buhari was rambling after he said he has never been so sick in his entire life. Here is the speech in context:
The president rambled about self medication, laboratories, transfusions, new medical technology, trusting the doctors and ourselves and other stuffs:
Buhari:
All I will need is to do further follow ups within some weeks.
“Rather than sending delegations to Abuja to welcome me, may I appeal to our people to continue to pray for the country’s unity, progress and prosperity. I thank you very much and may God bless our country.
“There is a remarkable difference between what happened now and what happened last year.
“When it was getting to Christmas, I told the Vice President, I know he has got a church therefore he has to go home. I said Ok let us do it turn by turn, you go for Christmas and the New Year and when you come back I will go. He said yes. I suspected he didn’t go home, when he came back. I said ok it will be my turn in some months time. This time around I said we better do the same.
“I didn’t know he had the same principles, but for me I feel that I was a little more tired than I probably was in last eighteen months. Whatever the case, I am very grateful that Nigerians are appreciative of what all of us are doing as a group. I am very pleased with them.
“I am cost conscious and I think the VP knows about the expenditure. So please if you were clever enough reroute your way, stay on your official duties either from US back to Nigeria.
It was a battle please don’t be too upset
“I am very conscious of the economy. I have rested as much as humanly possible, I have received I think the best of treatment I could receive. I couldn’t recall being so sick since I was a young man, including the military with its ups and downs. I found out that technology is going so fast that if you have a lot of confidence you better keep it because you need it.
“Blood transfusions, going to the laboratories, and so on and so forth, but I am very pleased that we, when I say we, I mean the government and the people all over are trying to keep up with technology.
“I couldn’t recall when last I had blood transfusion. I couldn’t recall honestly, I can say in my seventy years.
I couldn’t remember this drug that Nigerians take so much, very common.
“I think one of our terrible things is self drug administration. We have to trust our doctors more and trust ourselves more.
“Having said that I am pleased that I am back, I am pleased that the Vice President enjoyed this break and he has to do much more this time around. Youth and intellect is squarely behind him, age and purely military experience is behind me.
“Continue to do the work, Nigeria will continue whether we are here or not and my single most important advise is take education of everybody under your responsibility very seriously, your children our relatives, our constituencies, education, education education. We must do more on education. I deliberately came back towards the weekend, so that the Vice President will continue and I will continue to rest. Thank You very much.”
While making his remarks on behalf of the Federal Executive Council, at the meeting, Vice President Osinbajo thanked the president for the confidence reposed in him of acting on his behalf.
He said it was a day of joy for him and the cabinet members receiving the president back to the country “hale and hearty”.
He said: “It is a day of joy not only for us but for the whole country, Africa and the World. Your arrival has vindicated our position that you will return safely.
“Mr president, again on behalf of FEC, we welcome you back home. We are very grateful to God that you are back home hale and hearty. Mr president, I must say that personally, this has been a very interesting few days for me.”
Osinbajo thanked President for respecting the constitution and enthrusting to him before traveling, noting that it was a tough job, “going around in borrowed robes”
He said: “First, I must say that I want to thank you very much for the confidence reposed in me by handing over the realm of govt to me in the capacity of acting president.
“I think more important is that you demonstrated the belief in our system which is even more important than anything else.
“The constitution which we all swore to is important because it outlines the code of conduct. I want to say not only am I, but I am sure the entire nation is grateful to you.
“For me, I must say that it has been an interesting period going around the nation maybe because the roads are bad. I must say I had a very interesting and challenging time but above all, the president gave us the good support”, he said.