Adesina And A Whirlwind Of Illusions -By Kene Obiezu

It takes a lot of wiles to work with Nigeria's President, Mr. Muhammadu Buhari, himself an old warhorse, and they don’t come wilier than Mr. Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, who was co-opted for the role in 2015.

The trickiest thing about a journalist serving in any government is that the journalist is forced to splay their credentials as a journalist on the altar of politics which journalism by its nature so pitilessly scrutinizes for the sake of the public. When this is done, politicians who are often masters in the dark arts rejoice because suddenly, they have an opportunity to take a pound of flesh from their nemesis. In the role, Mr. Adesina has made many detractors while winning a few admirers, and in a recent interview, he came fully armed in defense of a government he serves - its actions and inactions many of which have severely complicated Nigerias hitherto treacherous journey.

In 2015, Mr. Muhammadu Buhari rode a tidal wave of anti-PDP sentiment to the countrys highest office. Under his predecessor, the mild-manner and consequently indulgent Mr. Goodluck Jonathan, the vultures were feeding voraciously on the country while fueling insecurity and the failure of public services.

Nigerians disproportionately felt the pinch. While insecurity was threatening to wipe away Nigerias sovereignty, corruption was obliterating invaluable public services and stoking popular resentment. When outraged, people can act blindly. It was certainly the case in 2015 when at historic polls, Nigerians elected Mr. Muhummadu Buhari while resoundingly rejecting Mr. Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP.

But the fact that today, many Nigerians look back at the days of the Goodluck Jonathan presidency with no little nostalgia bears eloquent testimony to the fact that an overwhelming number of Nigerians lament the fact that they sold a scorpion only to buy a wasp.

In spite of the best efforts of Mr. Femi Adesina, and Mr. Garba Shehu, to convince Nigerians otherwise, under Mr. Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerians have felt the pinch of the piercing pincers of poverty.

But it is not just poverty. Insecurity which by no means began under Mr. Buhari has since run wild and free obliterating the lives and livelihoods of millions of Nigerians as they knew it. It is not just Boko Haram that has been on rampage ransacking communities and sacking entire villages. When bandits feel like, they randomly visit schools, pick up the number of students they fancy and go away. They then call their panic-stricken loved ones for ransom. Occasionally, they even pick up Nigerian soldiers.

Whenever they fancy, ruthless killers disguised as Fulani herdsmen visit vulnerable villages where they indulge in wild orgies of slaughter, rapes and arson.

But because Mr. Adesina conveniently wears blinkers and freely brands those who dare to criticize Mr. Buhari as either religious bigots or evil speakers, he sees no evil and hears no evil.
But too many things are wrong in Nigeria, and Nigerians are firmly within their right to critically hold to account a man who in 2015 promised a departure from the political debaucheries of his predecessor.

As things have continued to unravel in Nigeria, the country has become an elaborate circus albeit one which holds a measure of convenience for some Nigerians depending on how involved one is in the circus.

For people like Mr. Adesina, proximity to the people in power ensures sufficient convenience even as an overwhelming number of Nigerians struggle with extreme hardship.

While he conveniently takes up cudgels in defense of those who pay his salaries, Mr. Adesina must remember his calling and his primary constituency. He will do well to remember the positions he took in the past, the positions he now takes and the positions he may yet take in the future.

He must try to do these conscientiously even as it appears that his teeth are already stained by hypocrisy which is the leaven of Nigerian politicians and their pawns.

Kene Obiezu,
keneobiezu@gmail.com