Victor Ezeja
AdminFormer President Muhammadu Buhari has maintained that he did his best in the eight years that he governed Nigeria, adding that his approval of the Naira redesign policy formulated by the Godwin Emefiele-led Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was to ensure that his “integrity became unquestionable”.
Buhari, while featuring in an interview with the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) his first with any media organization since leaving office on May 29, 2023, said he endorsed the controversial naira redesign policy in the twilight of his administration to protect his own integrity and to show Nigerians there was no shortcut to success.
Prime Business Africa recalls that the central bank with the backing of the then president, announced its plans to redesign and circulate a new series of three banknotes out of the existing eight, in October 2022. The redesigned N200, N500, and N1000 notes were due for circulation on December 15, 2022; while the pre-existing notes would remain legal tender until January 31, 2023.
However, Buhari unveiled the redesigned naira notes on November 23, which was earlier than scheduled. The move triggered nationwide chaos as cash dried up from banks’ ATMs before and during the general elections.
While explaining that the move was imperative to check those who had stashed ill-gotten money, the former president said in the interview: “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,” he said.
“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. The motivation (for the policy) was to try and make Nigerians believe that there is no shortcut to successful leadership.”
Buhari went on to state that Nigerians are a difficult bunch to manage because “they think they should be” in charge “not you”.
According to him, “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,” said the immediate past president.
When asked about the integrity of many of the people surrounding him during his administration, Buhari said “it is their problem “, querying what the persons who criticized him fiercely had done at their individual levels to fight corruption.
According to him, he allowed people to do their jobs when he assigned tasks, stressing that if he was given the same chance he would not do anything differently under Nigeria’s current system.
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