Former President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigerians are over-impressed by materialism.
He said 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.
“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 the money…you should be rich, have a fantastic house, flashy cars, going overseas regularly,” Buhari said in a retrospective interview aired on the Nigeria Television Authority late Monday.
Reminiscing his three unsuccessful attempts at the presidency, he said “I found myself struggling to gain support because Nigerians seem to be impressed more by material success rather than be honored by the less privileged, we’re a fantastic initiative.”
Buhari 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.