Femi Adesina

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'From Washington With Dignity.' Femi Adesina writes on President Buhari's recent US trip

It was an official visit that attracted not only national, but also international attention. President Muhammadu Buhari was going to visit the United States of America for four days, on the invitation of President Barack Obama. Was this going to be just another jamboree, or truly an event that would reset the buttons in the relationship between the two countries?
Sure, there had been some cooling of passion between the two erstwhile allies during the dying days of the Jonathan administration, and American experts sent here to train our military had even been asked to leave. She had also refused to sell us Cobra helicopters and other armaments, which could have made a lot of difference in our fight against insurgents in the North-east of the country. America had cited some reasons, including alleged human rights violations. The then President Jonathan was thus forced to look towards South Africa for arms.
No doubt, the kiln of passion needed to be kindled anew between Nigeria and America, and the invitation extended to Buhari during the G7 Summit in Germany, in June, was a much needed elixir. The Nigerian leader accepted the offer, and so was in Washington between Sunday, July 19 and Wednesday, July 22.
But another whiff of controversy had presaged the meeting. America, through its Supreme Court, had recently legitimized same sex relationship. It was against the laws of God, but heck, what did America care? What matters now are rights, and people with homosexual or lesbian cravings must have their rights protected under the law.
It was into the eye of this storm that some Nigerians felt Buhari would be flying, on his trip. True, he had been asked to bring a ‘wish list’ by his host, but is there ever free lunch in America? Yes, your wish would be granted.
America would help you decapitate Boko Haram, would help you trace and repatriate billions of dollars salted away in foreign banks by past rulers, would help boost your economy and generate employment, but at what price? At a price of endorsing same sex marriage, which would be contrary to our laws as a country, and to the laws of the God that majority of Nigerians believe in, and serve? Would Buhari capitulate simply because America would help him fulfill promises he made during election campaigns?
To America we flew last Sunday, arriving after a voyage of 12 hours. Our President was accommodated along with some members of the entourage at the historic Blair House, just a peeping distance from the White House. A good number of meetings were to hold at that Blair House in the next four days.
After a briefing of what was to come in the next four days by Professor Ade Adefuye, Nigerian Ambassador to the United States of America, the President played host to former American Ambassador in Nigeria, Thomas Pickering and Professor Jean Herskovits. The man who has been quite outspoken about Nigeria, and who had doubted if the country would survive the 2015 general elections, Ambassador John Campbell, also came, among other people.
The day was not done until Madeline Albright (remember her? A large number of people across the world were mad about Madeline years back when she was American Secretary of State. She did the work admirably). Well, Madeline came to dinner with our President. She has aged, but rather gracefully.
Day 2 was the day the world had been waiting for. Day of meeting with the world’s most influential president, Barak Obama. But not so fast! First, breakfast with Vice President Joe Biden. What did he tell our President?
Biden gave an overview of the objectives of the entire visit,assuring Nigeria of the goodwill and support of America. He shared perspectives on the terror war, drawing from America’s experiences after the September 2001 assault, in which thousands were killed by Al-Qaeda inspired terrorists. He said Boko Haram, which has now pledged loyalty to ISIS, should not be battled with just military option. There was also the need to combine the war with strong socio-economic programs. He said the U.S would be ready to work with Nigeria in that direction.
On the Nigerian economy, Biden bade the leadership to tackle the issue of corruption, strengthen the institutions, and appoint tested hands to man critical sectors. If all these were done, he assured that investors would flood Nigeria in droves.
Buhari thanked his host, and added that the role played by America prior to general elections, sending Secretary of State John Kerry to convey that America would not tolerate the subversion of the people’s will, went a long way to guarantee fairness and justice.
Having served as Minister for Petroleum Resources for over three years in the 1970s, the President did not forget to mention the oil sector. He said between 10 to 20 billion dollars may have been lost to oil theft in the past one year, and pledged to sanitize the sector. He welcomed American assistance.
The much awaited meeting with Obama came up a while later at the White House. The US President described Buhari as a man of integrity needed for such a time as this in Nigeria.
Every patriotic Nigerian must have stood several feet taller, as Obama eulogized our President. It served to rekindle confidence in our country. With the right leadership, Nigeria can, and will get there. Sure.
