Former President Muhammadu Buhari has said Nigerians are over-impressed by materialism and riches.
In an interview aired on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) program on Monday night, Buhari asserted that Nigerians do not care how someone makes money.
The former president stated that Nigerians get so impressed by material things and sometimes ruthlessly don’t care how a politician or anyone makes money.
Buhari asserted that this made it difficult for him to garner the support of many influential persons in 2003, 2007, and 2011, when he ran for the presidency and lost.
He stated: “Nigeria, believe it or not, we’re an underdeveloped country. We get so impressed by our material things and sometimes ruthlessly don’t care how you make money…you should be rich, have a fantastic house, flashy cars, and go overseas regularly.”
Reminiscing on his three unsuccessful presidential attempts, Buhari said, “I found myself struggling to gain support because Nigerians seem to be impressed more by material success rather than be honoured by the less privileged. We’re a fantastic initiative.”
Speaking further, the former president said although he ran for the Presidency thrice and finally won in 2015, he did not quite achieve all he had set out to do within his tenure.