The Presidency has offered reasons why President Muhammadu Buhari forgave Femi Fani-Kayode and personally received him into the All Progressives Congress despite the many attacks on him and his family by the former Minister of Aviation.
The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Buhari, Femi Adesina, gave the reasons in his weekly Friday column.
In the column, published elsewhere on this news website, Adesina, who is from Osun State like Fani-Kayode, said he had also been an object of attack by the former Minister on several occasions.
He, however, said contrary to the thinking of some people, President Buhari has a large and forgiving heart, hence his decision to dine with the likes of the Ife, Osun State born politician who once wished his son, Yusuf, dead after a power bike accident.
Adesina wrote of Fani-Kayode, whom he referred to as FFK in the article, and his many negative comments: “Between last week and now, vitriol poured by FFK on anybody with the slightest affinity to APC has been dug up serially. He has said things straight from the gutters, things that the natural man would call unforgivable and unpardonable. Against President Buhari, the first family, Yusuf Buhari, whom he wished had died when the latter had an almost fatal bike accident, APC as a party, the government, leaders of the party, groups and individuals. Even this writer has suffered horrid descriptions from FFK in many write-ups.
“Yes, he even said he would rather die than return to APC, but last week, he returned—well and alive.
“Naturally, a lot of loyal APC members are hopping mad that FFK was readmitted into the party. And not only that, he got back at the highest level. Not at his ward in Ile-Ife, Osun State, but the triumphal entry was at the Presidential Villa, with President Buhari himself as the host.
“I understand the umbrage taken against the development by teeming APC supporters. It’s the natural thing to do. But then, having vented spleen, raised dust and almost brought down the roof, the next thing is to isolate the issues dispassionately. With the bile displayed towards President Buhari and his family over the years, how did the man find the grace to have received FFK? How was he convinced? Who did the convincing? What were the extenuating factors? How? When? Why?”
On why President Buhari acted in the manner he did by personally receiving Fani-Kayode, a founding member of the APC back into the party, Adesina wrote: “By agreeing to the readmission of FFK to APC as the leader of the party, and hosting him at the Villa, President Buhari displayed amazing capacity to forgive, to show mercy, and let bygones be bygones. How many of us can do that? Not many.”
The full article is published elsewhere on this news website.