Buhari’s Lawlessness: Presidency ‘Endorses’ Trending Punch Editorial

Calling Buhari “Major General”, His Administration “Regime”, Okay – Femi Adesina

The presidency may have tacitly endorsed the content of the Punch Newspaper editorial where President Muhammandu Buhari was tagged as “Major General” and his administration “regime” as though the country was in a military setting.

“Regime” is characterized with a military rule which is known world over for the use of brute-force.

The presidency said that Buhari work hard as former military leader to earn the military rank of Major General as such there is no big deal addressing him with the rank.

According to the presidency, it is a matter of semantic in the use of English language to use such description for Buhari who is running a democratically elected government.

The presidency, via Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President, (Media and Publicity), in a swift reaction to the PUNCH editorial, said that addressing President Buhari with such prefix “is another testimony to free speech and freedom of the press” but failed to address the issues of “insufferable contempt to the rule of law” as contained in the editorial.

The statement obtained by BIGPEN Online on Wednesday titled “ANOTHER TESTIMONY TO PRESS FREEDOM IN NIGERIA, BY PRESIDENCY” reads in full:

A newspaper says it will henceforth address President Muhammadu Buhari by his military rank of Major General. Nothing untoward in it. It is a rank the President attained by dint of hard work before he retired from the Nigerian Army. And today, constitutionally, he’s also Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

All over the world, just as in our country, a large number of retired military officers are now democrats. It does not make those who didn’t pass through military service better democrats than them.

Rather than being pejorative, addressing President Buhari by his military rank is another testimony to free speech and freedom of the press, which this administration (or regime, if anyone prefers: it’s a matter of semantics) has pledged to uphold and preserve.