According to President Muhammadu Buhari, he was pressured to get married soon after finishing secondary school, therefore he was compelled to join the army.

On Friday, January 27, in Daura, Katsina State, the President made this statement. The president claimed in a statement made by a presidential aide, Femi Adesina, that he managed a co-operative as his first job right out of school in Daura but had to leave and join the army because of pressure to get married.

Buhari said:

“I told Governor Aminu Masari the story of how I left Daura to join the army. That was how God planned it. We make choices in life, but eventually destiny is before God.

“I was at the war front during the civil war and saw how many died. Some fell right beside me. God kept me. Many bridges were blown just before we arrived at some places and after we crossed.

“I arrived at some places to see bodies of my own colleagues that we were fighting together. I am alive today only by God’s grace.”