The American president charted the same course as his deputy on the issue of Boko Haram. According to him, economic and social programs must run concurrently with military option, to conclusively defeat insurgency.
Obama said the diversity of Nigeria, rather than be a centrifugal force, must be a centripetal one. The disparate parts of the country should be harnessed to become source of strength, adding that no part of the country should be left behind, or alienated.
Buhari, the American president observed, was hugely popular, judging by the enormous goodwill that surrounded his election. He urged him to use the goodwill to serve Nigeria, alongside the governors that accompanied him. The governors are Rochas Okorocha, Imo, Adams Oshiomhole, Edo, Tanko Al-Makura, Nasarawa, Kashim Shettima, Borno, and Abiola Ajimobi, Oyo.
Speaking on behalf of the governors, Okorocha assured Obama that the states’ helmsmen would back up Buhari to bring enduring change to Nigeria.
Obama made pledges. America would help Nigeria in diverse ways: checkmate insurgency, train and equip her military, recover monies siphoned out of federal coffers, and many others. And with no strings attached.
The bilateral meetings/ audiences with the Nigerian president at Blair House, and other venues, were worth their weight in gold. The American Secretary of Commerce met with the Nigerian team, so did Loretta Lynch, U.S Attorney General, Jack Lew, Secretary of the Treasury, the Barker Group, potential investors in the agriculture and power sectors. There was an interactive dinner hosted by U.S Chamber of Commerce and Corporate Council for Africa, and captains of industry from Nigeria and America were there, among others.
What of the meeting with Dr Pate of the World Health Organization (WHO), representatives of the World Bank, and of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation? Refreshing. WHO unfolded plans to spend 300 million dollars to fight malaria in Nigeria, while the World Bank, subject to ratification by its board of directors, will make available the princely sum of 2.1 billion dollars for the rebuilding of infrastructure in the North-east, a region beleaguered by insurgency in the past six years. The fund, under the auspices of International Development Agency (IDA) will be made available as loans for Nigeria, at very low interest rates. The first 10 years would be interest free, while an additional 30 years would be granted at rates lower than that of the capital market.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation also disclosed plans to work with the Dangote Foundation to ensure that Nigeria gets a clean bill of health on polio. Already, no case of polio has been recorded in the country for a full year, and if the position subsists for another full year, Nigeria would be declared polio free.
Cheery news also from the session between the Nigerian team and the American Attorney General. The host country would track illicit money from Nigeria in all their jurisdictions, including the U.S, while training would also be provided for our judicial officers, prosecutors, police, and other security agencies, to track and recover stolen funds.
Same sex issue enters the scene. On Tuesday afternoon, Buhari was in his right elements, as he attended a joint session by the Senate and House Committees on Foreign Affairs at the Capitol Hill. Many issues came up for discussion, ranging from foreign relations, to growing democracy, human rights, and many others. Then a senator brought in the clincher. What does Nigeria think of the rights of homosexuals and lesbians.
Sodomy or anything of such kind is against the laws of Nigeria, and, indeed, the Nigerian society abhors such practices, the President declared. Pastor Tunde Bakare of The Latter Rain Assembly was in the audience, and from the delight on his face, he could have carried Buhari shoulder high, if protocol had permitted such. To cap that delightful day, the president headed to the Chancery, Nigeria Embassy. He had two assignments there.
A Meet and Greet session had been packaged by Mo Abudu of Ebony Life TV, in which Nigerian youths, who are professionals, had been invited from across America to greet President Buhari, and share their dreams of a greater country with him. The young people were really happy to have their president and father figure in their midst.
Next was the meeting with Nigerians in Diaspora, who also came from across America. Biodun Ogunjobi had driven 12 hours to attend the event. He also had waited for four hours outside the Embassy gates, till the program commenced. Such is the fervor Nigerians in America have for their country, and for a president they see as symbol of change. For about two hours, the President interacted with them, answering all the questions.
On the final day of the visit, it was an interactive event at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). It was jointly organized by the National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute, Centre for Strategic Studies and Atlantic Council. Ambassador Johnny Carson, who coordinated the session, described the guest as a man of honour and integrity.
Buhari went to America, he saw, and he conquered.
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Adesina is President Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity.
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"PDP has a long road of regrets to travel" – Femi Adesina ‎

