Follow Us on Google
• says he relied on friends to pay hospital bills, children school fee
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Former presidential spokesman Femi Adesina on Tuesday appeared on Sunrise Daily on Channels Television, offering an insightful reflection on the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s attitude toward the media—a relationship marked by caution but not hostility.
Adesina explained that Buhari’s reserved stance was shaped by past experiences, notably a damaging N2.8 billion scandal from his time as Oil Minister in the 1970s. He said,
“Without hearing from him, without seeking the truth, the media went to town and carried that 2.8 billion was missing under his watch. For a man who valued integrity, who valued accountability, it hurt most deeply.”
He revealed that this ordeal deeply affected Buhari, who later told him, “Under his administration as a civilian president, he parted ways with the media from that time.”
Adesina stressed that despite this distancing, Buhari was not antagonistic:
“He kept away from them as much as possible, but he was not antagonistic towards them.”
The former spokesman described how media relations were largely delegated to his office:
“He preferred to do his own thing and left us who managed his public image and its media to deal with the media.”
Addressing the controversial expulsion of a reporter from the presidential villa, Adesina clarified the circumstances:
“The villa is a high security place… there was that particular reporter who kept fishing out negatives from the villa… The security people expelled that reporter.”
However, Adesina insisted the expulsion was improperly handled: “I countered it… said it was not proper to have expelled him without consulting the media department.”
He added that the expulsion was eventually rescinded, but the reporter never returned.
Highlighting Buhari’s willingness to avoid open conflict with the press, Adesina recalled: “When we got into government in 2015, a reporter expelled by the previous administration was recalled because President Buhari was not ready to be at loggerheads with the media.”
Other News
Despite his reserved public image, Adesina painted a picture of a leader capable of warmth and humour with journalists, sharing a personal memory: “The day he resumed at the villa, he engaged with the media for about one hour, asked reporters to introduce themselves… When a reporter of The Sun introduced herself, Buhari joked about the cartoonist’s drawing of his chin, saying, ‘My chin is not as long as that.’”
Adesina, also disclosed that Buhari relied on his wealthy friends to pay for his hospital bills in London. He said Buhari “just needed to call anybody — the Dangotes, the Abdusalamis — and they would oblige,” adding, “I doubt if he paid for those bills himself” and mentioning that for Buhari’s last trip, “I know the jets of the person he went in”.
He also revealed that Buhari did not own a house in London despite frequenting the city for medical treatment. Instead, Buhari often stayed at the Nigerian High Commission, where “the High Commissioner even moved to a smaller place so the President could stay in his official residence” during an extended medical vacation.
The ex-president spokesman dismissed claims that Buhari’s medical treatment abroad began only after he became president, stating, “Before he became President, he had always done his medicals in London, the same set of doctors. Those who knew his medical history continued with him instead of starting afresh”.
Furthermore, Adesina justified Buhari’s preference for London health care by pointing to Nigeria’s inadequate medical expertise. He said, “If he had said, ‘I will do my medicals in Nigeria just as a show-off or something,’ he could have long been dead because there may not be the expertise needed in the country”. He emphasised the importance of staying alive to bring about change, noting, “You have to be alive first to get certain things changed or corrected in your country”.
Adesina also addressed lingering questions about how late President Buhari managed the reported high fees of his children’s education abroad.
He explained that President Buhari was not personally responsible for paying his children’s school fees. He recounted a conversation with the president amidst public discussions over the cost and nature of their schooling. Buhari reportedly told him: “I do not know. It’s my friends that pay it.” Buhari further directed that inquiries be made to his brother-in-law, Modi, described as the “wife’s brother,” who could provide details on the schools and the individuals covering the expenses.
Highlighting Buhari’s character, Adesina described him as a man of goodwill, whose needs were often met through the generosity of friends and well-wishers. “Almost anything he wanted, his friends would supply,” he said, shedding light on the network of benefactors supporting the former president in various aspects of his life.
