A former
presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, has revealed why the late Chief of Staff
to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari, had issues with him till death.
Adesina disclosed that he endured a strained relationship with Kyari from the onset of his
appointment.
He noted that the late Chief of Staff refused to grant him unhindered access to the
President, despite Buhari’s directive to that effect.
In his book, ‘Working with Buhari: Reflections of a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity
(2015-2023)’, Adesina claimed that Kyari deliberately prevented Buhari from
funding the operations of the presidential media office for five years.
Adesina said in the book, “In June 2015, I had
done a memo to the President, recommending some people to be taken on as staff
in the Media Department. They had gone through the campaign and struggles with
us and pedestaled themselves as dyed-in-the-wool Buharists. They were from
different parts of the country.
“I explained that much to Mr. President the day I
took the memo to him. He thanked me and said he would pass it to the SGF
(Secretary to Government of the Federation) when he appointed one, so it would
be on record. Fair enough.
“When a COS (Chief of Staff) and SGF were
appointed, the President directed the memo to the COS. Also in order. But Malam Kyari just sat on it for the next one year. He did not say
anything on it.
“Eventually, my colleague, Garba Shehu, went to see him. And
he confessed to Shehu that he shunned the memo because I had taken it directly
to the President. But the June date on it was clear. He had not even been
appointed then.
“The second had to do with funding of the Media
Department. There was no budget line, and funds were usually provided by the
Office of the NSA, as needs arose. I had consulted with two of my predecessors,
Dr. Reuben Abati, and Ima Niboro, who had briefed me.
“Media and publicity is not cheap, not anywhere in the world,
but it would amaze you that we operated for five years without a dime. After the NSA was appointed, I went to meet
and brief him about how publicity was usually funded from his office. It was a
Friday, and he promised that anything that would make me and the man we had
come to serve succeed, he would do.
“Exactly a week later, after the Jumat service,
the NSA walked into my office, with his two hands in the air. I asked what the
matter was. He told me he had received a memo from the President, directing
that nothing, absolutely nothing, must be funded from his office, except
security. In the light of that, the promise he had made me was no longer
tenable.
“I thanked him and said I would meet the
President. And I did. That very night, in the house. I remember that it was
only myself and General Dambazau that were waiting to see him. He is a senior
friend, and I told him the purpose of my visit.
“He was quite surprised that over three months
media and publicity was not being funded yet.
“He asked how we were doing it, and I said myself
and Shehu were using goodwill.
“When I met the President and told him of my
encounter with the NSA, he confirmed that he gave the directive, and explained
why.”
He quoted Buhari as saying, “A lot was done
through the Office of the NSA, and there were no records. I do not want that.
We will institute a probe into the activities of the office (it was eventually
done), and you will see what happened there. I don’t want the media funded from
there again.
“Meet the Chief of Staff and let him design how we
would be funding media.”
Adesina narrates further: “The next day, I went to see the COS in the
office. I had just started talking, when he impatiently started to say: ‘No,
no, no. Media is not funded from here. Media is not funded from here.’ He would
not even give me a chance to talk. And lest I appear as someone just after
funding, for what I would gain, I left his office and never went back to the
President. For the first five years, the media did not receive one naira, till
the SGF, Boss Mustapha, heard about it and designed a budget line from his
office.
“It was not up to what was required, but it was better than
nothing.
“Third encounter. A retired General, someone well respected in the country, had wanted to
see the President.
“Many times, he applied through the office of COS,
which is the proper channel. He never got feedback. So he phoned and asked me
to intervene since the issue he wanted to discuss was quite serious. I went to
the President, and mentioned the General, and why he needed to come see him.
“The President just said: ‘Tell SCOP to schedule him for 8:00
pm tomorrow in the house.’ I passed on the word and left for my office. I had
not been seated for five minutes when my intercom rang. It was the COS who
wanted me to come to his office.
“He started screaming as I entered: ‘Why did you get an appointment for
Gen..? Why did you? You always go behind me to relate with the President. You
have to stop it.’
“Remember the President’s instructions to me the
day I resumed work: ‘Do not let anybody stop you from seeing me. Anytime you
need to see me, just come.’ I never abused that rain check but went to see the
President only when it was totally necessary, throughout the eight years. And
he was always gracious to me.
“But apparently, it became an issue with Malam Abba, so we
were not quite chummy, but we were also not enemies.”
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