Femi Adesina, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari has noted with consternation the remarks made by the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh after its 30-day appraisal of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration as leader of Nigeria.
Metuh had said that the administration is finding it difficult to locate its bearing not to think of taking off and facing the challenges of governance.

“We urge Nigerians to join hands in prayers and offer useful suggestions to President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC because with what we have seen in the last 30 days, the present administration is finding it very difficult to get its bearings right while showing no inclination towards implementing its numerous campaign promises for which they were voted into office at the center.

“We are deeply worried that the President who promised to unveil his cabinet two weeks after his inauguration, has not been able to decide on key appointments such as ministers, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), a Chief of Staff and advisers in key sectors of the economy.
“This is more so as the delay has brought government business in ministries, departments and agencies to a dangerous standstill with coordination of important policies vested on ministers and the SGF now in tatters while the system drifts. This situation also creates loopholes through which overzealous persons around that President can connive with unscrupulous elements in the bureaucracy to syphon public resources in addition to possibly misleading the President to violate due process by spending beyond and outside his statutory limits.
“The situation is taking its toll on the economy sector, which has in the 30 days witnessed unprecedented decline with a terrifying crippling of foreign and domestic investments including activities in the money and capital market sectors. Under President Buhari, the stock market has lost over N238 billion while the All-Share Index fell by 849.87 basis points as at June 19.
“In security, apart from the directive to relocate the counter terrorism command center to Borno state and seeking assistance from foreigners, no other concrete step has been taken in the fight against insurgency which the President in his April 22, 2015 CNN interview promised to end within his two months in office.
“Instead, the anti-terrorism effort has completely lost steam in the last 30 days, with insurgents, who had already been pushed to the verge of surrender in the Sambisa forest by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, now surging back and spreading into the country.
“In this regard, we urge the President to confront insurgency and issues of national security with all the vigour they deserve while calling for restrain from actions capable of destroying the fabrics of security intelligence. We also urge for adequate respect for all organs of internal security such as the Directorate of State Security (DSS), which is answerable to the Nigerian state and as such should not be publicly ridiculed by an aide of the President.
“In the same vein, we are disturbed by the ominous signals emanating from the atrocious attempt by the APC to undermine and appropriate the federal legislature resulting in the disruption of lawful proceedings and forced closure of the National Assembly, the symbol of our collective national identity as a democratic state. In this direction, we urge the Presidency and the APC to imbibe democratic tenets and respect the independence of that arm of government.
“Finally, while we remind the President and the APC that their campaign promises are bonds which must be fulfilled, we urge him to use the next ten days to set up his government by naming his ministers, the SGF and advisers in critical sectors as Nigerians did not vote for a sole administrator but for a democratic government”.


In a statement issued yesterday, Adesina said the PDP has a long road of regrets to travel. 


“It is amusing to read what the National Publicity Secretary of the defeated Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh, considers a 30-day appraisal of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

“He wants Nigerians to join hands in prayers for the government, so that things would begin to move. What he does not know is that Nigerians had long formed such coalition. They are hands in hands, and that was what gave victory to President Buhari in the March 28, 2015 poll.”

He continued, “They had teamed up to uproot an administration that had brought the country to her knees, and was about to tip her off the precipice. And Nigerians have resolved that never would they allow any government to divide them along regional, religious and ethnic fault lines again.”

“The Buhari administration is naturally contemplative because there was absolutely no rhyme or reason to the way PDP ran the country, particularly in the immediate past dispensation. That is why the Augean Stable is being cleaned now, and it requires scrupulous and painstaking planning. Across all sectors, our national life was devalued, and it takes meticulousness and sure-footedness to repair all the breaches. This, the Buhari administration will deliver.”
“Metuh talks of people round the President conniving with bureaucrats to siphon money from the treasury. This must be deja vu, as it was the pastime of the immediate past administration, and the enormity of the sleaze will be evident when stolen money, to the tune of billions of dollars, is recovered, and returned to the national treasury soon.”
“In the process of time, after all that is being planned by the current administration has matured, and bearing fruits, Nigerians will be able to determine who is serving them acceptably, and who has taken them for a ride. It is just a matter of time.
“Meanwhile, Metuh and his masters can only rue the missed opportunities to make salutary impact on the lives of Nigerians. They have a long road of regrets to travel.”

