Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, in an interview with Daily Independent Newspaper, discussed some of the key issues in the country.

Being a man close to the president, Adesina answered questions pertaining to the current administration and the policies of the government.

These are the 7 things to note from the interview.

1. President Buhari doesn’t travel for fun

Adesina addressed the complain by many Nigerians that the President has embarked on too many trips since he took over the presidency in May 2015. He pointed out that the president does not go on these trips for leisure, but for the benefit of Nigeria.

“Those who are criticising the president, do they think his staying at home will solve the problems in the country? Or do they think he needs external help in solving these problems? If we agree he needs external help in solving these problems, then why stay at home?  No matter what you do, one thing is certain- Nigerians will always complain.”

“Even if the president stays too much at home , they will say ‘oh, what is he always doing at home? Look at other heads of state from different countries attending meetings and he is not going? Is he planning to turn Nigeria into a pariah nation?’ So, Nigerians will always complain. The question we need to ask is ‘When the president travels, what does he go to do? One , he talks about security with different government and world powers that can help Nigeria in terms  of intelligence gathering, equipment and help us to secure ourselves.”

“The president keeps repeating that ‘you can’t manage a country that you have not secured’. Again, when he travels, he talks about the economy. Nigeria’s economy is in problem. So, if those who can help us in reviving our economy are there, and we are not meeting with them, it is our problem.”

“Whenever he goes out, he also talks about anti-corruption. Most of the monies looted from this country are stashed abroad. If the president stays at home and doesn’t engage with those who are in custody of that money, how does he get them back?  Some people will always talk no matter what the president does. If he stays too much at home, there will be problem. If he travels, there is a problem.”

“If he sleeps, there is a problem. If he wakes up, there is a problem. So, why do you mind people like that whose sole aim is to distract you from what you have been elected to do? Just face what you are doing.”

2. Buhari will remain focused whether people complain or not

The presidential spokesperson, revealed that President Buhari is a focused man who will not be deterred by the complaints of Nigerians. He revealed that the president’s sole mission is to serve Nigerians and nothing will distract him from the goal, not even Nigerians.

“There is nothing like reneging on campaign promises. People like to believe the worst about other people, particularly their leaders. It will not be the fault of the leader. It will be the fault of the people who are narrow-minded and prefer to remain so.”

“People should broaden their minds. We have an administration that will do nothing else but to serve the people of Nigeria selflessly yet you want to keep badgering and heckling that same person. No, that will not be in the interest of the country.  But one thing about this president is whether the people complain or not, he remains focused and will never allow himself to be distracted.”

3. Every reform in Nigeria revolves around corruption

Adesina also discussed the government’s fight against corruption. He stated that eradicating corruption is of high priority in the country as no reform could really happen in the country if corruption still exists.

“And of course, every other thing revolves around corruption. The economy revolves around corruption. Development, healthcare, education  and infrastructures also revolves around corruption.”

“If every other aspect is there and you can’t fund it because some people have stolen the money you are supposed to use to fund those things, then everything you do amounts to nothing.  Corruption is key. Unless you recover what was stolen, punish those involved in corrupt acts and close the loopholes, then you can’t expect change.  That is exactly what the president is doing.”

4. It’s okay for the ruling party to beat down its opposition

Reacting to claims from certain quarters that the Federal Government’s war against corruption is only a camouflaged plan to decimate the Peoples Democratic Party in a bid to make Nigeria a one party nation, Adesina revealed that it is only normal in politics for one party to want to destroy another.

“In party politics, the intention of one party is to beat the other down so that it can’t rise again. What PDP did when it was the ruling party was that it ensured that there is no viable opposition  against it. And unless APC had come as a coalition which it is, it would have been very difficult to defeat PDP in this country.”

“So now, it is left to those who are political players to know how to strengthen themselves as opposition. It will not be the duty of the federal government or the ruling party to tell them how to play their role as opposition. But to think Nigeria will ever become a one-party state, I don’t think that will be possible. There will always be multi-party democracy and there will always be opposition in the country.”

