“If You Think Being Govt’s Spokesman Has Changed Me For Worse, Please, Tell Me” …Femi Adesina

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Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, in this interview with the editor, FOLORUNSHO HAMSAT, navigates through some issues rocking the polity. He speaks on recession, his office, the change mantra, his family, and more. Excerpts… 

 

 

It’s the President’s 19th month in office. Frankly, did you envisage it would take this long before Nigerians start to enjoy the dividends of the Change they voted?

The question seems to give a blanket impression that Nigerians are not enjoying change in any area of their lives yet. I don’t agree with you. Talk to those who live in the North-eastern part of the country. They will tell you that the difference between now and the immediate past, is like comparing Heaven with Hell. They can now sleep in relative ease; night life has returned to their towns, they can go to farm, market, mosque, church, etc without the morbid fear of being bombed to death by Boko Haram. Emirs are back in the palaces they had fled for years, major highways, which had become killing fields, are now back in use, schools have reopened, health facilities are being rebuilt, some of the Chibok girls are back, and so many other reliefs. Ask all the people concerned, and they would tell you that a new season is upon them. Change is real, they can feel and touch it. Also, ask about our national treasury, and you would hear of prudent management and transparency. Whatever money Nigeria makes now, is being used for Nigerians, unlike in the past, when billions upon billions went into private pockets. That is change. The power situation is a shade better, and promises to be a lot better. For the first time in the history of this country, we had 5,074 MW of electricity. It has never happened before. If not because of resurgence of insurgency in the Niger Delta, power generation was poised to reach 7,000 MW by this December, and we would have a minimum 10,000 MW by 2019. That is change, as we would get there. Unlike in the past, when Nigerians were cynical about those who led them, there is now a high level of trust in the Muhammadu Buhari leadership. That was why the fuel pricing regime could change, and the country was not shut down. The thinking is; if it is Buhari, we can trust him to spend whatever money is saved from deregulation judiciously. That is change. In the past, we occupied Lagos and other parts of the country when fuel prices were hiked, simply because we did not trust government. But now, change is here. Those who complain are the ones that thought change was a magic wand that would be waved, Nigeria would flow with milk and honey immediately, and money would be picked on the roads. That utopia is not what the government promised. Yes, the issue of economy is sticky, but work is in progress. Nigerians will yet experience change in food security, inflation rate would drop, more money would be available, the naira would appreciate against major currencies of the world, and our external reserves would be enriched again. But it is a patience game. It will surely happen in the life of this administration. Change is evident in some areas now, and it will yet be evident in many more areas.

 

Everybody now talks about recession. Do you believe there is recession, how does it affect people like you in the power corridor because an average Nigerian doesn’t believe the President’s men feel the pinch?

Recession is here, but it is not here to stay. We have been assured that we will get out of it soon. I believe. Do people in government feel the recession? Sure. We do not live in the moon. We are as mortal as the next man. We itch as well, and scratch as hard. We get broke, and manage till we receive salaries. We do not steal from the treasury. We do not take what does not belong to us, since we share the vision of our principal, a man who is known for integrity and frugality. I can talk for myself, and for many others in government. We are here to serve, and not to serve ourselves. If it was money, free money, one wanted, then one would not have come into a Muhammadu Buhari government. There is no free money here. And if you subvert the system, cut corners and divert what does not belong to you, and you get caught, you are on your own. Believe me when I say there is no wallowing in obscene luxury in this government.

 

You don’t seem to look a bit stressed handling the president’s daily briefing. What’s your routine like?

I am not stressed, though the job is a very stressful one. You practically think on your feet, and round the clock too. You respond to Press enquiries from round the world, and things happen in quick succession. But why am I not stressed? The grace of God is available for me. It has always been. As a reporter, editor, managing director of a newspaper house, before I came to this assignment, I had always enjoyed grace. I had always taken in my strides things that appeared very tough and daunting. That was simply because God was always there, and He is still there. There is no mountain that we cannot climb; there is no river that we cannot cross. When I say ‘we,’ I mean Jesus and me. He takes my hands, leads, and I just follow. So, stress disappears. My routine is tied round that of my principal. When he is working, I am working. When he is traveling, more often than not, I am also traveling. When he holds late night meetings, more often than not, I am there. And when he rests, I rest. God simply helps us.

 

Did it ever happen that you once disagreed with your principal on how certain statements should be presented to the public, and how does he react when such case arises?

Not at all. I don’t recall any major disagreement. When there is a major and fundamental issue, I sit with him, get his thoughts, and convey such to the public. That does not mean I cannot disagree with him if necessary. Indeed, on my first day at work, he already told me: “disagree with me if necessary. I am a General. I may argue, but please argue with me. If your argument is superior, I will bow to it.” But till now, there has been no major cause of argument. If there is, I won’t hesitate to engage with him, since he has given me a rain cheque, so to speak.

 

What’s your relationship like with the state house press corps, and does it worry you that in reporting the nation, you find a section of the media focusing more on trivialities?

My relationship with the State House Press Corps is cordial, but I believe they are the ones who can assess me better. “The eye does not see itself,” says Shakespeare, so it is the journalists I work with that can speak better.

On those who dwell on trivialities, well, they are welcome to it. I work with a very serious minded person, and trivialities, particularly as we have it awash on social media, do not bother me. We keep our eyes on the ball. It is the goal that matters.

 

People say office and power have their ways of changing the occupier. How much has being the President’s spokesperson changed Femi Adesina?

Again, it is people that knew me before June last year, and who still know me now, that can determine whether public office has changed me. Wherever it has changed me for worse, I wish to be told, and I’ll gladly make amends. But if you ask me, I wish to remain the same Femi Adesina, simple, accessible, upholding the dignity of the human person.

 

What has your current schedule denied you?       

My current schedule has denied me a lot. The companionship of my family, for one. I have been married for 25 years, and had never lived away from my wife and children. But now, I am compelled to. It is tough, but I consider it a sacrifice for the country. Also, I am a church person, being a born again Christian. I do not have all the times I used to have to do spiritual things, beyond Sundays. I know that God understands. Another phase of my life would come, in which I would have a lot more time. I trust God for it.

 

As a president’s spokesman, you have all the freedom to carry out your tasks. Are there special privileges that you enjoy in the presidency, given that your office is a non-cabinet one?

The office of Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President is of cabinet rank. It was elevated to that level under President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, when Segun Adeniyi occupied the office. One attends cabinet meetings, though as an observer. Before then, those who spoke for the President were of senior special assistant level, but under Yar’Adua, it was upgraded. The other part of your question is what privileges does one enjoy? Well, I see what I am doing as a national assignment, and if out of over 170 million Nigerians, you are called to serve the country, that is a big privilege in itself. It is an honour to serve as adviser on media to the President of one’s country.