Thank God with Buhari as president — IBB

Former military President retired General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida yesterday said Nigerians would have to thank the Almighty God for having retired General Muhammadu Buhari as the next president of the country owing to his vast experience.

Babangida, in an interview with the VOA Hausa service said the president-elect is not going to find it difficult to manage the country’s challenges since he has been there before.

He said: “We have to show gratitude to Nigerians for their resilience to do this without crisis. We must thank Almighty God because Buhari had been there before; he is not novice to the office. I believe he knows what to do.

“Then we have thank God that General Muhammadu Buhari is our next president and my most gratitude is to the outgoing president, because he has shown how strong a man he is. I don’t think what he did was ever done in Africa. So by that, we also have to commend that,” he said.

He said to the best of his knowledge, the outgoing president was the first in Nigeria to accept defeat and even called the winner for congratulation.

Asked how his relationship with Buhari is going to be now, Babangida responded: “I have been saying it, Buhari is a friend. We worked together and both of us know the dignity and importance of this country. Therefore, Buhari and I would continue to work together towards the betterment of Nigeria.”