President Muhammadu Buhari, Friday night, described the claim that he was dead, and that one Jibril Aminu from Sudan was the one occupying the Presidential Villa, Aso Rock as a joke that was not funny.

Buhari spoke in a documentary film which premiered at a private dinner organised by his family and associates to celebrate his 80th birthday tagged ‘Celebrating a Patriot, a Leader, an Elder Statesman’.

The documentary, produced and directed by US based filmmaker, Ose Oyemadan, showcased the President’s early life, school days, military career, rise to the position of Head of State after the 1984 coup and imprisonment, release, PTF days and return to democracy during which he contested elections in 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 when he won, and his re-election in 2019.

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The narrative was driven by the President and supported with deep and authoritative insights by his nephew, Alhaji Mamman Daura, classmate, Senator Abba Ali, close family members, friends, aides and political associates, including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, FCT Minister of State, Ramatu Aliyu, spokesman, Femi Adesina, former running mate in the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, Special Envoy to Chad, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, State Chief of Protocol, Lawal Kazaure, SGF, Boss Mustapha, Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gamvari and the publisher/biographer, John Paden

Buhari said some Nigerians have a way of creating humor to feast on something they do not understand, adding that the rumor that he was dead and one Jubril from Sudan was the one in the Presidential Villa was the work of some mischief makers to demonstrate their cheekiness.

Asked by the interviewer if he heard about the crazy rumor a while back that he was not Buhari, he replied, smiling, “Yes! People said I am somebody from Sudan. I didn’t bother with the name. Nigerians have mischievous ways of explaining themselves.”

Recall that in 2017, some persons, including leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, took to the social media space to declare that Buhari died from his undisclosed sickness, his burial arranged and effected in Saudi Arabia and a clone, Jubril Aminu (double body) stepped in to play his role and live his life as President of Nigeria.

It all sounded ludicrous that some highly educated and enlightened Nigerians fell for the narrative which was then brazenly driven by Kanu and elements in some quarters.

Funny

Also asked whether he finds such things funny, the President said: “No. It’ is not funny because those who made those statements, just want to be cheeky. They want to distract attention from the main issue.

“Our main issue is to do infrastructure, make people aware that they need to work hard to live well. They just want to enjoy life without earning the respect of their community and so on.”

He said he will not miss Aso Rock much because he is being harassed and that his efforts to make the country better are not good enough and appreciated by some people.

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Asked what he will miss about the Presidency when he leaves, Buhari said: “I wonder if I am going to miss much. I think I’m being harassed. I believe I’m trying my best but still my best is not good enough. Because there are people around that think that they can intimidate me to get what they want instead of going through certain systems to earn whatever they want to earn. And there are some people who want to be clever by half.”

Buhari revealed that he lost two of his children born by his late wife to sickle cell anemia and that was why when he wanted to remarry, he insisted the second wife must be AA genotype, so that his children will not inherit the S from his AS genotype.