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President Muhammadu Buhari declared, yesterday, that his age will not affect his job as president of Nigeria.

He said that at 72 he has in quantum, the wisdom, the patience, the temperance and forbearance that age brings and has brought all these virtues to the presidency to make a difference in our national life.

The president said this, yesterday, in Abuja, in response to reports quoting him as saying while addressing the Nigerian community in Johannesburg, South Africa, that his age will limit his performance.

A statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, said the president’s comments in South Africa were totally taken out of context to mean that he was too old for the demands of the office.

The Presidency spoke as Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State urged Nigerians not to politicize the issue, saying that the time for political campaigns was well past. He rather asked Nigerians to pray for the President for him to have the grace to execute the demands of his office.

The governor’s assertion came as a fringe group in the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, which called itself the PDP Media Watchdogs demanded the President’s resignation upon comments made in South Africa on Monday night.

The PDP Media Watchdogs was immediately disowned by the mainstream PDP which claimed ignorance of the group, saying that the language of the group was strange to the party’s posture, which is to only engage in healthy opposition to the administration. The PDP nevertheless, said that the PDP Media Watchdogs may have been instigated by the kind of bitter language used by the All Progressives Congress, APC, against former President Goodluck Jonathan while he was in power.

The ruling APC equally chided the PDP Media Watchdogs, describing their call as the product of deliberate mischief and a result of their members’ poor understanding of the English language.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, clarifying remarks given by the President to the Nigerian community in Johannesburg in a statement titled- “Like Good Wine, President Buhari Gets Better With Age”, said:

“On Monday evening, President Muhammadu Buhari spoke with the Nigerian community at the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa.

“Speaking extempore, because according to him, he wanted to “speak from the heart,” the President urged them to be good ambassadors of Nigeria, a country he went to the war front to keep together.

“Still extolling the virtues of our country, Nigeria, the President, who had served as a military governor of the then North-Eastern State at 33 years old, declared: ”I wish I became Head of State when I was a governor. Now at 72, there is a limit to what I can do.”

“The above comments have been reported by some newspapers to mean that the President was saying he was too old to cope with the demands of his office. Far from it.

“As the saying goes, “old wines are tasty” and the President Buhari we have today is a man, like old wine, that has got tastier. At 72, yes, he can’t be called a youth, but he has in quantum the wisdom, the patience, temperance and forbearance that age brings. And all these virtues he has brought to the Presidency, to make a difference in our national life.

“The President assured the Nigerian community in South Africa that his administration will make a positive impact on the country.

“Insecurity, as symbolized by insurgency, will be brought to an end, corruption will be fought to a standstill, employment will be created for the teeming army of unemployed, the economy will be revived, and the quality of life of Nigerians will take an upward swing again. These will not come by a sudden flight, but they will happen in the life of this administration.

“At 72, the Buhari persona has not changed. He remains the simple, honest, incorruptible patriot he has always been and because Nigerians earnestly desired change, that was why they voted for him overwhelmingly at the general elections in March, this year. All the virtues and values of the Buhari persona will be deployed into governance in the weeks and months ahead.

“The Nigerian community in South Africa was enthralled as President Buhari spoke with them on Monday. In fact, leaving the venue was an effort, as they swarmed around the President, who shook hands with as many of them as he could.

“They took his message well. That is the essence of good wine. It gets better with age. And it is a message for all Nigerians, both at home and in the Diaspora.”