The umbrella body of the Yoruba self-determination group known as Ilana Omo Oodua said may President Muhammadu Buhari’s life be run the way he has run Nigeria.
The group stated this in its birthday greetings to the President who clocks 79 today.
The group led by 86-year-old Professor of History, Banji Akintoye, also demanded a referendum to discuss the corporate co-existence of the Nigerian nation.
Akintoye’s spokesman, Maxwell Adeleye, said this is the demand of the group to Buhari at 79.
He said, “We at Ilana Omo Oodua wish President Muhammadu Buhari what he has done for the Nigerian people. May his life be run the way he has run Nigeria. We wish him what he has done for the Yoruba people in Nigeria.
On the corporate co-existence of the Nigerian nation, Adeleye said:
“He (Buhari) should allow us to conduct a referendum so that we can determine our sovereignty so that we can determine if we want to still remain in Nigeria or not. That is our demand from him at 79. At 79, he is alive because of the grace of God and he is enjoying the grace of God.”
President Muhammadu Buhari is currently in Istanbul, the commercial capital of Turkey, to attend the third Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit, hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Republic of Turkey.
He, however, got a surprise birthday celebration from his delegation to Istanbul led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama.
As he stepped out of his suite moving to the meeting room, President Buhari met a surprise lineup of the Nigerian delegation with a cake decorated in Nigeria’s national colors.
The group broke into a chorus, as they began chanting “Happy Birthday, Mr President.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs who spoke on behalf of the delegation and the Ambassador of Nigeria to Turkey, Ismail Abba, congratulated the President on the good work he is doing for the country and wished him a happy birthday, many healthy years ahead and the energy to give his best to the nation.
Speaking at the event, President Buhari said he will put in his best for Nigeria until the last day when, in 2023, he hands over to a successor.
“I thought that being away from Abuja I will escape these things. The Guards Brigade had written to tell me what they wanted to do on this day. Now here you are doing this far away from home.
“I look forward to the year 2023 when I finish, to go home to take charge of my farm. Between now and that time, I will do the best that is possible to advance the interest of the nation and its people, and carry out my duties as prescribed by the Constitution,” he said.
