Nigerians are extremely difficult to govern - Buhari

After leading Nigerians for eight years, former President Muhammadu Buhari has come to the conclusion that Nigerians are extremely difficult to govern. 

Buhari aired this view about Nigerians in his first interview since he left office on May 29, 2023.

In the interview with the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), the former President said, Nigerians are a difficult bunch to manage because they think they should be the ones in charge.

Buhari said he had the opportunity to serve his country and he did his best for the country.

“God gave me the opportunity to serve my country, but I did my best. But whether my best was good enough, I leave for people to judge.

“Nigerians are extremely difficult. People know their rights. They think they should be there, not you.

“So, they monitor virtually every step. And you have to struggle day and night to ensure that you are competent enough,” Buhari said.

The ex-president said if he had the chance to govern Nigeria again, he wouldn’t do anything differently under Nigeria’s current system.

Asked why he endorsed the controversial naira redesign policy in the twilight of his administration, Buhari said he did so to protect his integrity and to show Nigerians that there was no shortcut to success. 

“Whether Nigerians believe it or not, we are an underdeveloped country. And in that sort of situation, there’s materialism and sometimes ruthlessly they didn’t care how they made the money.

“I still feel that the only way I could deprive these people was just to make sure that my integrity became unquestionable… I think as a developing country, we still have a long way to go.

He added, “The motivation (for the policy) was to try and make Nigerians believe that there is no shortcut to successful leadership.”