The public is hereby alerted to a new dimension in the orchestrated
plot to diminish the stature of President Muhammadu Buhari before
millions of Nigerians who love and adore their President.
First, it was a pernicious twisting and misinterpretation of the
words of the President by mischievous elements, perhaps they can earn
him opprobrium and infamy. When they see that the gambit is not
achieving the desired results, they have now gone into utter fabrication
of apocryphal statements, which they purvey through the social media.
An example is a fictive portion of the February 2015 lecture by the
then Candidate Buhari at Chatham House, London. This is what is
circulating now on social media:
“What is the difference between me and those who elected us to
represent them, absolutely nothing. Why should Nigerian President not
fly with other Nigerian public? Why do I need to embark on a foreign
trip as a President with a huge crowd with public funds? Why do I need
to go for a medical trip abroad if we cannot make our hospital
functional? Why do we need to send our children to school abroad if we
cannot developed our university to compete with the foreign ones?”
Fortunately, the Chatham House lecture of 2015 is in the public
domain. The full text was published by many Nigerian newspapers, and is
still available in their libraries and various websites. The concoction
by haters and agents of disunity is not part of the text of the lecture
at all.
The morbid minds that created the falsehood simply want to
de-market and demean the President, having seen that defeating him in a
free and fair electoral contest is a tall order. Therefore, they desire
to instigate the electorate against him by creating statements that
never existed, and attributing such to him.
We are, however, glad that millions of Nigerians, young and old,
are smart enough to see through the machinations. The dubious people
will not succeed, as President Buhari’s reputation has been built over
time, and sustained for decades. That is why he is widely acclaimed for
integrity, transparency, honour, and accountability, both home and
abroad. Negative minds can never erode or corrode this.
Bitter emotions stunt the soul and defile the mind. Those behind it
will find out, eventually, that they are the ones swallowing poison,
and expecting another person to die. They will realize the folly of
their actions, to their own grief.
Decent Nigerians are urged to be wary of the fare they consume
hook, line and sinker, particularly on social media. President Buhari is
actuated by nothing else than love for motherland. He is poised to
build a country which all Nigerians can proudly call their own. Noxious
minds can still have a change of heart.
FEMI ADESINA
Special Adviser to the President
(Media and Publicity)
May 9, 2018.