- * Says The Book Was a 'Most Reliable Account' Based On Adesina's Experience In Aso Rock
By Janet Bassey (Governance Reporter)
As preparation for the formal launching of the new book on how ex-President Muhammadu Buhari ruled Nigeria between May 29, 2015 and May 28, 2023 and written by former Presidential Spokesman, Femi Adesina draws near, Buhari's former Vice, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has praised Adesina's efforts, describing it as 'very wise and proactive' and 'a most reliable account' of that era, based on the experiences of Adesina in government.
Adesina, a veteran journalist and presently the Vice Chairman of the SUN Newspaper's group, was Buhari's Special Adviser on Media and Publicity for the eight years of Buhari's tenure as President of Nigeria.
Professor Osinbajo spoke in Lagos at the weekend when Mr Adesina visited him to make pre-launch advance presentation of copies of the book to the retired former Vice President.
The book titled: Working With Buhari; Reflections of a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015-2023), will be publicly unveiled in an elaborate event next week Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja from 10a.m. Adesina's former boss, Muhammadu Buhari and several other dignitaries are expected to grace the book launch. The book was published by Safari Books.
While recieving copies of the book, Professor Osinbajo was full of praises for Femi Adesina for putting down his experiences as an 'insider' in government during the Buhari/Osinbajo Presidency. He commended the author for the quality of the book and also the speed at which Adesina published the book in just less than seven months after their exit from power on Monday, May 29, 2023.
An elated Osinbajo told Adesina: “I think it is a very wise and proactive approach. I think it is wise to do so especially because he was an insider. He has all the information about the personal issues, personal details that are covered in the book. It is the right thing to do, so that he defines the narrative ahead, and anyone else who wants to write would have to use this as their soft material. Obviously, this is the most reliable account of his experiences in there.”
Osinbajo however hailed the quality and content of the book, saying that “in many ways", Adesina's work is a "personal discussion or conversation with Nigerians about who President Buhari was.” Aadding that Adesina is “possibly the person who would best represent who the (former) President was.”
The former Vice President also stated that Femi Adesina has the "kind of care and attention that would be required to do a proper and in-depth analysis” of their period at the Presidency. The book, Osinbajo observed, was “an honest account”.
At the proposed launch of the book next Tuesday, Nigeria's President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and former President Muhammadu Buhari would the present. While Tinubu will be the Special Guest of Honour, Buhari will be Special Guest, and Nigeria's civil war Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, and General I.B.M. Haruna, will be Chairman and Co-Chairman of the occasion.
Buhari's friends from the Middle East are also being expected at the event. It was gathered that the Prince of Saudi Arabia royal family, HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Faisal Al Saud, will lead a royal delegation to the book presentation. Also, Buhari's in-law and multi-billionaire oil magnate from Nigeria's North East Zone, Alhaji Mohammed Indimi, will be the event's chief launcher. NNL.
