Former President Muhammadu Buhari’s plane nearly crashed with him and his aides in November 2015, just six months after being sworn in as Nigeria’s president, as revealed in a new book released in Abuja on Tuesday.
The book, titled ‘Working with Buhari: Reflections of a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015-2023)’, written by Femi Adesina, discloses that Buhari was en route to the Island of Malta to attend a meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government when the plane encountered severe turbulence that persisted for an extended period.
According to the account, the turbulence was so intense that upon landing in Malta, a deeply terrified President Buhari questioned the pilot: “What kind of landing is this?” The pilot had to offer an apology to the President and the other distressed passengers.
The report states, “A presidential jet is not immune to 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 until the flight crew announced that we should get ready for landing.”
“A 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.”
Upon Buhari’s inquiry about the alarming landing, the pilot immediately apologized, stating, “We have just experienced what is called wind shear, a sudden change in the direction of the wind. Apologies Mr. President and distinguished passengers.”
Chapter 21 of the new book, titled “Over 50 foreign trips… and a health scare,” provides a comprehensive list of 94 countries officially visited by Buhari during his eight-year tenure. The highest number of trips occurred in 2016 with 19, followed by 18 in 2022, 16 in 2015, and 12 in 2018.
