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LAGOS JUNE 17TH (URHOBOTODAY)-Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina has debunked media report that Buhari was reported to have said at 72 years he was too old to cope with demands of his office.
Describing the media report as far from the truth in a press statement made available to URHOBOTODAY, an online medium, Adesina ascribed Buhari to an old wine which get tastier with age, adding that Buhari at 72 has in quantum the wisdom, the patience, temperance and forbearance that age brings.
He said Buhari is getting better and stronger at 72.
According to him, “As the saying goes, “old wines are tasty” and the President Buhari we have today is a man, like old wine, that has got tastier. At 72, yes, he can’t be called a youth, but he has in quantum the wisdom, the patience, temperance and forbearance that age brings. And all these virtues he has brought to the Presidency, to make a difference in our national life.”
Recalling what happened when the President addressed Nigerian community in South-Africa, Adesina said, “On Monday evening, President Muhammadu Buhari spoke with the Nigerian community at the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa.
“Speaking extempore, because according to him, he wanted to “speak from the heart,” the President urged them to be good ambassadors of Nigeria, a country he went to the war front to keep together.
“Still extolling the virtues of our country, Nigeria, the President, who had served as a military governor of the then North-Eastern State at 33 years old, declared:”I wish I became Head of State when I was a governor. Now at 72, there is a limit to what I can do.”
“The above comments have been reported by some newspapers to mean that the President was saying he was too old to cope with the demands of his office. Far from it.”
Adesina argued that at 72, Buhari had not change as a person, adding that he remains the simple, honest, incorruptible patriot he has always been.
He said because Nigerians earnestly desired change, that was why they voted for him overwhelmingly at the general elections in March, this year, stressing that all the virtues and values of Buhari as a person would be deployed into governance in the weeks and months ahead.
“The President reassured the Nigerian community in South Africa that his Administration will make a positive impact on the country. He will ensure that this happens.
“Insecurity as symbolized by insurgency will be brought to an end, corruption will be fought to a standstill, employment will be created for the teeming army of unemployed, the economy will be revived, and the quality of life of Nigerians will take an upward swing again,” Adesina assured.
He said Nigerian community in South Africa was enthralled as President Buhari spoke with them on Monday, adding that leaving the venue was an effort, as they swarmed round the President, who shook hands with as many of them as he could.
“They took his message well. That is the essence of good wine. It gets better with age. And it is a message for all Nigerians, both at home and in the Diaspora,” Adesina disclosed.