Buhari nearly died in a plane crash - Femi Adesina

In a riveting disclosure uncovered within the recently debuted tome entitled "Navigating with Buhari: Insights from a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015-2023)," penned by Femi Adesina, an astonishing revelation has emerged. It discloses that President Muhammadu Buhari and his accompanying delegation narrowly escaped a potential airborne calamity in November 2015. This incident unfolded a mere half-year following Buhari's assumption of the Nigerian presidency. Femi Adesina's latest literary work recounts the near-death experience of the former President during his sojourn to Malta. The book details the harrowing ordeal President Buhari faced while en route to the Island of Malta for a pivotal Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. The presidential aircraft encountered severe turbulence, subjecting those on board to a prolonged period of distressing conditions, heightening the peril of a catastrophic plane crash. This revelation illuminates a hitherto undisclosed chapter in President Buhari's early tenure, spotlighting the challenges and perils encountered by the leader and his entourage on official excursions.

President Buhari, visibly unnerved by the turbulence upon landing in Malta, directed a pointed query at the pilot, expressing his dismay, "What kind of landing was that?" The pilot found himself compelled to extend apologies to the President and the rest of the disconcerted passengers, clarifying that the unsettling experience was attributable to a phenomenon known as wind shear—a sudden change in wind direction. The scared pilot, upon the aircraft's safe touchdown, reassured Buhari and the other passengers.

Chapter 21 of the recently published book, titled "Over 50 Foreign Journeys... and an Health Scare," provides a comprehensive list of the 94 countries Buhari officially visited during his eight-year term. The record reveals that Buhari's travel frequency peaked in 2016 with 19 trips, followed by 18 in 2022, 16 in 2015, and 12 in 2018. Conversely, the former leader embarked on the fewest journeys in 2020, totaling only two trips. Notably, 2019 saw ten journeys, while 2021 and 2023 each witnessed five trips. President Buhari retired to his hometown in Katsina, Daura, on May 29, 2023.