Mr. Femi Adesina was the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to former President Muhammadu Buhari for eight years. He recently published his book ‘Working with Buhari: Reflections of a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015 – 2023)’. In this interview by KINGSLEY ALUMONA, he speaks about his work and relationship with Buhari, among other issues.
When and how did your love for former President Muhammadu Buhari begin? And how would you describe your earliest professional engagements with him?
By 1984, when the then Major General Muhammadu Buhari ruled the country as military head of state, I was a third-year student at the then-University of Ife. So, you couldn’t exactly call me impressionable. I could discern between good and bad and could choose my heroes and villains. I saw how Gen. Buhari began to lead the country, cleaning up the Augean stable and redirecting the polity, alongside his deputy, Major Gen. Babatunde Idiagbon. I admired their style, believing they were leading the country on a path of enduring change. Of course, it lasted for only 20 months, as those who couldn’t bear the pains of change arranged to have the administration toppled.
My earliest professional engagement with him was around the 2007 general elections when he read an article I wrote on him in The Sun newspaper and called me up for a chat. We discussed the article, and the many others I’d written on him before then, all of which he said he had read. He thanked me profusely for my support.
That was how we began to talk regularly. But, our first physical meeting was about 2009 at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos. Prof Tam David-West (God rest his soul) had written a book entitled ‘The 16 Sins of Muhammadu Buhari’, and it was being launched. He invited me to be Master of Ceremonies (MC).
Before the event started, when the General came, we got introduced. And he said, “So you are the Femi Adesina.” We both laughed and began to talk like old acquaintances. It was a big pleasure. Since then, we have been in touch.
As the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of The Sun newspaper, you leveraged your column to promote Buhari’s ideologies, even when most Nigerians did not care if he existed. What was fueling and sustaining your love for him? How were you seen or perceived all those years you wrote about him?
He joined partisan politics in 2002, the very year we were setting up The Sun, though we didn’t hit the market till January 2003. I wrote a column on Saturdays and began to point Nigerians in his direction, as someone who could give our country a new lease of life due to his discipline and abhorrence of corruption. This was due to what I’d seen of his administration between 1984 and 1985.
Buhari contested for president in 2003, 2007, and 2011. But the courts said he didn’t win, though vastly popular. He was reluctant to run again, but millions of Nigerians who believed in him convinced him to give 2015 a shot. He agreed, ran, and won.
What made the difference was the rainbow coalition of progressives built around the former military head of state. It was the only thing that could have torpedoed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and it was something I’d advocated in my column for years. When he didn’t have what was the foggiest chance to win, I believed in Buhari and advocated the need for a coalition. Fortunately, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), and a part of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) came together, and the goose of PDP was cooked.
In all those years when I stuck with Buhari, I received abuse in plenty of doses from readers who didn’t like him. They called me all sorts of names, saying the man I believed in would never rule the country. But God proved them wrong. Man should never say never.
Close to the 2015 presidential election, with the opposition president in power, were you afraid Buhari would lose again like he had been losing in previous elections? What would you consider as Buhari’s major strength or advantage that won him the 2015 elections?
In the run-up to the 2015 elections, it was clear that Nigerians were tired of PDP, after 16 years. They wanted a change. And a lot were nostalgic of the Buhari years and the reforms he was effecting in the country. He was the next most viable alternative, and with a coalition built around him, victory was a cinch.
This was a man who always had a basket of about 12 million votes in the northern part of Nigeria, and he had powerful political forces from the south in alliance with him, the conclusion was foregone. And the election results proved it.
When Buhari asked you to work for him, as his media adviser, you knew the pay was one-third of what you earned at The Sun and you also knew it was usually a frustrating job, yet you accepted to work for him. Why?
I knew the pay in public service was nothing to write home about, but I didn’t know it was that bad till I got the letter spelling out the details.
But it didn’t bother me for several reasons. One, I am a man of a modest lifestyle. The Holy Bible says, “Having food and raiment, therewith be content.” I had a house and a compact family, and we were not ostentatious in any way. My son was already a pilot, a specialist in Boeing 737. My daughter was in her third year in the university. My wife was a professional with a good job. So no cause for worry. That was why I took on the assignment, despite the paltry pay.
You said it was a frustrating job. With me, it wouldn’t be, since I was going to serve a man I loved and admired. It made all the difference.
As someone who had not worked in government before June 2015, what were the first three months on the media adviser job like for you, given the intense heat from critics and the opposition?
Well, such an assessment would necessarily be challenging, judging by the kind of election we had just concluded. PDP had its vociferous army, particularly on digital media, who felt they would not give the new administration any breathing space. It was virulent criticism by the minute, and as a media adviser, it was my duty to absorb the attacks and respond to them as best as I could, along with the team I led. We weathered the storm, and I believe we held our own.
Your book ‘Working with Buhari’ is quite voluminous. How long did it take you to write it? What point or impression were you trying to make by going through the pain of writing the book?
We left government on May 29, 2023, and I spent the next three weeks unwinding and depressurizing myself. By the third week of June, I travelled outside the country and began to write. By September, I had concluded the book.
