The 788-kilometer trekker for Buhari claims that poverty is killing him.
Abubakar Duduwalle, the man who trekked from Yola to Abuja in celebration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory during the 2015 general elections, revealed that his life has become hell in the last few years.
Duduwalle who spoke on Thursday said he didn’t find fulfillment in the last 7 and half years of Buhari, adding that things have gone from bad to worse for him.
The theYola-based Nigerian who said he only had a secondary school certificate started trekking from Yola to Abuja in April 2015, a distance of over 788 kilometers, and arrived in May.
He said he did the trekking to show his happiness at Buhari’s victory…………………………..CONTINUE READING
But speaking to our correspondent on Thursday on phone from Yola, Adamawa State, he said, “Right now I’m facing a lot of challenges because I supported Buhari. Even the house I’m renting, I’m unable to pay for the rent, my things have been thrown out by my landlord. My kids have been out of school for a year plus. To feed is even an issue.
“I must say I’m at the most critical stage of my life right now. My condition is like this because those in power were supposed to assist but they didn’t, not only Buhari. Most of those close to me are members of the PDP, even my present governor. Anywhere I go I’m called ‘Buhari’s son’. No one wants to help me.
“I’m urging Buhari and his people to assist me in my condition.”
According to Duduwalle, he did not get to meet Buhari in 2015 when he got to Abuja, but he received the President’s call in Gombe while trekking back to Abuja.
He said Buhari called to wish him a safe journey.
“On arriving in Abuja, I was told he had gone to the UK, but Goodluck Jonathan allowed me to enter the convocation ground where the swearing-in of Buhari was to take place.
“Later that night, Buhari flew into the country for his swearing-in as the new president, but I could still not get to see him.
“I had some cash on me and booked a flight and flew back to Adamawa State,” he stated.
Explaining why he had to trek such a long distance for Buhari after his victory in 2015, he said, it started in 2013 when the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) government in his state arrested and detained him for pasting Buhari’s posters.
Buhari heard about it and sent his lawyer, Mike Ahamba, and the present Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to Yola to get him out of police custody.
The case was then transferred from Adamawa to Abuja, and he claimed Buhari sent a private jet to bring him from Yola to appear in the court in Abuja.
“After the court session, there was noYola bound flight that day, so, Buhari ordered that I should be taken to Nicon Hotel. In the morning, I was given a ticket to fly to Yola.
“ In 2015, Buhari campaigned again and won. During the elections, some people wanted to rig our votes to the extent that Boss Mustapha, the present SGF, stood by us and intervened.
“At the end Boss Mustapha gave me money and told me to go and leave them. I came back home. But in the evening, thugs still came to my house to beat me up. They broke things in my house. So, when Buhari finally won, I trekked from Yola to Abuja to celebrate with him,” he said.
He said he was received by Atiku Abubakar and Bola Tinubu in Abuja when he arrived. But seven and half years after, Duduwalle is full of regrets.
“I developed a serious leg injury after the trek and fell sick. I had a dislocation and was sick for one year. Buhari told the then Adamawa Governor, Bindow, to assist with my treatment, but Bindow didn’t do that.
“Later on, Buhari saw me on social media and called the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewale. The minister flew into Adamawa himself and took me to the hospital for treatment.”
Despite what he claimed to be going through, he said he planned to trek for thePresident-elect, Bola Tinubu, to celebrate his victory.
But this time around, he is planning to trek from Yola to the United Kingdom to celebrate Tinubu’s victory.
He would also use the opportunity to condole with the family of the late Queen Elizabeth and speak to the King about the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.
