Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, on Thursday tasked Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, to tell his boss that Nigerians are hungry.
Adams spoke at the second annual lecture of Freedom Online, which held in Ikeja, Lagos State.
Adesina had reeled out statistics on the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari since 2015, saying only those who chose to be wilfully blind would not acknowledge government’s achievements.
He said agriculture, importation, stock market performance, infrastructure development among others have improved under Buhari’s administration.
“If you choose to be wilfully blind, even if they put something in your face, you won’t be able to see it,” the presidential spokesman said.
But in his remarks, Adams said though Adesina’s analysis was beautiful, it meant little to the man on the street.
He said: “You made a very good analysis, but by the time we check it, I know you are a very honest person and you are telling us the truth, but with this analysis, I think the grassroots people should feel the government, they should feel the impact of government by all means.
“I am a regular traveller.
“I’ve travelled to about 46 countries and I know what is happening in the developed world and when you see most of their economic analysts, they won’t tell you what they are doing theoretically but you will see what is happening.”
Adams, therefore, called on Adesina to go back to Abuja and tell the President that the people are hungry.
He said: “When my brother, Mr. Femi Adesina, was making the analysis, it got to a point, I was so shocked because I know the background of my brother, Femi Adesina, as a brilliant journalist.
“When he was at The Sun Newspaper, you’d love to read his articles and for trying to package their government, I was not surprised.
“But I want you to pass this message to the President because I remember when President Goodluck Jonathan was in power, he said when they are in that Villa, it’s just like being in a prison or a cage.
“They don’t know what is happening at the grass roots.
“But coming to this event, we need to pass this information that you can tell Mr. President that Nigerians are suffering.”
The Aare Ona Kakanfo added in Yoruba: “Ebi n pa awon ara ilu (the people are hungry).”
Keynote speaker at the event, Prof. Akin Onigbinde, followed suit in his analysis of the situation.
Onigbinde described Adesina’s analysis as “the reality that we cannot see.”
He said:
Onigbinde said: “I welcome my friend, Adesina, telling us the reality we cannot see.
“We are not wearing glasses.
“These are things I encounter on a daily basis.
“I have heard about the Metro Rice in Ogun State.
“I saw it only on television.
“It is not in Daleko Market and the rice is also not in Kuto.
“I live in Bodija, I can’t see this rice.
“But Femi is my brother, he has a duty to direct our gaze to what we cannot see and we begin to see things in our imagination.”
