In this interview, Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, spoke on his plans after May 29, his principal’s interest in newspaper cartoons, how he handles his job despite close ties with Atiku Abubakar, as well as the disagreement between the president and some governors over the cashless policy of the federal government.
President Muhammadu Buhari appears to be one of few leaders who retained appointees for years; why is this so?
I think this question is best for him. But if my little knowledge of political history is correct, you find out that stability in the administration of institutions and nations has always been a critical factor in their development process. Get me clearly, I am not in any way suggesting that dictatorship is good; obviously, democracy is the best form of government.
Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore was elected prime minister for about 29 years, but under him, that country achieved national development because there was consistency in policy implementation and administration. As I said, I don’t want to be mistaken as advocating unbroken dictatorship, but there is a way people stabilise in their jobs and they achieve, nothing like perfection, but that attitude which enables them to just get it right most of the time. A lot of it comes with the test of time. But for God’s sake, if you want to know why President Buhari keeps people as long as he wants, ask him. For us in the media office, we are very grateful to him. As I keep saying, people who were here before us were either booted out or they resigned. In a few cases, they died. But here we are, eight years.
There are people who have been close to President Buhari for decades, like the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai and that of Kano, Umar Ganduje, but they became very critical of him at the twilight of this administration. Do you think he would forgive them?
Did they tell you that he is angry with them? There is no evidence for that. The president has said over and again that he is a newborn democrat. There must be differences among people on policies. And if in these eight years Ganduje and El-Rufai co-existed in the same political environment and ecosystem with Buhari but happened to disagree on one issue – change of currency and how it was implemented – that is fine. It is possible for people to disagree on any issue. It means they are still friends. I don’t think this should come in between them.
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Buhari always curious about cartoons – Garba Shehu
After this job, are you thinking of going back to the university to teach?
If I will be in Kano, certainly, I will appreciate it if Bayero University, Kano (BUK) gives me a chance. When they say the reward of a teacher is in heaven, my response is that reward is equally obtainable on earth.
After those few years I taught in BUK, there is no newsroom I go to in this country and somebody doesn’t walk up to me and to say, “I was your student.” And the favour they can do to you is worth more than anything money can buy. I hope to do more.
The first thing on my mind now is to go on leave to decompress. For eight years, we have been on call duty, 24 hours, seven days in a week. There is no provision for annual leave or personal aides. We will go on leave and think of what to do after that.
You said that before briefing Mr President he would have read it in the newspapers. How does he react to some of those satirical cartoons about him?
The president is always curious about cartoons. It is an amazing fact. It will interest you to know that when the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, presented a memo on Wednesday and the president came to the point of approval, he said, “Better look at Daily Trust, they have a cartoon on you.” Maybe some of the cabinet members had not even seen the paper at that time. But that is who he is.
Some people say the Villa is jinxed, how true is this?
I don’t think it is true. If it was jinxed, President Buhari would have also attempted a third term because the ones who came before him directly or indirectly tried to change the constitution. Even if they didn’t try, we have seen a lot of persuaders mounting campaigns for there to be tenure elongation or truncation of electoral victory. Have you seen anybody coming here to say President Buhari should do one more term, or that Tinubu’s election should be cancelled? You dare not come here and do that kind of thing. So don’t mind them, they are just trying to find excuses. If you are strongly principled and determined to stand with the constitution and do what is right, nothing will change you. There are no demons here. We can’t see any.
Some of us have noticed that you rarely refuse picking your calls no matter the situation. What is giving you the courage?
President Buhari is our employer, but in another sense, journalists are the ones who keep us in our positions because they can get us into trouble. The greatest favour any journalist can do for you is to call you and ask for your own side of the story. Don’t forget that they can actually do that story without you. The only thing you can do is to delay the reaction. And the danger is: How are you sure that the one who read the first story you don’t like would have the chance to read the second story, two or three days after, where you rebutted the earlier story? So, the attitude we have brought to the job is that we are not too big to answer our telephone calls because if you don’t answer, the journalists will go and talk to people who don’t like you or your government and they will fill the space. You will read the story later but you won’t like it. And that will not be the fault of journalists because you refused to avail yourself of the opportunity given to you. When that happens, the little damage they have done in one day may take you three months to clean up. So, it is always better that you are in the same story. That is my attitude.
How do you feel when former Vice President Atiku Abubakar criticises Mr President?
President Buhari is a democrat per excellence. He came from the opposition to defeat an incumbent, so he knows the value of the right to freedom of expression, especially by somebody outside power. He is never a person who will stop people from talking.
When Atiku attacks President Buhari, I feel it is an attack on the president for whom I work because by my own principle, no man can serve two bosses at same time. When I was with Atiku, he defined the facts. Now that I am with Muhammadu Buhari, he also defines the facts. That is the way I see them. If I am not ready to see it with him, the hounourable thing would have been for me to tell Mr President that I can’t keep his job. But the fact that I have chosen to stay with him means that I have to carry his load. And I am prepared to do this till the very end.
But you have a close relationship with the Wazirin Adawama, has there not been conflict of interests?
No; but in this age of digital media, there are lots of rubbish you read that are not true. I must continue to commend President Buhari because he has a rare type of grace. For the man to stand with you and allow you to fully express yourself and do your job in line with your professional upbringing tells you the rare nature he has. This is something I will continue to appraise all my life.
You said there was no fight between you and Mr Femi Adesina, but as human beings there are instances you disagree. Can you share those moments and how you handled them?
I will not share that on the pages of the press. But I and Adesina have been friends as individuals from my days as an activist in the Nigeria Guild of Editors. He had supported me and backed my candidacy for offices, up to the presidency of the Guild. We had met at family level, and the day we took this job, we made it clear to each other that our old relationship that had subsisted would not delete. And if we have anything we don’t agree with, we talk to each other. Communication is essential in this relationship. So far, we have not had any nasty incident, and by the grace of God, it will continue to be like this until the very end.
