The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Buhari, Femi Adesina, has reacted to the damning verdict on his principal by The Punch in its editorial of Wednesday, 11 December 2019.

The Punch had published an article against the President, whose administration has been characterized by tyranny and a total disregard of the law, the latest being the violent re-arrest of Human Rights Activist, Omoyele Sowore, in a courtroom.

Because of this lawless trait, the popular Nigerian newspaper hence decided to refer to the President, Major-General, a tyrannical dictator in all their publications.

“As a symbolic demonstration of our protest against autocracy and military-style repression, PUNCH (all our print newspapers, The PUNCH, Saturday PUNCH, Sunday PUNCH, PUNCH Sports Extra, and digital platforms, most especially Punchng.com) will henceforth prefix Buhari’s name with his rank as a military dictator in the 80s, Major General, and refer to his administration as a regime, until they purge themselves of their insufferable contempt for the rule of law.”

However, Femi Adesina, Buhari’s media aide has reacted to the new name, saying the President earned the title as it was not freely given.

He said,

“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 is 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 did not pass through military service better 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 is a matter of semantics) has pledged to uphold and preserve.”

A former army general who ruled Nigeria from 1983 to 1985, Buhari contested 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 presidential elections as a “reformed democrat.”

He would succeed in his fourth attempt, defeating then-incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.

Buhari won a second term in office in 2019.