Buhari to attend launch of Garba Shehu’s memoir July 9

Garba Shehu, spokesperson to former President Muhammadu Buhari, is set to unveil a publication titled ‘According to the President: Lessons From A Presidential Spokesman’s Experience’.

Buhari and other dignitaries are expected to attend the book presentation, which will be held on July 9 at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Shehu said the book contains “lessons” he learnt during his “many years” of presidential communications.

He said the book provides rich information for students of communication, journalism practitioners, and researchers.

“Recall that I served as a spokesman to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar during the second term of President Olusegun Obasanjo, 2003 to 2007,” he said.

“The fact notwithstanding was that I was in office for only six months before the president fired me through television statements. This was a testy yet remarkable period in my professional growth.

“Throughout that period and the years that followed, we were fighting others for the political life of the vice president.

“The book documents those rough and tough moments, not only for the vice president but also for those who were around him.

“I was arrested and detained several times by the DSS, and by an order of a judge, I was thrown into the Kuje prison.

“My trial spanning over a two-year period and the eventual acquittal, the how and why it happened should provide a heads-up to journalism practitioners.

“When he won the presidential primary, Muhammadu Buhari graciously asked me to be the media director of the campaign.

“From then onwards, all through the eight years in Villa, we had a contrasting experience because we were the ones who were being fought. A Hausa proverb says, If you are eating mangoes, flies will come.”

Shehu said he built on what Femi Adesina and other authors have written, which touched on Buhari’s administration.

“It brings President Buhari up close: how did he govern? What did he eat? And the clothes he wears for some occasions? Given his unique personal style, President Buhari wasn’t a leader who merely cut ribbons and took pictures,” he said.

“He wanted his work to speak for him as he tried to reach the doorstep of the poor through a first-of-its-kind Social Investment Program, SIP.

“His government made sincere efforts to improve the quality of life of the poor, farmers, youths, and women, as well as small businesses and traders.

“Under him, Nigeria witnessed an unprecedented transformation of infrastructure, poverty alleviation, and public welfare, which deserves to be etched in golden letters.

“Along with strengthening the country’s security, President Buhari also enhanced the nation’s stature abroad.

“His government brought a new culture into government — a culture of personal integrity — and set new benchmarks in transparency with the institution of the treasury single account (TSA) tax identification number (TIN), bank verification number (BVN), IPPS, whistleblower; the usage of NIN number and the various other transparency-enhancing schemes.”

Shehu added that the 260-page book tries to explain policies and programmes undertaken by the administration in its eight years.