At 72 there is limit to what I can do -President Buhari

        

President Muhammadu Buhari has admitted that his age would limit his performance as the President of the country.

Buhari, who was   a military governor at 33 and Head of State   at the age of 40, said he would have loved being a President when he was at a younger age . He will be 73 on December 17, 2015.

The President spoke with Nigerians resident in South Africa on Monday after taking part in the 25th assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union   in Johannesburg.

According to Punch he said: “I wish I became Head of State when I was a governor, just a few years as a young man. Now at 72, there is a limit to what I can do.”

Despite his advancement in age however, Buhari gave assurance that his administration would make a difference. Buhari explained that   what brought him to his current position was his love for the country.

He recalled that he was in the war front for 30 months during the civil war, adding that like any other Nigerian, he lost relatives and loyal people to the war. Buhari said considering the fact that   two million Nigerians died during the war, nobody should come forward to talk about a breakup of the country. 

He stressed that Nigeria would remain one country since God had given him another opportunity to reorganise its affairs. The President promised   that his administration would “kill” corruption before it wrecks the nation.

He added that the All Progressives Congress government which he leads was determined to secure the country and improve its economy. “Our government is determined to secure the country, manage the economy, create employment and fight corruption. Some articulate writers have said if we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria. This APC administration intends to kill corruption in Nigeria. We will do our best, I assure you,” Buhari stated.

The President said he was at a time afraid that Nigeria might become a nation like Somalia which “self-centered elite” had succeeded in turning to a war zone in the last 20 years. He said Nigerians were more vulnerable because the country has many nationalities who were merged in 1914 in spite of their religious and cultural differences.

Buhari stated that only crazy people whom, according to him, are not in short supply, would talk of dividing the country. He said there was no big deal in the claims by those who accused him of jailing them because he was also jailed for over three years. 

“After being in the military for 25 years, and getting to the highest rank and becoming Head of State and under unusual circumstances, as Head of State, I went straight to detention for three-and-a-half years. So, those who accuse me of locking them up, I too have been locked up; so what?” he declared.