By Bernard Doro
The Nigerian First Lady, Aisha Buhari threw the first salvo by granting the BBC Hausa a well publicised interview which was aired on Friday, October 14, 2016. True to type, the Nigerian government tried to suppress the airing of the interview – I guess the government forgot that it was the BBC and not NTA. It was aired anyway. In the interview, partly conducted in English and Hausa languages, Aisha clearly articulated her views on the current administration under the leadership of her beloved husband. The president’s wife accused her husband of suffering under the burden of a cabal that has hijacked his government. She said that he had abandoned those who worked with him to actualise his presidency- those with shared visions and missions on which the All Progressive Congress (APC) as a party is anchored. She urged her man to retrace his steps, rejig his government and bring back the sidelined elements of the APC or face her revolt in 2019. The rest is now an open secret to Nigerians and beyond.
The fact is, the advice from the First Lady to PMB is an open secret to all discerning people who have followed the political developments from the inception of the current administration in 2015. For fear of this, I personally did not support PMB in his bid for the presidency in the 2015 general election. My piece featured on: http://pointblanknews.com/pbn/articles-opinions/let-reason-prevail-over-emotional-sentiment-this-president-deserves-another-term/ was an attempt to warn Nigerians of this particular issue. However, the manner and the platform Aisha used may not have been appropriate, but we dare not judge the First Lady harshly, she mentioned in the interview that the president had been advised. Perhaps he didn’t listen ‘in the kitchen, the living room and the other room and so it became imperative to approach it in this way’.
One cannot help but praise the bravery and confidence of the First Lady, Aisha. She is polished, well schooled and an advocate of the rights of women and children. A Muslim Fulani woman from core north of Nigeria, where women are seen and not heard. Breaking this unwritten code is a novelty. I’m sure that core northern elitists are now biting their tongues, looking for some way of accusing PMB of not having control over his family – far from it. It must be a heart of courage and passion, in trying to ensure that PMB leaves a legacy, which led to this activism.
Here comes the point of this article, PMB on the same Friday October 14, 2016, was caught during a joint press conference on a visit to Germany with one of the world’s most powerful women, Angela Merkel, saying : “I don’t know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room.” I watched the video, one part of me tended to agree with presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu who said the president was sharing a sense of humour – that it was a joke. Although I disagree with the arrogant manner in which Garba Shehu tweeted to Nigerians on this issue, and consider this joke to be an expensive one, especially since he was not sensitive to his platform and gender questions.
You may know by now that I am not a fan of this president, but I think it was a sincere joke even though he made an uncivilised statement about his wife and by extension the women folk. A quick check of Aisha Buhari’s biography reveals a woman from an affluent background who has done lots in her quest for knowledge and keeping herself updated. She holds a masters degree and has acquired skills in non conventional areas consistent with her contemporaries of northern Nigeria extraction – Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology. Prior to this couple becoming the First family, she was running a spa and beauty salon business. If you have a knowledge of a typical core northern Nigerian woman, you would agree with me that this is a deviation from the norm. Seeing that she got married to PMB at age 18, it is obvious she achieved this while married. That he allowed it, reveals a softer aspect of his personality. In the context of culture and religion, not many of the president’s conservative contemporaries would allow a woman to develop herself in this manner. Here comes the premise of my argument – PMB must have been joking indeed, but it’s a sense of humour gone too far.
Here is a lesson PMB should learn. There are certain jokes that must not be made on particular issues and platforms. You can not make these kind of jokes about a woman, in Europe, alongside the world’s most powerful woman. He should take the advice of his wife and rejig his support staff. Why? Because they have failed him and Nigerians – the country is in its lowest ebb, economy in tatters, massive suffering in the land, diminishing middle class, executive tyranny, etc. If his Public Relations (PR) team were up to speed, they should have prepared him on this topic before he granted the press conference. The interview his wife gave to BBC was hot and topical, his aides should have anticipated a question on this. He could have used this opportunity to let the world know his softer part as a democrat – that he even allowed his family, despite the constraints of culture and religion, to bare their minds where they disagree with him. He could have suggested that his wife may not have all the information needed when she reached conclusions that shaped her views, and then promised to avail her privileged thoughts that would help clarify grey areas. He would have shone brighter as a changed democrat rather than a ‘Donald Trump’.
There are lessons to be learnt in this, both by Aisha and Muhamadu Buhari but please give PMB a break, he was joking – trust me, he was.