Femi Adesina: I cried when Buhari asked me to work for him
Femi Adesina, former Special Adviser to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, has shared an emotional narrative about his initial hesitation to serve under the former president. The former presidential aide spoke on Saturday in Ibadan during a book reading session of his book titled, ‘Working With Buhari: Reflections of A Special Adviser, Media […]
Femi Adesina
Femi Adesina, former Special Adviser to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, has shared an emotional narrative about his initial hesitation to serve under the former president.
The former presidential aide spoke on Saturday in Ibadan during a book reading session of his book titled, ‘Working With Buhari: Reflections of A Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015 – 2023)’.
It was organised by Purplebloom Publishers, Ibadan Tech Expo, Safari Books, and Wells Radio Ibadan, while the session was anchored by Michael Olatunbosun, a broadcast journalist and book reviewer.
According to Tribune, Adesina shared passages from his 488-page book, emphasizing that his work aims to reveal the “Buhari software, not the hardware”—delving into the personal attributes and motivations of the former president rather than just his political actions.
He recounted the profound emotional conflict he experienced when Buhari first asked him to join his administration, moving from his position as Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Sun newspaper.
He described his fear of the unknown and the difficulty of leaving a familiar job for a new challenge.
“What would I meet there? What if I did not like it? I did not want to leave my job, but it was too late to backtrack,” Adesina was quoted to have said.
He reportedly stated that he had been selling Buhari since 2003 as an honest and transparent man, and serving him was his sacrifice and contribution to the development of the country even when the pay was one-third of what he was earning as the MD of The Sun newspaper.