Former Presidential aide, Femi Adesina, recently shared insights in his new book, ‘Working with Buhari: Reflections of A Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015-2023),’ dismissing the notion that former President Muhammadu Buhari is a bigot.
Adesina highlighted an incident when Buhari, a Muslim, publicly invoked the name of Jesus four times after Vice President Yemi Osinbajo survived a helicopter crash in 2019.
In his book, Adesina recalled the President’s lighthearted comment during a Federal Executive Council meeting, suggesting that Osinbajo, as a pastor, must have exclaimed “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!” during the crash, with a humorous remark about Jesus saving him.
According to Adesina: “The Vice President survived a helicopter crash in 2019. The President publicly rejoiced with him, and then at the next Federal Executive Council meeting, he congratulated the VP again.
“Jocularly, he said: ‘I can imagine that when the chopper crashed with a bang, VP as a pastor must have shouted, Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! And fortunately, Jesus was not far away, so He saved him’.
“We all laughed. But one instructive lesson. Bigots don’t like Jesus. They never want to hear His name, or attribute anything miraculous to Him.
“Buhari, a bigot? I beg, comot for road, make I pass. It is said that as a military commander, he gave opportunity for Muslim soldiers to observe the jummah on Fridays, and Christian soldiers were allowed to go to church on Sundays.
“A bigot would allow Muslims and pretend that Christians didn’t exist.”