SPECIAL REPORT: I tried to allow Nigeria’s system to work, be remembered as President that was constitutionally compliant – Buhari

*Explains why ‘General Buhari’ had to go for ‘President Buhari’

By BASHIR ADEFAKA

Precisely four months eight days after he left office leaving the rock of powers in Abuja behind for his successor, former President Muhammadu Buhari has finally come out of his self-designed shell of principle to explain why he decided not to rule Nigeria as politician with the character of a soldier.

He said I removed the style of ‘General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB)’ and replaced it with that of ‘President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB)’ deliberately because he wanted “to allow the system to work”, adding that he did so also because he wanted “to be remembered as a President that was constitutionally compliant.”

It is no wonder that, without announcing any government of national unity, he used his free-mindedness with all including members of the opposition political parties, excellent press freedom and good government-media relations at top level as a force to drive the successes of his administration.  It was during his time, despite his effort to court good relationship with the press, any Nigerian president would be so profoundly criticised without the President considering to gag the press or threaten any media organisation. He also believed that press freedom is an integral part of an effective democracy.

Buhari is one of only two Nigerians, who have ever ruled their country first as military head of state and later two-term democratically elected President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. General Olusegun Obasanjo was the first. It is recalled that despite his many distractive written letters, the four-star General – Obasanjo has been much respected by the Daura-born Gaddafi of Nigeria, whose intention to make Nigeria free for the good people to decide what was good for themselves was disappointedly abused and misused by them that used ethnic and religious sentiments to characterise most part of his administration.

However, his eight-year civilian administration, so far, continues to stand tall as his commitment to economic diversification through agricultural and manufacturing sectors development cannot be wished away in a hurry.

His attachment to aiding economic growth through infrastructure development and refusal to let excessive oil marketers override his concerns for Nigerians against their penchant for indiscriminate fuel pump price hike have continued to attract commendation from several quarters of the country and beyond.

The fact that the former President continues to enjoy unalloyed loyalty of his media aides tells a lot of sweet stories about the personality of Maigida Muhammadu Buhari. They are; Dr. Femi Adesina (his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity), who he once held high with a public commendation for “holding fast against mischief makers” for the period he was away on his never-experienced-before kind of health challenge, and Mallam Garba Shehu (his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity), who was General Manager of Triumph Newspapers Limited Kano that gave Alhaji MKO Abiola the platform to launch his Hope ’93 that flagged off in Kano and which climaxed in his successful outing of June 12, 1993.

Both media aides have virtually interrelated qualities in common. Before he was single-handedly appointed SA Media and Publicity by then President Buhari in 2015 without recommendation of any political godfather, Dr. Femi Adesina reached the peak of his journalism career as Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Sun Newspapers Limited Lagos. He had been re-elected and was sitting President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) as at the time his appointment by the President came in 2015, having succeeded Vanguard Media Limited’s General Manager Mr. Gbenga Adefaye in 2013 with Tukur Abdul-Rahman, now late Managing Director of New Nigerian Newspapers Limited Kaduna, as his Vice President.

A razor-tongue like Dr. Adesina (I beg for pardon for using the word because they were both sharp-brain with ability to speak to the head of mischief makers to go and die if they wanted), Mallam Garba Shehu had as at 1993 reached the peak of his career of the journalism profession as General Manager of Triumph Newspapers Limited Kano and later became the Special Assistant to Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Media in 2003. He had served in several positions until he became Senior Special Assistant to the President Buhari in 2015 and was in office with the President for the whole of his two-term of eight years.

On Friday, Dr. Femi Adesina who has since returned journalism community as Executive Vice Chairman of The Sun Newspapers Limited, wrote on his verified Facebook timeline a piece that was not only attractive to seekers of undiluted knowledge about country leaders but also was much revealing of salient decisions his principal took while office but which had gotten many tongues wagging.

In the statement titled, “Why GMB had to go, by Buhari”, Dr. Adesina, who I love to call apostle of bomb-journalism with which he started off as Editor Sun Newspapers at a time in the past, relayed some of the things his boss told him either during their years in office or after office.

“Immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari, has responded to muted calls by his followers and admirers over the eight years of his leadership that they preferred the old General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB) to President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB).

“The General had been military head of state between December 31, 1983 and August 27, 1985, when his administration was removed in a palace coup.

“In the 20 months that the regime lasted, Nigerians knew that a new Sheriff was in town. All forms of indiscipline, corruption and malfeasance were promptly dealt with. “With his kindred spirit, Major General Babatunde Idiagbon, the unsmiling duo knocked a lot of sense into the heads of their countrymen and women. And we were fast shaping up. Then the move was truncated.

“In his second coming 30 years later, as a democratically elected leader, a lot of people still expected the vestiges of GMB, but found a President that was completely transformed, devoid of all totalitarian tendencies. And there were many people who privately whispered to one another. We prefer GMB to PMB,” Adesina wrote on Friday.

Was the President aware of those sentiments? “Yes, I was,” Buhari had told Dr. Femi Adesina with a laugh and then he added:

“I was in the military, and rose from 2nd Lieutenant to Major General. When I joined partisan politics, the General had to go. I’ve heard people say they prefer General Buhari to President Buhari. But democracy is different from military rule, with its ruthlessness. Now, the system for decision making is different. We had Supreme Military Council then, but now, you have Federal Executive Council, which is constitutionally backed. I try to allow the system to work. I like to be remembered as a President that was constitutionally compliant,” former President Muhammadu Buhari said.

And truly constitutionally compliant he was, attested Femi Adesina, who asked Nigerians as well as friends home and abroad to await details and more in a forthcoming book, ‘Working With Buhari: Reflections of a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015-2023).’

“Even this writer is looking forward to reading the book soon, as it rolls off the press,” said Dr. Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari (2015-2023).