A 35-year-old mother of 5, Alice Daniel, has embarked on a trek from Minna to Abuja in honour of president-elect Muhammadu Buhari. She has taken her youngest child, a 40-day-old baby, along for the journey. She reportedly told Newsline that her desire to trek for Buhari started when her husband, Abdulwasiu, said he had a dream that President Goodluck Jonathan was going to lose the presidential election to Buhari.
She said she told her husband that it would not be possible for an incumbent president to lose the election to an opposition candidate, adding that even if he won, he would not be declared winner as was the case in the 2007 and 2011. At the time, she said, she was heavily pregnant and due for the labour ward.
She stated that before the elections, the issue was discussed again with her husband and three other people present, where she promised that if Buhari won the election and was declared winner she would trek from Minna to Abuja to personally congratulate him for the victory.
According to her, she gave birth to her last child on April 2, 2015, and remained determined to fulfill her promise when Buhari won. Her family tried to stop her from embarking on the journey, but she didn’t listen to their pleas, as she was determined to fulfill her promise. She subsequently embarked on her journey around 6 a.m on Sunday at from Chanchaga bridge in Niger State. She walks between 6:00am to 5:00pm daily and rests at intervals.
“When asked of the health hazard of her mission on her and her newly born baby girl, considering the fact that she gave birth just barely 40 days ago, she expressed optimism that nothing would happen to her and her child and that the only thing she looked forward to was for her to accomplish her mission.”