Former Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, shed light on the inner thoughts of the ex-president regarding his administration’s actions. Adesina made these revelations during a Media Dialogue event organized by the Association of Veteran Journalists in Osun State, held in Osogbo on a Wednesday.
Adesina shared insights from a two-hour conversation he had with President Buhari shortly before the end of his presidential tenure. In this candid dialogue, Adesina delved into areas where President Buhari expressed a sense of introspection and a desire for improvements.
During the heart-to-heart session, Adesina specifically inquired about President Buhari’s regrets or areas where he believed his administration could have performed better. The ex-president, in a reflective mood, acknowledged that there were instances where alternative approaches might have yielded more favorable outcomes.
This revelation provided a rare glimpse into the complex and multifaceted nature of leadership, emphasizing that even heads of state harbor moments of self-assessment and a desire for continuous improvement. It showcased the humility of leadership in acknowledging areas for growth and development.
The Media Dialogue event provided a platform for further insights into the inner workings of President Buhari’s administration and underscored the importance of constructive dialogue and accountability in governance.
Although Adesina did not state Buhari’s regret, he however said “There is no living human being that will not regret certain things. It is one of the questions I asked the president.
“Before we left the office, I sat with him for about 2 hours and I asked him every question under the sun and when we finished, he asked what I gave to the Chief of Protocol that he gave him so long a time with. There was no question I didn’t ask him. There were things he (Buhari) felt could have been done better.”
Defending some of the actions taken by the administration, Adesina, said the naira redesign policy, though exposed Nigerians to hardship was not totality bad as it enabled the country to have a crime reduction, especially kidnapping and curbed manipulation in the 2023 polls.
He further said Buhari served the country diligently, but added that whatever inadequacies noticed in the manner his principal led the nation, could not be solely blamed on him.
“The policy (naira redesign) brought hardship to Nigerians. I had N20,000 which I stretched for almost two weeks. There was a day I had a full house and we wanted to cook breakfast but midway, the gas finished.
“When they came to tell me that the gas had finished, I didn’t know what to do because to fill that big cylinder, I needed N40,000 but I didn’t have it. I was a special adviser to the president but I didn’t have the cash. One boy living with me had to bail me out to fill that gas which I refunded.
“So, it was everybody that bore that brunt. You will recall that even during that time, there was no kidnapping. I remember some people went to kidnap an APC chairman or is it secretary in Kano? After holding him for three days and nobody was calling to ask how much they would collect because there was no cash, they just slapped him three times and told him to go.
“Even kidnappers were out of business because there was no naira and do you know that we have a cleaner election because of that policy?
“Nine serving governors couldn’t go to the Senate. They contested but lost. Have you ever seen a governor who will contest an election and will not win? But because there was no money to spread around, they couldn’t win. The policy was not bad in its entirety. There were issues with it but it was not bad in its entirety,” Adesina concluded.
