The Afenifere, a pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group has berated the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina saying he is mischievous to compare President Muhammadu Buhari to Nigeria’s past heroes.
An excerpt of Adesina’s article read that, “I have seen the great Obafemi Awolowo, the charismatic Nnamdi Azikiwe (Zik of Africa), Shehu Shagari, Aminu Kano, M K O Abiola, Bashir Tofa and many others in action.
“But I have not seen anyone with the kind of attraction, magnetic pull that Muhammadu Buhari has. And that is round the country, north and south. People swarm around him as bees do to honey.”
Reacting to Adesina’s position, the National Secretary for Afenifere, Jare Ajayi described the comparison as “mischievous and mistaken,” insisting that people are attracted to Buhari only because he is the president.
According to the Afenifere spokesman, “For sure – and for various reasons – a person occupying a leadership position is always an attraction anywhere in the world.
“To use the instances cited by the spokesman to gauge the popularity of the President, we can say that those who met him at the airport on his arrival from a medical trip could be in 3 or more categories.
“Those who genuinely wished him well and were happy to see him back. Those who were there to be really sure that the rumour of his death they heard was not true. And those who always go to any place that people gather – especially when or where a leading figure is or will be present.
“To use the crowd that gathered where President Buhari is not only a measure of his popularity is erroneous. Admittedly, crowd-pulling can be an indicator of popularity.
“But this is not likely now given the level of mistrust that people have in governments. The mistrust that governments created over the years through its various policies of alienation and disempowerment.
“From the foregoing, it can be stated without equivocation that the majority of the crowd the spokesman talked about would be those curious to see whether their presence and prayers could make Mr President to see that they are suffering and in need of benign policies from the government.
“Comparing President Buhari to Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe therefore is not only mistaken, it is mischievous, to say the least.”
Read also:
‘Buhari More Popular Than Awolowo, Azikiwe and Aminu Kano’ – Femi Adesina (photos)
Let’s Be Thankful We have only 2 to 3 Bombings Per Week – Femi Adesina
‘You Are Mischievous to Compare Buhari to Past Heroes,’ Afenifere to Adesina