LAGOS, Nigeria(VOICE OF NAIJA) – Former Presidential spokesperson Femi Adesina has disclosed that ex-President Muhammadu Buhari acknowledged specific aspects where the administration could have achieved greater effectiveness.
In a noteworthy event titled “Media Dialogue with Femi Adesina,” organized by the Association of Veteran Journalists in Osun State, Femi Adesina addressed the attendees in Osogbo on Wednesday.
The Former Special Adviser on Media unveiled that, before exiting his position, ex-President Buhari engaged in a comprehensive two-hour discussion, wherein he posed a wide array of questions.
In a recent interview session, the former presidential spokesperson revealed that he posed a crucial question to his principal, during which he required about any potential regrets. In response, ex-President Buhari expressed remorse, indicating that certain actions could have been approached differently. While the specific nature of Buhari’s regret was not explicitly mentioned by Adesina, he did confirm the existence of such remorse.
He 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 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 Chief of Protocol that he gave so long a time with him. There was no question I didn’t ask him. There were things he (Buhari) felt could have been done better.”
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In a staunch defense of certain governmental measures, Femi Adesina emphasized that while the policy of naira redesign may have imposed hardships on Nigerians, it ultimately contributed to a decrease in criminal activities, particularly kidnapping, and helped prevent manipulation in the 2023 elections.
“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 has 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 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 will 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,”