“Don’t forget that Dr. Doyin Okupe recently said that if PDP is going to die, he will be at the graveside to help bury it. That means he won’t decamp. So, there will always be elements like that who will stay faithful to their party.”

5. It’s not a crime for Buhari to reward people that helped him win the election

Adesina stated that there is nothing wrong in reshuffling the administration of government agencies when a new government takes over. He revealed that it is only normal for a president to reward the people who helped him get into the seat of power.

“Is that a crime in politics? Creating a job for those who work for your emergence as president, is that a crime? One, it is not a crime to do so. Two, the people that are relieved of their appointments were thanked for their services to the country and they were also wished the best in their future endeavours.”

“So, nobody was sacked. What happened was just some changes in government. It is normal everywhere. Whenever government changes, there will always be realignment like that in certain positions.”

6. Biafra protesters are angry because Nigerians voted out Jonathan

Speaking on the agitation for the secession of the Biafran state from Nigeria, Adesina stated that the Biafran sympathisers are simply angry that Goodluck Jonathan, whom he labelled their brother, is no longer in power. He further said that the people agitating for the new country do not know anything about war as they were too young to have experienced the civil war.

“Because their brother, Goodluck Jonathan is no longer in power. They said he was ‘Azikiwe’ their son. If their son could not achieve anything for them in six years and now want somebody to achieve it in months. That is not reasonable. I think those who are doing that in that region needs to have a reality check and come to terms with the fact that there is a new order in the country.”

“My advice is that the leaders in the region need to determine what they want. If now you are agitating that you don’t want to be part of Nigeria and then it is time for power to shift to other parts of the country and you now come forward and say ‘it is our turn’, which one do you believe?”

“You can’t eat your cake and have it at the same time. Do you want to opt out of the country and during election time, you say it is our turn? That is why the leaders should talk to these elements. And I believe a good number of them are talking to them. Most of those doing IPOB are in their 30s who didn’t experience the civil war. They didn’t know that over two million Nigerians died during the civil war. So, they think war is a tea party.”

7. Buhari could have removed Fayose, jailed Fani-Kayode and influenced Supreme Court decisions

The presidential spokesperson debunked claims that President Buhari is a dictator in a democrat’s suit with no respect for the rule of law. In his defence of the president, he mentioned instances where President Buhari could have sabotaged the democratic order of things in the country, but did not.

“On rule of law, if anybody wants to be forthright about it, you will know that this president and the government have respected the rule of law in its totality.  There are many indications to that. Let me give you four instances. When the president was inaugurated in May 29, one of his greatest antagonists during the election and even till now is Governor Ayo Fayose.

“Also remember, there was a bid to impeach Fayose by the former lawmakers. There was an interregnum betweenMay 29 and June 4 when that House ceased to exist. Do you think if the president wanted to remove Fayose he couldn’t have done so within those five days? He could have done it very easily. All it takes is just to remove the Commissioner of Police in Ekiti, open the House of Assembly, give the lawmakers cover and he Fayose will be impeached. But he never did that.”

“That clearly shows you that Buhari has total respect for the rule of law. Number two, one of those who also mounted a campaign of calumny against the president then as a candidate was Femi Fani- Kayode.  Fani- Kayode had a case in court running on money laundering. That case still lasted for about three to five months into the life of this administration. Eventually, he was discharged and acquitted.

“If he wants,  President Buhari could have influenced the case if he doesn’t respect the rule of law. All he needs to do is to lean a bit on the judge and say ‘send this man to jail’ and Fani – Kayode will be in jail today. The third instance is Buruji Kashamu. He was a financier of the PDP in the South- West. He had a case of extradition against him. If the president had wanted him to be extradited, you know that he will never win that case. He won the case and today he is walking free as a senator.”

“Lastly , look at the recent Supreme court judgements in Rivers, Akwa- Ibom and Taraba. If the president want to tamper with those judgements, it is very easy. Under this presidency, nobody should fear that the rule of law will be tampered with.”