In a conversation with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), ex-President Muhammadu Buhari revealed that he doesn’t feel a longing for his time in office.
He explained this sentiment by stating that he believes his earnest efforts during his presidency did not meet the expectations of the Nigerian people.
Notably, Buhari had previously voiced concerns about the adequacy of his performance in the months leading up to relinquishing power.
In his words; “I believe I’m trying my best, but still my best is not good enough. I wonder if I am going to miss much. I think I’m being harassed”
In an advertisement posted on NTA’s X platform, Buhari restated his previous opinions about not wanting to miss the presidency.
When asked outright what he missed most about his tenure in office, he said; “Miss? I don’t think I miss much.”
The last First Family of Nigeria spent 301 days seeking medical care abroad at a time when the domestic health system is struggling with a variety of issues, including a lack of funds, deteriorating infrastructure, brain drain, and, most importantly, corruption.
Former president Muhammadu Buhari, his wife Aisha Buhari and their son, Yusif Buhari formed the trinity within the former First Family that flew in and out of Abuja to Europe and the Gulf for treatment.
Leading the pack was Buhari who spent a cumulative 225 days seeking medical attention, starting February 2016 with an ear infection and ending May 2023 with a dental issue.
In between the two, were a series of routine medical check-ups and a protracted 154 days in 2017 in London for an undisclosed ailment.
Incidentally, with days to the end of his term, Buhari in the company of the First Lady inaugurated a newly furnished state-of-the-art presidential wing of the State House Medical Center, SHMC, at Aso Villa, the presidential complex.
Aisha Buhari during the event restated the fact that with the new facility, there is no need for any president to go for medical care abroad.
A quick look at the budgetary allocation for the SHMC gives a fair idea of how much Nigeria has sunk into securing the healthcare of workers at the presidency.
Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, has revealed that twenty-one Nigerians were killed per day as a result of insecurity.
Despite being a former General and coming to power in 2015 with a key promise to curing Nigeria’s rising insecurity, Buhari leaves behind a mixed legacy in terms of insecurity-related deaths.
Buhari left office on May 29, with reported deaths rising from insecurity as tracked by the Nigeria Security Tracker, NST, showing that a total of 63,111 people lost their lives under Buhari’s 8 years in charge – he spent a total of 2,905 days as president.
It is the number of deaths divided by the days spent in office that comes up to the 21 deaths per day.
In this GhanaWeb data story, we unpack the most deadly years of Buhari’s first and second terms and the complexities that come with Nigeria’s security situation.
President Bola Tinubu has lauded his predecessor and former President Muhammadu Buhari saying he did a good job during his tenure.
Tinubu stated this while delivering his inaugural speech as the 16th President of Nigeria at the Eagle Square today (Monday).
He said, “Permit me to say a few words to my predecessor, President Muhammadu Buhari. You have been a honest man and patriotic leader. Buhari has done his best for the nation.”
Tinubu was sworn in as the 16th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Similarly, Kashim Shettima was also sworn in as the Vice President of Nigeria.
Chief Justice of the Federation, Olukayode Ariwoola administered the oath of office to the President at 10:40 am, shortly after the Vice President took his oath of office.
Ex-President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari has stated that his cows are much simpler to govern than Nigerian citizens.— Buhari
He spoke at a gala and dinner held on Sunday in Abuja.
While praising the outcome of the elections, Buhari congratulated fellow Nigerians for realising that they had power in their votes and that their ballots counted.
“I am looking forward to tomorrow (Monday) to fly to my base and go back to my cows and sheep, which are much easier to control than fellow Nigerians.
“Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government, and their representatives, I thank you very much and I say goodbye to you and wish us the best of luck”, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted him as saying.
Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Bode George, has called President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight years in office a failure.
George said Buhari did not live up to the expectations of Nigerians in the last eight years.
Addressing journalists in Lagos on Saturday, the PDP chieftain said history will judge Buhari’s government because it failed to impact Nigerians positively.
He lamented that Buhari failed to ensure the security of Nigerians.
He berated Buhari for failing to deliver on his electoral promises of fighting corruption among other things.
According to George: “My personal assessment is that he failed, not completely in every sector, but if you do an examination and say you must have a minimum of 33%, then you can go to the next class, but they did not attain that 33%.
“I can give them maybe about 5%, even the 5% requires a lot of retrospection.
“So it is very very disheartening and heartbreaking that he failed in his number one job, which is to guarantee security of lives and property.
