Buhari Traveled To 94 Countries As President, Escaped Plane Crash – Adesina
Femi Adesina, Former Special Adviser to ex-president Muhammadu Buhari, has revealed that six months after his principal was sworn in in 2015, a presidential jet conveying he and his aides almost crashed.
Adesina made this revelation in a book he titled; ‘Working with Buhari: Reflections of a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015-2023)’, launched on Tuesday, January 16, 2024 in Abuja.
According to Adesina, the incident happened when Buhari was travelling to Malta Island for a meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government.
The book read partly;
“A presidential jet is not immune from bad weather and the accompanying turbulence (many hours of that we experienced). Neither is it spared from what aviators call wind shear (a sudden change in the direction of the wind). We had a frightful experience).
“In November 2015, we had traveled to Malta to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, and it was an uneventful flight till the flight crew announced that we should get ready for landing.
“Few seconds from touching the tarmac, the Boeing 737 business jet got buffeted from all sides and began to sway dangerously. On touching down, it pirouetted and gyrated like a drunken sailor; and was almost turning over.
“What kind of landing is this?”, Buhari is reported to have queried the frightened pilot, who immediately apologized to the then president.
“We have just experienced what is called wind shear, a sudden change in the direction of wind. Apologies Mr. President, and distinguished passengers,” the scared pilot replied Buhari on touching down safely.
In Chapter 21 of the new book with the caption: “Over 50 foreign trips… and a health scare”, the book lists 94 countries which Buhari visited officially during his eight-year tenure with the highest being 19 trips in 2016, 18 in 2022, 16 in 2015 and 12 in 2018.