It was easy to write because I was writing about what I had experienced. And I felt duty bound to write the book so that people would know the true Buhari, as opposed to the false narratives they had imbibed.
Equally, I have been a writer all my professional career, which is now close to 40 years. I would be failing myself if I didn’t document what I had experienced in government, and which would be good for the country.
During your recent book reading in Ibadan, you said that towards the end of Buhari’s first term as president, he was already tired of Nigeria and was not interested in a second term, but later changed his mind. What made him change his mind? And were you happy then that he changed his mind?
It’s documented in the book. The man was only interested in serving Nigeria honestly and to the best of his ability. When some people broached the idea of a second term to him, he was not overly enthusiastic. He was still in the valley of decision when a former president wrote an open letter and pontifically declared that he should dismount from the horse, and let another person ride.
Heck! Who was one person to decide who should rule the country and who should not? That power belongs to the electorate. That was when President Buhari decided that he would rather let the people decide. He said it at a campaign stop in Bauchi: “They said I should not run again. But I will run, and I will win.” And truly, he won with a wider margin than he did in 2015.
Buhari is a stern general, and generals ─ retired or not ─ hardly take advice from civilians. How often did your principal willingly seek or take advice from you? Were there times the two of you argued over issues?
If you read the book (which I believe you have, from the insightful questions you asked), you will recall that on the first day I reported for duty after my appointment was announced, he told me: “I am a general, I may argue, but please argue with me. If you have a better point, I would turn round to agree with you.”
And, of course, over the years, we had cause to debate many issues in which I made my point. The first was when Bukola Saraki emerged as Senate President, and Yakubu Dogara, Speaker of the House of Representatives, contrary to the dictates of the party. President Buhari said he would not congratulate them. I said he needed to, he said he wouldn’t. I stuck to my guns and he eventually congratulated them, with just a slight amendment to the statement I had drafted.
There were many instances in which we differed on issues but came around to agreeing after arguing and debating. He was not dictatorial at all.
What was the most difficult advice you gave Buhari and how did he handle it?
Except when directly asked, I limited myself to media and ancillary matters. He always conceded that it was my area of expertise, and usually conceded.
You would agree that no human being is perfect, especially politicians. So, while working with Buhari, what aspects of his disposition or personality did you not like and how did you manage it?
Like you said, no human being is perfect. We are not. Where I felt President Buhari was too conciliatory was in the area of his virulent critics. They would use all sorts of unfair words against him in the media, then come to the Presidential Villa and the man will still give them all the courtesies. They should get kicked in the ribs, but trust President Buhari, he had no malicious bone in his body.
A few months after Buhari left power, massive corruption was unearthed, especially those associated with former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, some ministers, and other key players in the Buhari administration. Given these realities, most Nigerians believe that Buhari ran a corrupt government and should be probed. What is your take on this?
You cannot say massive corruption was unearthed when there hasn’t even been one conviction. Whoever has been accused should have his or her day in court, and after judgment, your question can then come up again.
What kind of legacy do you think Buhari left in the Nigerian experiment and how do you want him to be remembered?
Honest governance. He did his level best, serving to the best of his ability. Everything is documented, and history, the ultimate judge, will be kind to him.
It is one year and a few months since your official work with President Buhari ended. Do you miss him? Do you miss the State House and Abuja? How often do you now see or relate with your former boss?
I don’t miss the State House, Abuja, not after eight years. I did my bit and was ready to leave when the time came. I am thankful to God, to President Buhari, and to Nigeria for the opportunity to serve.
Do I miss my boss? I do, and that is why I’m in Daura to see him at least once a quarter. And when my memoir was launched in Abuja in January, he was personally there. A very graceful man.
Could you give us a glimpse of Buhari’s private life since he left office? Do you think he is happy with the lot of Nigerians and Nigeria he handed over to President Bola Tinubu?
President Buhari is not a disruptive person. Not at all. At the launch of my book in Abuja, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said Buhari didn’t nominate a single person into his government nor did he interfere in any form.
Even in retirement, his life is still quite busy. People always flock to his house in Daura and he receives as many as he can. He has a farm where he has a cattle ranch and cash crops, which he visits thrice a week. I’ve been there with him.
With the way Nigeria is now, and as someone who advised the immediate past president, how would you advise President Tinubu on how to make life and living better for Nigerians?
President Tinubu has a lot of competent hands who can give worthy advice. As a writer, if I have anything to say, I’ll write it in as decent a form as possible.
What do you do now that you are no longer in government? Do you still write your column? Do you see yourself writing another book or serving in government?
I am currently promoting my book around the country and beyond. I’ve done readings and signings in Abuja, Lagos, Uyo, Ibadan, and other places that are still being lined up.
I will resume writing a column, hopefully soon, and by the grace of God, other books will come.
All those years, while managing Buhari, did you have time to manage yourself and your family? And how did your wife and children make working with Buhari easy for you?
It was a time-consuming assignment, but thankfully, by the time I took it on, I’d been married for about 25 years. So it was not a young family again, my son, like I said earlier, was already a pilot, while my daughter was in her third year in the university.
So, I didn’t need to move them around. My wife is also a professional, and we remained a closely-knit family.
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