2023: 51-year-old treks from Bauchi to Lagos to celebrate Asiwaju

A 51-year-old man, Alhaji Usman Madaki, who is trekking from Bauchi to Lagos to celebrate the victory of Sen. Ahmed Tinubu as the 2023 flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has arrived Ilorin on Tuesday night.

Our correspondent reports that Madaki later left Ilorin, the Kwara capital, on Wednesday morning.

He told our correspondent in Ilorin before his departure that even though he has never met the APC presidential candidate in his life, he is a big fan of the former Lagos State governor.

The 51-year-old, an indigene of Bauchi Local Government Area of Bauchi State, said he commenced the trekking on June 10, and planned to arrive Lagos on Saturday (June 25).

Madaki said he faced a lot of challenges on his way, including what he suspected to be a kidnapping attempt between Kafanchan and Zangon Kataf.

He revealed that some people even mistook him for Boko Haram but when they noticed he was not looking harmful, they escorted him out of the town after gathering themselves to monitor he is no longer in the territory.

“I want to meet Tinubu in Lagos to celebrate with him on his victory as the presidential candidate of the APC.

“I share the belief that he will be Nigeria’s next President. I like Tinubu, he is my godfather even though he doesn’t know me.

“I will be leaving for Oyo State today, I think it is not far like that,” Madaki said.

The trekker explained that he would always tried to see if he could get any APC stalwart that could help him anywhere he arrived, but could not get one when Tuesday in Ilorin because of rains.

“Since when I moved around 8 a.m on Tuesday in Bandiru, a boarder between Niger State and Jebba in Kwara, the rain began on me and finished on me.

“There was nowhere to get a vehicle or motorbike because of the heavy downpour,” he said.

Our correspondent recalls that Tinubu defeated Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; Rotimi Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation; Senate President Ahmad Lawan, and 10 other presidential hopefuls, to clinch the ticket at the APC primaries in Abuja.