Buhari didn’t remove fuel subsidy because he cared about ‘ordinary’ Nigerians – Femi Adesina

Femi Adesina, a former spokesman to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, says his principal did not remove fuel subsidy because he cared about the impact of such a policy on “ordinary” Nigerians.

Buhari presided over Nigeria from 2015 to 2023 before handing over to President Bola Tinubu from his party – the All Progressives Congress (APC).

During his inauguration, Tinubu declared the removal of fuel subsidy after several years of the Federal Government’s inability to stop it. That led to a skyrocketing of the price of the commodity, pushing the cost of basic items higher across the country.
But in his birthday tribute to Buhari who clocked 82 on Tuesday, Adesina said his principal did not take that decision because of the impact it would have on millions of Nigerians and described him as “ore mekunu” which is a Yoruba phrase for “friend of the poor”.

“The Big Elephant in the room. Removal of fuel subsidy. Did you think the Government didn’t know that the money-guzzling monster had to be slain? It knew. But who ensured that subsidies remained as long as it did? Buhari. And why? The people, the ordinary people,” Adesina wrote in a post on his Facebook page.
“His argument was always simple: ‘When oil sold for at least 100 dollars per barrel in the international market, rising even to as high as 140 dollars per barrel, what did the ordinary people gain? Nothing! So why should they be the ones to bear the brunt when oil prices fall?’
“By the time the administration ended, all, including the three main presidential candidates, were resolved that oil subsidies had to be removed. It was not unlikely that President Buhari shared the same conviction. But something that would throw society into a tailspin? He didn’t want to do it—for the sake of the ordinary people.
“Ordinary people gravitate towards Buhari, like bees to the honeycomb. That was why he always had a basket of millions of waiting votes, even before the first ballot was cast. He clobbered the ruling People’s Democratic Party in 2015, and won with even larger votes in 2019, despite all attempts to denigrate and demarket him. When you love the ordinary people, they love you in return and stand with you through thick and thin.”