Nigeria’s departing President Buhari defends legacy

ABUJA: Nigeria´s President Muhammadu Buhari defended his political record on Sunday, the day before he steps down, saying he leaves the country in a better state than when he took power in 2015. On Monday, he will hand over the reins of Africa´s most populous nation to the new head of state, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was elected in February despite the opposition claiming massive electoral fraud. “I am confident that I am leaving office with Nigeria better in 2023 than in 2015,” the 80-year-old Buhari said in a televised address.

“Our democracy is getting better and more entrenched with each election,” he added, citing “considerable results in the battle to achieve a safe and secure environment for all Nigerians. “Our battle to ensure that all Nigerians live in a safe and secure environment has achieved considerable results.” But the administration of 71-year-old Tinubu inherits a 14-year-old jihadist insurgency in the northeast, which has resulted in some 40,000 deaths with two million more displaced.