Femi Adesina, the former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, revealed on Wednesday that Buhari had regrets regarding some of his decisions during his presidency and believed he could have handled certain matters differently.
Adesina, who addressed an audience in Osogbo on Wednesday during a program titled ‘Media Dialogue with Femi Adesina,’ organized by the Association of Veteran Journalists in Osun State, explained that such feelings of regret were a common human experience.
He shared that before Buhari’s departure from office, he engaged in a two-hour conversation with the former president, during which he posed a wide range of questions.
Adesina stated, “There is no living human being that will not regret certain things. It is one of the questions I asked the President. Before we left office, I sat with him for about two hours, and I asked him every question under the sun; there was no question I didn’t ask him. There were things he (Buhari) felt could have been done better.”
However, he defended Buhari’s controversial policy regarding the redesign of the national currency, the naira, asserting that it was implemented for the betterment of the nation.
Recalling the time when this policy was in effect, Adesina pointed out that kidnapping incidents were relatively low, citing an example where kidnappers released a hostage in Kano after a few days because there was no cash to demand as ransom. He argued that even kidnappers faced challenges due to the scarcity of physical currency.
Adesina also highlighted that cleaner elections were facilitated by the same policy, as he mentioned that nine sitting governors failed to secure Senate seats in elections during that period. He attributed this outcome to the reduced availability of money for political campaigns, suggesting that the policy, while not without flaws, had some positive impacts.
In summary, Femi Adesina disclosed that ex-President Buhari had regrets about certain decisions made during his presidency, emphasizing that this was a normal human experience. Additionally, he defended Buhari’s naira redesign policy, highlighting its positive effects on reducing kidnapping incidents and promoting cleaner elections.
