Former Presidential spokesperson, Chief Femi Adesina, Thursday, disclosed that he reluctantly accepted to serve as the Media Adviser to former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Adesina who spoke in Abuja at a Pre-book launch media conference, added that while he admired Buhari and had written in support of his Presidential ambition since 2003, he greatly relished his positions as the Managing Director of The Sun Newspaper and the President, Nigerian Guild of Editors.
The books titled, Muhammadu Buhari: The Nigerian Legacy (2015-2023), edited by Dr. Udu Yakubu and Working With Buhari: Reflections Of A Special Adviser Media And Publicity (2015-2023), authored by Femi Adesina, came in volumes and would be presented to the general public by the former President next Tuesday in Abuja.
Adesina served as the Presidential Spokesperson to former President Buhari between 2015 and 2023. According to him, he has no apology to some Nigerians he described as “Wailing Wailers” while he was in government.
He stated that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had then, criticized every step taken by Buhari’s government, which prompted him to describe them as such.
He maintained that he has no fence to mend. “No fence to mend really. If there was something to mend, we will mend it. As far as I am concerned, there is nothing to mend. There is a whole chapter dedicated to that issue, which I called the ‘Wailing Wailer’.
“How did that appellation come? In the early days of the Buhari’s administration, you just find out that everything the government did or didn’t do attracted a lot of noise. They thought the more noise they made, the easier they would be heard.
“If it didn’t rain, they will issue a press statement, if it rained too much, they would issue a press statement and all was about Buhari.
“One day, I just did a tweet. I said that “these people don’t know they are out of power and they may not get back to power in a long time.” I ended that tweet with “Wailing Wailers” and some people adopted that.
“They said that they were wailers. If they were the ones who adopted that appellation, what apology do I have? Rather, I should accuse them of copyright violation. So, there is no fence to mend really.”
Speaking on the reasons for writing on his former boss, Adesina stated that he has known Buhari long before coming to work with him as his adviser on media.
“Before then, I have not worked with him and I had no desire to work with him. But when the invitation came to work for him, because he was a man I had admired since he was a military leader, I decided to take up the appointment.
“I also had a moral issue because I had supported him since 2003 when he ran. I did in 2007, 2011 until he won in 2015.
He had invited me to work with him but I declined because I was the Managing Director of The Sun Newspaper and the President, Nigeria Guild of Editors.
“I didn’t want to leave what I was doing because I was enjoying what I was doing then and wanted to possibly retire quietly.
“I however reluctantly accepted and I just reflected in the book, how I cried the day I resigned because I was stepping into what the military will call cover incognita, the place you don’t know at all.”
