Femi Adesina has lost his mind By Jude Egbas

I knew Femi Adesina was a disaster waiting to happen the moment he sat down with Channels Television’s Seun Okinbaloye on Politics Today on Easter Sunday.

The presidential spokesperson looked and sounded irritated from the off. There were no apologies when the host mentioned he’d spent a better part of the day (5-6 hours) queuing to buy petrol.
“But you eventually bought”, said the man who coined the pejorative phrase ‘wailing wailers‘, smugly.

He spoke with the air of a man who wasn’t in the studio to entertain any opposing views aimed at the government that guarantees his pay cheque.  When the host asked about president Muhammdu Buhari’s countless apologies even as Nigerians continue to suffer in an economy on a tailspin, Adesina said something along the lines of with Nigerians you never win. You are damned if you apologized and damned if you didn’t.

It was Easter Sunday and I had just stormed the apartment to catch my breath after queuing to get petrol the entire day. If I was looking to get some assurance and comfort from the presidency to the effect that things were going to get better any sooner, surely Mr. Adesina wasn’t ready and willing to provide it. He didn’t look the man to provide it. This was we don’t give a damn all over again from an administration that promised to change the way government had been run in Africa’s most populous nation.

Okinbaloye sought to know from the presidential spokesperson why the country’s power woes have continued and if the Buhari led federal government will be able to hit its promised target of 10,000mw; given its apparent snail speed.

It was as though Adesina had been waiting for this moment his entire life. The last time the country attained a high of 5,000mw, he said, vandals blew up oil installations, crashing down grid capacity.
“If some people are crying that they are in darkness”, said Adesina gruffly and unapologetically, “they should go and hold those who vandalized the installations…Dazzit”.

He was irritated, furious and pesky all at once and throughout the interview, Adesina seemed to wonder why the Buhari administration should have critics at all. It was as though the entire country should never question the Buhari administration. Critics of the Buhari administration were insane, Adesina seemed to say without actually uttering the words.

Days earlier, oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu had worn that arrogant toga as he entertained questions from the media, moments after emerging from a meeting with the president and major players in the oil sector on the perennial petrol scarcity which has all but grounded Nigeria’s economy.
“Unfortunately one of the trainings I didn’t receive was that of a magician”, said Kachikwu before rambling on about how NNPC (the state run oil company) has even exceeded its target by importing 100 percent of Nigeria’s gas needs and why everyone has to wait for another two months for the situation to return to normal.

Kachikwu, like Adesina, was flippant, unapologetic and unable to conceal his irritation at being questioned regarding a job he swore to diligently carry on. A public job paid from the public purse.

These new change agents are the very definition of arrogance and we are sadly witnessing that time and again. Months ago, I chastised the president and his minister of women affairs for the arrogance shown to the Bring Back Our Girls group at the villa. There appears to be an unwritten rule somewhere within the Buhari presidency that they are all beyond reproach.

They bristle at the slightest questions posed regarding their job performances. I have watched president Buhari get all red in the face and gaunt just because he was asked a question or two concerning the job he campaigned and begged to do.

Things have got to change. Adesina was a shame last night and the least I expect from him is a public apology to Nigerians. Asking the folks paying his salary to go fight armed vandals was uncouth, disrespectful and insulting. Asking civilians without a penny in security vote and without arms to their names, to go confront dare-devil vandals in the creeks, was pushing insanity to its very limits.

Between now and the spring of 2019, the Buhari presidency would be taken to task more and more on deliverables and election promises. The seat of power had better brace up because this is still a democracy after all.

And oh, I still haven’t got petrol for my generator after 72hrs of trying.