On Tuesday, two books including one by Femi Adesina, former special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, were presented to the public in Abuja, with President Bola Tinubu as a special guest of honour.
The book by Mr Adesina is titled, “Working with Buhari: Reflections of A Special Adviser, Media, and Publicity (2015-2023),” while the other is in five volumes and jointly written by dozens of authors.
The event, held at the Transcorp Hilton, was the first time former President Buhari and his successor, President Tinubu, appeared publicly together after the handover on 29 May 2023.
Mr Adesina’s book chronicles the experiences, stories, and facts revolving around Mr Buhari’s eight years as a civilian president.
In his remarks, President Tinubu said: “I particularly thank Femi for using his memoirs to let us into the challenging eight years of the administration and how his principal steered the ship of State.”
In the preface of the book, Mr Adesina makes it clear that his book is not about the hardware of governance – the making of policies – monetary, fiscal, foreign – or even about the fundamentals of government.
Rather, Mr Adesina said, it’s about the software of governance and a journey to understanding the man who headed that government.
“The true narrative about Muhammadu Buhari needed to be told,” Mr Adesina added. “I found it necessary to write about him because I served in his administration for eight years, which is unprecedented. We worked together seamlessly and I felt everything that happened during this period needed to be documented.”
In the 488-page book, Mr Adesina discussed what propelled President Buhari to make certain decisions and why he did. “I believe it will help Nigerians to know the real and the true Muhammadu Buhari as opposed to the conjuration we have had over decades,” he said.
Then embedded in the book is also the checklist of “the achievements” of the Buhari administration. About 80 pages of the book are dedicated to the “achievements of the Buhari administration.”
“For me, Buhari is a conviction,” and “it is very important that records are kept and preserved for posterity,” he added. “And these are veritable records.”
In his remarks, former President Buhari said, “Femi Adesina has done the nation a favour in writing this book. He has provided firsthand information on our eight years of stewardship.”
Mr Buhari added that the book is an important asset to academia and to anyone interested in knowing the history of what happened during his administration. “Without documentation, human beings often have short memories and unless things are documented, they might be distorted or misrepresented.”
“For us, there was nothing done in secrecy. We were as transparent and as accountable as possible, being aware of the responsibility imposed on us by the people. We kept records of our stewardship, knowing that we would be required to account for the trust entrusted to us. This event is part of the account of our two terms in office,” Mr Buhari added.
Former Head of State Yakubu Gowon was the chairman of the occasion, while the co-chairman was another retired army general, I.B.M Haruna. Businessman Mohammed Indimi was also in attendance as the chief launcher.
The programme was also attended by Senate President Godswill Akpabio; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajuddeen Abbas; former first lady, Aisha Buhari; former vice president, Yemi Osinbajo; Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, and Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke. Several former governors and former ministers were also in attendance.
In his remarks, Mr Gowon said, “Former President Buhari has done his best in contributing to the development of the country. But there is no doubt that Nigeria is not bereft of critics, and strident criticisms are made on any subject, and that gives the impression as though nothing is achieved.”
Mr Haruna also corroborated this stance saying “Buhari has served Nigeria diligently both as a military and as a democrat. He preserved the integrity of the Nigerian democratic state.”
But, Mr Haruna noted, “Despite everything said, President Buhari can never escape the contradiction of people. But I know for a fact that you are a courageous and honest man who will continue to be trusted.”
In his review of the book, Shola Oshunkeye, a journalist, said “Mr Adesina provides intriguing insight not only into his struggles but also a human side of President Buhari that was never known.”
Mr Oshunkeye added that even though “Femi is generous and sympathetic to his boss, the book published by Safari limited is an important literature for those who seek to understand the enigma of Muhammadu Buhari.”
“I recommend the book to researchers, journalists, teachers, and students of history. I was spellbound when I read the book and I am sure you will feel the same when you do,” Mr Oshunkeye said.
Second book
The second book presented on Tuesday is: “Muhammadu Buhari: The Nigerian Legacy (2015 – 2023),” a five-volume compendium written by over 100 persons.
The contributors were drawn from various segments of academia, the media, research institutes, and independent scholars.
The final copy of the book was edited by Udo Yakubu.
“The main objective of this Compendium is to produce a comprehensive story of the Muhammadu Buhari administration,” Mr Yakubu said. “We started working on this in 2022. But it wasn’t until November 2023 that the projects kicked off effectively in terms of the various contributors setting out to do the required research and writing.”
“The five volumes that we have are a product of this robust team of authors and about a dozen editors. It was not a mean enterprise. And we are happy that we arrived at our destination despite the numerous challenges that we had to confront and overcome,” Mr Yakubu said.
“This is the authoritative, comprehensive, and the most definitive story of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2023. Not just in terms of the amount of the number of people that contributed to the work. But in several other regards,” he added.
“There is no work like this in the history of any administration in the country. It is unprecedented. And I will say that without mincing words, in terms of its scope, editorial independence, depth of critical engagements, and labyrinths of authority and scholarship.”
The volumes tell the story of the Buhari administration in significantly varied ways. Each volume has its theme and focus. For instance, the first volume focuses on Mr Buhari’s journey to the presidency, the challenges that confronted the new administration, and the early steps and efforts to change the inherited narrative on governance.
The second volume dwells on the development and management of the economy. The third is on various aspects of social and human development, national security, education, employment, etc.
The fourth is on industry, trade, public infrastructure, housing, transport, aviation, telecommunications, water, resources, power, etc. And the fifth volume focuses on the business of governments, politics, and governance, party politics, and Nigeria’s relations with the world.
Commenting on the five volumes, President Tinibu said he agreed with Mr Yakubu that the “authors gave an authoritative account of the stewardship of President Buhari.”
“Beyond what the editor of these volumes has recorded as the achievements of President Buhari in his eight years as a democratically-elected President, history will also be kind to him as the leader who promoted local production of goods to grow our economy,” the president said.
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