By Emmanuel Nduka
The Nigerian Government has revealed why President Muhammadu Buhari refused to attend the late Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru’s burial held last weekend.
According to Presidential Spokesman, Garba Shehu, Buhari did not attend the high profile burial because he did not want to cause traffic gridlock on the Abuja road.
Garba who spoke in an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday, said: “I was in Europe myself on assignment, and I have not spoken to the president on this but let me give you just one example: The president is somebody who is so concerned about the safety and wellbeing of ordinary Nigerians on the streets.
“Do you know why he now prays his Jumaat in the State House and doesn’t go to the national mosque? Because he doesn’t like this idea of closing roads, security men molesting people on the road for the president to have the right of way.
“These are small things for many people, but they are important for President Muhammadu Buhari. So, it is a mourning situation, and the president didn’t want to take away attention from that.”
It would be recalled that Buhari had failed to attend the funeral of Attahiru and six other senior military officers who died in a plane crash in Kaduna last Friday.
Buhari’s representative, Bashir Magashi, Nigeria’s Defence Minister, was guilty of grammatical blunders in his “heartless felt condolence” message.