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Opinion: This Time Next Week | By: Femi Adesina

Perhaps my worst day ever was August 27, 1985, when the military coup that ousted Major General Muhammadu Buhari from power was announced.  Major General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, then the Chief of Army Staff, supplanted his boss in office, and held that position for eight years.
Buhari went into the valley of life, and stayed there for many years.  Even his marriage and home suffered terribly.  But in 1989, he picked up the pieces of marital life again, marrying pretty and winsome Aisha from Adamawa State.
Also in 2003, the man from Daura, in Katsina State, took the gauntlet by running for the county’s number one position, on platform of the then All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP).  He ran again in 2007, in 2011, and also in 2015.  He finally won, and this time next week, he would be inaugurated as President.
This Time Next Week.  That is the title of a 1964 book by Leslie Thomas, which I read well over 30 years ago.  The book deals with the escapades of some young boys growing up in an orphanage, and what a rib cracking volume it is.  I read it over and over again.
Yes, this time next week, our country would enter a new day, a new dawn, a new visitation in a special way.  The miasma of doom and desperation, which had hung like a curtain on Nigeria for long, would lift.  A magic wand?  No.  A miracle? 
Yes, I believe in miracles.  But this kind of miracle would come from sure-footedness, focus, doggedness, transparency, and leadership by example.  That, I believe, is what we will get from Muhammadu Buhari, this time next week and onwards.
Does Nigeria need robust, honest and focused leadership now more than at any point in her history?  You can say that again!  Just look around you.  What do you see?  Failed hopes, dreams and aspirations.  A decrepit, comatose economy!  Humongous local and international debts, less than 10 years after we had paid off everything we hitherto owed.  Insecurity, with blood flowing freely like water, and lives lost daily in scores. 
Tales of misappropriation of public funds in billions of dollars!  At a point recently, hatred almost became a national credo, with Nigerians hopelessly divided along ethnic and religious lines.  Again, energy crisis!  No electricity, no petrol, fuel queues everywhere.  Nigeria has been brought to her knees.  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Nigeria? How art thou cut down to the earth?
But Nigeria will rise again.  And it will start from this time next week.  We will be proud to be Nigerians once again.  We will stand in brotherhood, though our tribes and tongues may differ. The pride of our country will be restored.  We shall no longer be seen as a land where corruption walks on all fours, a rich country of poor people.  No.  A new song, a new story would be told about us.  Great things shall be spoken of thee again, oh Nigeria.
The expectations of Nigerians are very high, and at times, I get scared.  I pity the incoming president.  But I also trust him.  If anybody can bring change to bear on the country, Buhari can.  Yes, he can.  But there is also the burden of expectations.  And the burden can be very heavy.  Expectations from those who are sincere, and also from those who are not, and are even duplicitous, filled with ill will.  The sincere ones want change because they truly desire a better country, whose builder and maker is God. 
The insincere ones, scoffers, naysayer, are only hoping to see failure.  They can’t wait to turn up their noses in derision, hopping from one leg to the other, and declaring: “We said it!  The change they preached was just a mantra.  It is six months.  It is one year, two years, three years.  Where is the change?  Since the times our fathers slept, and until now, Nigeria has been the same way.  And it will remain the same way, world without end.”
But will those people succeed?  No, they won’t.  Change will come to this land.  And it will start by this time next week.  We are not building castles in the air.  Yes, out heads are in the clouds, but our feet are firmly planted on the ground.  If anybody can bring change to this country, Buhari can.  And with God helping him, he will.
Former Oil Minister, Prof Tam David-West, in an interview published by The News magazine this week says things are so bad with Nigeria that “Buhari is not starting from zero, but below zero.”  However, he also gives hope:  “Nigerians will find positive visible change in all aspects.  To make impact with our refineries will be few months.  We can build a refinery in a year…
“Buhari has promised to build four refineries and repair the old ones that are reparable.  With that, there will be no more fuel importation and price will come down.”
Oh what a happy day it shall be!  When Nigeria no longer needs to import refined petrol, and the pump price comes down.  No more larceny in the name of fuel subsidies.  Oh, what a day!
And all the other promises: provision of jobs for our teeming unemployed youths.  Effective control of the security situation!  A battle against corruption!  End to impunity in our public life!  A revitalized economy!  A cohesive country!  All these can happen.  Yes, I believe.  It can all start by this time next week.  And Muhammadu Buhari would leave his footprints firmly imprinted in the sands of time.  Who says we can’t have our own Lee Kuan Yew?  It all starts this time next week.
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