“It will be time to celebrate when I see joy in the faces and pockets of Nigerians."
Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s former president and military head of state, died on July 13 at a hospital in London.
He left behind a rich, multi-faceted legacy marked by a steadfast commitment to discipline and a firm anti-corruption stance.
While many of his utterances sparked widespread debate and some elicited outrage, with at least one removed by X (formerly Twitter), they remain etched in the minds of average Nigerians.
Here are 15 major quotes spanning his time as head of state (1983–1985) to his presidency (2015–2023) and beyond, capturing the essence of his life and leadership.
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QUOTE: “This generation of Nigerians, and indeed future generations, have no country other than Nigeria. We shall remain here and salvage it together.”
WHEN HE SAID IT: His first speech as Nigeria’s military head of state in December 1983.
QUOTE: “I will continue to show openly and inside me the total commitment to the Sharia movement that is sweeping all over Nigeria. God willing, we will not stop the agitation for the total implementation of the Sharia in the country.”
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WHEN HE SAID IT: At a seminar organised by the Supreme Council of Sharia in August 2001.
QUOTE: “Godless people, marauding murderers in communities and kidnappers.”
WHEN HE SAID IT: Buhari described Boko Haram insurgents during his 2011 campaign.
QUOTE: “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody.”
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WHEN HE SAID IT: At his inaugural speech as president on May 29, 2015, in Eagle Square, Abuja.
QUOTE: “On corruption, there will be no confusion as to where I stand. Corruption will have no place, and the corrupt will not be appointed into my administration.”
WHEN HE SAID IT: During his 2015 presidential campaign.
QUOTE: “…IPOB is just like a dot in a circle. Even if they want to exit, they’ll have no access to anywhere. And the way they are spread all over the country, having businesses and properties… I don’t think IPOB knows what they are talking about.”
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WHEN HE SAID IT: In 2021, during an interview with Arise TV.
QUOTE: “A lot of people hoped that I died during my ill health. Some even reached out to the Vice-President to consider them to be his deputy because they assumed I was dead.”
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WHEN HE SAID IT: December 2, 2018, while addressing rumours about his health in Poland.
QUOTE: “We have a very young population, and our population is estimated conservatively to be 180 million. About 60 percent of the population is below the age of 30. A lot of them have not been to school, and they are claiming that Nigeria has been an oil-producing country, and therefore they should sit and do nothing and get housing, healthcare and education free.”
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WHEN HE SAID IT: At the Commonwealth Business Forum in Westminster, London, in 2018. The statement sparked the “Lazy Nigerian youths” trend.
QUOTE: “Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.”
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WHEN HE SAID IT: He posted it as a tweet on June 1, 2021. The tweet was removed by X (formerly Twitter).
QUOTE: “Corruption is a cancer which must be fought with all the weapons at our disposal. It corrodes the very fabric of government and destroys society.”
WHEN HE SAID IT: Buhari’s speech during Nigeria’s 56th Independence Day celebration.
QUOTE: “I think, technically, we have won the war because people are going back into their neighbourhoods. Boko Haram as an organised fighting force – I assure you that we have dealt with them.”
WHEN HE SAID IT: He spoke with the BBC in December 2015.
QUOTE: “I don’t know which party my wife belongs to, but my wife belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room.”
WHEN HE SAID IT: At a press conference in Germany in October 2016.
QUOTE: “Whoever thought that there has been some form of injustice on him, we are all humans, there is no doubt I hurt some people, and I wish they would pardon me, and those who think that I have hurt them, please pardon me.”
WHEN HE SAID IT: At the banquet hall of the presidential villa on April 21, 2023.
QUOTE: “It will be time to celebrate when I see joy in the faces and pockets of Nigerians.”
WHEN HE SAID IT: At the presentation of a book on his mid-term scorecard on November 16, 2017.
QUOTE: “As I retire home to Daura, Katsina state, I feel fulfilled that we have started the Nigerian rebirth by taking the initial critical steps, and I am convinced the incoming administration will quicken the pace.”
WHEN HE SAID IT: His farewell speech on May 28, 2023, at the State House, Abuja.
