The Bitter Truth From Aisha Buhari

By Reginald Chukwu

It first came to me as one of those media melo-drama when the news broke of the wife of the president saying, "If things continued the way they are, by 2019, I won't support my husband for a second term".


This came a day after the president had achieved a 'feat' of bringing back 21 out of the kidnapped Chibok girls. The whole media was full of praises on him and his government for the achievement.

Like a fighter who had returned from a battle field victorious, he addressed journalists briefly on the issue at the international airport with some amount of excitement, saying that his Vice will give a break down details on the progress made so far and jetted out to Germany for a private business meeting with the German government.

The excitement on his face said a whole lot, something like, "At least Nigerians would have something to celebrate my government for in the one year and some months of my administration so far".

Like a bombshell, the Aisha Buhari statement got the media agog and immediatey buried the trending news of the freed 21 Chibok girls. No, this can't be a real news was what i said to myself, it must have been staged. Who is deceiving who? I asked rhetorically. That statement must have been scripted, the president's wife couldn't have said that on an international media like BBC without the president's prior notice. Did they plan that in a bid to sound apologetic through the wife, on how his bad policies has affected the nation and brought about recession, so as to seek the good face and heart of Nigerians? Could the wife have said this, having felt the pain Nigerians are going through, out of pure interest for the general populace and the whole nation at large? These were some deep thoughts i pondered over until the big news broke to justify the latter.

"I do not know the party my wife belong, as for me, she belongs to the kitchen, bedroom and the other room". Oh my goodness! I exclaimed on hearing that. That was the response the president gave to a German journalist who asked him some questions with regards to the wife's comments. Ghen ghen! It sounded like an action scene of a normal nollywood movie. The reality of the whole matter began to unfold, it dawned on me that truly Aisha said that out of the pain she feel Nigerians go through.

For the president to make such remarks about the wife for simply stating the obvious truly showed how uncultured he is as a leader like Nigerians have been accusing me. How could he have relegated his wife that much having gotten to the position he is in today through her support as his backbone? Did he forget so quickly her contribution during the campaign that lead to his emergence as president?

Thank God for the event that lead to such comments from the president. The backlashes and the criticism it has received from well meaning Nigerians so far should teach the african man how to treat and regard his woman. The woman/wife as the average african man perceives her, is not and should never be a stooge or slave to the man. In this 21st century, there's more to a wife than the remarks the president made of his.

With the way things have turned out to be, only God knows the fate of Aisha when Buhari returns from Germany. If this came from an opposition, it would have been tagged a tactic to rubbish the feat the government had achieved with the release of the 21 Chibok girls. As it is coming from the wife of the president herself, at a time when there's a little crowning on his effort with the release of some of the Chibok girls, what would this be termed? A game plan or an honest call to service?

Reginald Chukwu writes in from Lagos.
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