Lazy Nigerian youths: Remembering 10 controversial things Buhari said as Nigeria’s 15th president

In the eight years of Muhammadu Buhari’s presidency, Nigeria witnessed a significant number of highly debatable comments from the former president, particularly during his first term in office. From limiting his wife’s role in his government to the ‘kitchen and other rooms,’ to taking a swipe at young Nigerians at a global event, Buhari’s eight-year rule was marked by a series of contentious comments which sparked outrage from many Nigerians.

While it is important to note that these statements may not represent the entirety of Buhari’s views or official positions, and his intentions were often later clarified by his media team, they played a role in shaping public discourse and sparking discussions online. We take a look at 20 controversial statements made by Buhari that created a buzz on social media.

Lazy Nigerian youths:
In April 2018, during a business conference in London, Muhammadu Buhari described Nigerian youths as lazy people who want everything for free.

“More than 60 percent of the population is below 30, a lot of them haven’t been to school and they are claiming that Nigeria is an oil-producing country, therefore, they should sit and do nothing and get housing, healthcare, education free,” Buhari said.

The comment sparked nationwide outrage and online protests under several campaign tags, including ‘LazyNigerianYouth.’ It also became a social media parlance, and several skit makers used it in skits.

Nigerians in diaspora should not be granted asylum:

Before Buhari’s ‘lazy Nigerian youth’ comment, he portrayed Nigerians in a negative light to the international community. In February 2016, during an interview with UK Telegraph, Buhari made a controversial statement that Nigerians in the diaspora are predisposed to criminality and should not be granted asylum.

His comment on Nigerians came amidst data that shows Nigerians as one of the most educated immigrants in the UK. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 64% of Nigerian immigrants in the UK have some form of qualification.

95% and 5%:

“The constituents, for example, that gave me 97% cannot, in all honesty, be treated on some issues with constituencies that gave me 5%,” Buhari said in July 2015 during a question and answer session at the United States Institute of Peace.

This statement was widely interpreted as meaning that Buhari would favor the regions that voted for him in the 2015 election over the regions, particularly the Southeast, that did not. It was also seen as a sign of Buhari’s divisiveness and his willingness to exploit ethnic and religious tensions in Nigeria. Two years later, in 2017, the clamor for secession led by now incarcerated Nnamdi Kanu intensified in the region.

Prioritise the North over other regions in my administration:

A controversial revelation by Jim Yong Kim, former President of the World Bank in 2017, caused ripples across Nigerian social media.

Kim alleged that Buhari asked the World Bank to focus on the Northern part of the country in their developmental plan.

“In my very first meeting with President Buhari, he said specifically that he would like us to shift our focus to the northern regions of Nigeria, and we’ve done that,” Kim said during a World Bank-IMF annual meeting in Washington, D.C. in 2017.

While Kim’s claim could not be independently verified by Neusroom, many Nigerians accused Buhari of being sectional.

Dot in a circle:

Another controversial comment made by the outgoing President that many believe was targeted at the Igbos was the ‘dot in a circle’ statement on June 10, 2021, during a live interview on Arise TV.

He said, “That IPOB is just like a dot in a circle. Even if they want to exit, they will 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.

“In any case, we say we’ll talk to them in the language that they understand. We’ll organize the police and the military to pursue them.”

Outrage sprang across social media, and the ‘Dot’ logo and T-shirt became prevalent. Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who represents the Abia South Senatorial District at the Senate, was spotted wearing ‘The Dot Nation’ T-shirt at an event in solidarity with his tribe.

My wife belongs to the kitchen:

In October 2016, Muhammadu Buhari, in response to an earlier interview his wife, Aisha Buhari, granted to BBC News, made a controversial statement about her, which many Nigerians believed reflected the discrimination women face in the country.

He said, “I don’t know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room.”

In the interview Aisha granted, she had alleged that Buhari did not know some of the officials his administration had appointed.

She said, “The President does not know 45 out of 50, for example, of the people he appointed, and I don’t know them either, despite being his wife of 27 years.

“Some people are sitting down in their homes folding their arms, only for them to be called to come and head an agency or a ministerial position.”

Corruption is fighting back:

Buhari, a former Army general with a perceived disdain for corruption and corrupt politicians, rode on his promise to fight corruption to defeat the then-ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

A year into his administration, in 2016, as some Nigerians felt that there had not been a major reduction in corrupt practices, Buhari was quoted as saying that “corruption is fighting back vigorously,” during a meeting with former American Secretary of State, John Kerry in 2016.

Top to bottom:

In a viral video in January 2019 during a campaign in Ibadan, as Buhari was seeking re-election, he asked his supporters to vote for the APC from top to bottom. In 2023, as the purported ‘Obident movement’ gained support and Peter Obi of the Labour Party became a major contender in the 2023 general election, ‘top to bottom’ became a social media parlance. It is believed that many Nigerians voted for the party, particularly in the Presidential election and National Assembly, as many relatively unknown candidates in the Labour Party won seats in both the Senate and the House of Assembly.

Go back to the Farm:

Agriculture was one of the ways Buhari attempted to diversify the Nigerian economy. However, his emphasis on Nigerians returning to farming gave the impression that more Nigerians should get involved in agriculture to achieve food sustainability.

In 2022, during an interview aired by Channels Television, Buhari disputed alarming economic figures pointed out by Seun Okinbaloye and Maupe Ogun-Yusuf and insisted that Nigerians should go back to the farm.

He said, “Well, I am not sure how correct your calculations are,” the president said, “but all I know is that we have to allow people to have access to the farm. We just have to go back to the land.”

According to 2022 data, 70% of Nigerian households are involved in crop farming, while about 41 percent own or raise livestock. This contrasts with some countries like China.

I will return to my cows:

On several occasions, Buhari made references to returning to Daura, his hometown in Katsina State, to care for his cattle.

“I have never abandoned my farm, and I still have a number of cattle. When I leave, I will go to my farm daily and try to keep myself busy,” he said in an interview in 2021.

In 2017, Buhari shared pictures of his cows in Daura during a two-day visit.
“I’m spending a few days at home in Daura before I travel to France for the One Planet Summit. Today I paid a visit to my farm. I grow fruits and vegetables and keep cattle.”

Before May 29, Buhari’s continued mention of going back to Daura, especially during his second term in office, gave the impression that he was eager to leave office.

“I am looking forward to tomorrow to fly to my base and go back to my cows and sheep, which are much easier to control than fellow Nigerians,” he said at the presidential dinner in Abuja held on May 28, 2023.