Former President, Muhammadu Buhari, during his administration, left many memorable quotes that sparked national conversations.
Buhari’s tough stance on corruption, as well as his controversial remarks on gender roles and youth, often captured both his vision and the contradictions of his presidency. Below are some of his notable quotes.
1. “If we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria”: Buhari made this quote at the Anti-Corruption Summit, 2016, and it defines his central agenda. As a former military head of state with a reputation for discipline, Buhari rode into office on a wave of anti-corruption sentiment. This quote framed corruption not as a vice but as an existential threat to Nigeria’s survival. It resonated with a public frustrated by years of mismanagement. While some high-profile arrests and asset recoveries occurred, many argue that the anti-corruption war was selective and slow-moving. Still, this quote captured the urgency Buhari sought to bring to governance.
2. “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody”: This was Buhari’s most quoted line, delivered during his swearing-in ceremony after defeating an incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan, on May 29, 2015. It was a bold statement of independence, interpreted as his promise to govern above partisan or sectional interest. It reassured Nigerians weary of political patronage and nepotism. However, over time, critics challenged the sincerity of the statement, pointing to lopsided appointments and regional bias.
3.“My wife belongs in my kitchen, my living room, and the other room”: This quote was made at the Press conference in Germany, 2016, in response to criticism from his wife, Aisha Buhari, who had publicly questioned his leadership and those around him. Delivered in front of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the quote triggered national and international backlash. Feminists, rights groups, and even political allies condemned it as outdated and demeaning.
4. “Technically, we have won the war against Boko Haram”: In a Media interview, December 2015, just months into his presidency, Buhari declared that Boko Haram had been “technically defeated.” At the time, major towns in the North-East had been liberated from insurgent control, but suicide bombings and ambushes continued. Critics called the claim premature and insensitive to ongoing casualties.
5. “Nigerian youths want to sit and do nothing”: This quote sparked the viral #LazyNigerianYouths trend after Buhari, during the Commonwealth Business Forum, London, April 2018, remarked about youth entitlement and joblessness of Nigerian youths.
Many young Nigerians, especially those online, viewed it as dismissive of their struggles in a challenging economic climate. While Buhari may have been addressing concerns over unemployability and skill gaps, the tone was widely perceived as unsympathetic.
6. “You will be able to go to bed knowing you are safe”: In his inaugural speech, 2015, Buhari made this promise, rooted in security and law enforcement reform, which reflected the president’s military background and intent to restore order. However, with increasing reports of violence, farmer-herder clashes, banditry, and police abuses under SARS, many Nigerians felt less safe than ever. The #EndSARS protests of 2020 revealed the gap between this vision and the lived reality of many citizens. Buhari’s failure to stem violence or reform security agencies casts a shadow over this hopeful commitment.
