Mr. Femi Adesina, former Special Adviser on Media to the ex-president, Mohammadu Buhari, has revealed that his boss acknowledged the potential for improvement in certain aspects of the administration’s actions.
Adesina made this revelation during a Media Dialogue event in Osogbo, organized by the Association of Veteran Journalists in Osun State. He disclosed that before President Buhari’s departure from office, they engaged in a two-hour conversation during which Buhari posed various questions.
During this in-depth interview, Adesina inquired about his principal’s regrets, and Buhari admitted to feeling remorseful about certain decisions that could have been handled differently.
While Adesina did not explicitly mention Buhari’s specific regret, he did acknowledge that everyone, including the president, has moments of regret. He revealed, “There is no person alive who wouldn’t have some regrets. It’s one of the questions I posed to the president.”
Adesina went on to describe a two-hour conversation he had with Buhari before leaving office, during which he asked the president a wide range of questions. He recounted how Buhari even jokingly inquired about what he had given the Chief of Protocol to spend such a long time with him. Adesina emphasized that there were no topics off-limits, and Buhari himself admitted to certain areas where improvements could have been made.
In defense of some of the administration’s actions, Adesina mentioned the policy of redesigning the naira, which, although it brought hardship to Nigerians, was not entirely a negative policy. He argued that it contributed to reducing crime, particularly kidnapping, and also helped in preventing manipulation in the 2023 elections.
He further emphasized that Buhari had served the country diligently. However, he added that any shortcomings observed in how his principal led the nation should not be solely attributed to him.
Regarding the policy of naira redesign, Adesina acknowledged its adverse effects on Nigerians, sharing a personal anecdote. He recounted having only N20,000 that he had to stretch for almost two weeks, and how he once ran out of cooking gas halfway through preparing a meal. To refill the gas cylinder, he needed N40,000, which he didn’t have, and had to rely on assistance from a young man living with him, whom he later reimbursed.
Adesina pointed out that the economic difficulties affected everyone, including high-ranking officials like himself. Interestingly, he noted that during that period, there was a decline in kidnapping cases because there was a shortage of cash. He even mentioned a situation where kidnappers released a victim in Kano after three days without receiving a ransom, as there was no money to demand.
Moreover, Adesina argued that the scarcity of funds resulted in cleaner elections, citing that nine incumbent governors who contested for Senate seats failed to secure victories, which he found unusual. He concluded that while there were issues with the policy, it wasn’t entirely negative and had its positive aspects.
