Former Senior Special Assistant to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu, has addressed recent reports suggesting that the former Nigerian president regretted certain decisions made during his time in office. Shehu, in an interview with BBC Hausa, dispelled these claims, expressing concern about the misinterpretation of his colleague Femi Adesina’s remarks.
Adesina, another former media aide to Buhari, was quoted in the news as saying that the former President had regrets about some of his decisions made over his eight-year tenure. Shehu, however, emphasized that Adesina’s words had been taken out of context or misinterpreted.
He stated, “The newspaper that carried the story wanted to attract people’s attention and make sales. If not, what’s it that was done that would lead to regrets?”
According to Shehu, all of Buhari’s actions during his time in government were driven by a commitment to serving the Nigerian people and not motivated by self-interest. Therefore, the notion of regret does not apply.
“But that’s how things used to be; once an elephant is down, people will bring out their knives and struggle for a cut,” Shehu remarked, highlighting the political dynamics surrounding public figures.
Shehu continued to praise Buhari’s leadership, asserting that he had performed admirably. He suggested that even if current discussions failed to acknowledge his accomplishments, future assessments would likely recognize the positive impact Buhari had on the country.
Addressing allegations that Nigeria faced numerous challenges leading to its current predicaments, Shehu pointed out that no government in the world could solve all the problems a nation encounters. He encouraged a closer examination of the origins of difficulties and attributed some of Nigeria’s challenges to factors like economic dependence on oil and the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We also had the Coronavirus pandemic. Nations shut their doors and the economy plummeted. But Alhamdulillah, Buhari brought the Nigerian economy out of that crisis,” Shehu concluded, highlighting the resilience of Buhari’s administration in the face of multifaceted challenges.
