Oluwanifemi Ojo
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), is scheduled to embark on an eight-day state visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, during which he will perform the Umrah or the Lesser Pilgrimage.
This was revealed in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, accessed by The Punch.
The statement ‘President Buhari leaves for Saudi Arabia on an official visit,’ states that the accompanied by his aides.
It reads, “Buhari will travel to Saudi Arabia on an official visit from Tuesday, April 11 to 19 on his last trip to the Kingdom as President, during which he will perform Umrah, the Lesser Pilgrimage.”
Umrah is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia that can be performed at any time of the year. It is also known as the “Lesser Pilgrimage” or “Minor Pilgrimage” and is considered to be a voluntary act of worship that is highly recommended for Muslims, but not obligatory like the Hajj pilgrimage.
According to reports, the visit will be the sixth sense assumption into the office and perhaps the last visit before he finally leaves the presidency.
Based on records, Buhari has visited 40 countries since their assumed duty as presidency-dent. Of these numbers, he was found to have frequently visited the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and France at the frequency table.
In addition to his frequent visits to certain countries, President Buhari has also traveled to Ethiopia five times and has made three trips to the United Arab Emirates, Ghana, Niger, and Senegal.
Moreover, he has visited China, Germany, Benin, The Gambia, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, Mali, Chad, and Germany at least twice.
Buhari has also traveled to Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, India, Sudan, Spain, Iran, Malta, Rwanda, Qatar, Turkey, Scotland, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Jordan, Burkina Faso, Belgium, Liberia, and Japan.
According to The Punch, his foreign trips amount to about 90.