“So let’s put those promises now into his departure because that’s what will be written on the pages of history. Whatever a leader does during his time, it is on the pages of history.”
An assistant inspector general of police, Garba Umar, has been appointed by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari as a top security advisor on counterterrorism.
Mr Umar is the vice-president of the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) for Africa and also the head of the agency’s national central bureau (NCB) in Nigeria.
He was elected as a member of the executive committee of Interpol in 2021 and his tenure is ending next year, local media said.
In a statement on Thursday, Garba Shehu, the presidential spokesperson said President Buhari took note of Mr Umar’s service at Interpol and hoped he would assist Nigeria in counter-terrorism efforts.
The president also hoped that Mr Umar’s appointment would “get more Nigerians into important positions in the Interpol”.
The appointment takes effect next week and Mr Umar’s role is stationed in the office of the minister of police affairs, according to Mr Shehu.
Mr Buhari is expected to hand over power to President-elect Bola Tinubu on 29 May.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council has urgedPresident Muhammadu Buhariand the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to summon Bola Tinubu to order after a newspaper company allegedly owned by the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate claimed that Tinubu would lead in three geopolitical zones on Saturday’s election.
In a statement issued on Sunday by Dele Momodu, Director of Strategic Communications of the council, it described the publication as reckless.
The council pointed out that Tinubu is the only mainstream presidential candidate in the election whose base was decimated by the opposition, saying that its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, is the only one with national spread.
The statement noted how Tinubu tried to bully Buhari to abandon his cashless policy, noting that the APC flag-bearer however succeeded in intimidating the President to display his ballot paper confirming that he voted for him.
The statement reads: “Our attention has just been drawn to the recklessly dangerous publication unilaterally awarding an impossible victory to the APC Presidential candidate Chief Bola Tinubu. The said newspaper is owned by Tinubu.
“Only yesterday, we all saw how thugs of the APC Chieftains and his allies took over the streets of Lagos burning ballot boxes and documents and generally misbehaving in other to disenfranchise the determined electorates.
“Despite all of these ugly attempts at stealing victory, the APC suffered its worst cataclysmic loss in most of the polling centres in Lagos. The same happened in Kano.
“Incapable of ever being sobered by the crushing humiliation in its traditional territories, we woke up this morning to read about the pathetic and illegal lies cooked up by the Tinubu media goons.
“Tinubu remains the only mainstream candidate whose home base of South West was decimated by opposition parties in Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Osun and Ekiti.
“Most of the Northern Governors he also expected to help him garner votes in the Northern regions failed spectacularly to deliver the badly needed votes. He failed in the South East and South-South.
Eight years ago, Muhammadu Buhari won the presidency of Nigeria on the pledge that he would work to put an end to the Boko Haram insurgency, which has driven millions of people from their homes in the region’s northeast and claimed thousands of lives. After eight years, the area seems safer, with the jihadist organization losing a sizable portion of its former territory. Yet the reality is more complicated as Nigerians get ready to choose his successor.
Rukaiya Goni lives next to a local primary school that was burned down by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, when it took over the town of Damasak in late 2014.
Boko Haram means “western education is forbidden”. The group has repeatedly targeted secular schools, including the kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok.
Nine years ago, Ms Goni fled her home with 11 members of her family, crossing the nearby border into Niger.
“We left because of the insecurity caused by Boko Haram,” she tells me in Kanuri, via a translator. “They took over Damasak so we went to Diffa, in Niger.” At the time she just had a six-year-old daughter. Her five sons were all born in Niger and returned with her to Damasak a year ago.
“We heard it was safer here now, so we decided to come back,” she explains. I ask whether she ever thought she’d be able to return home. “Yes, we wanted to come back to our home town and we prayed daily for peace to return. I feel very happy to be back. There’s no place like home.”
When asked about his performance on security, President Buhari and his supporters often say that the north-east is a lot safer than it was when he came into power. The fact that people like Ms Goni are able to return home is testament to that. But the region is far from safe.
“Insecurity is still raging here, and most importantly, it’s affecting the people we’re here to help,” says David Stevenson, the World Food Programme (WFP) country director for Nigeria.
“They continue to be displaced, we have new arrivals coming into IDP camps and they’re telling their stories that they don’t feel safe in their homesteads and in their farms.”
Insurgent groups, including Boko Haram, are still able to threaten the security in Borno state despite not holding much territory. A lot of the state is still considered too dangerous to travel across by road. In order to get safely from Damaturu in Yobe state to Borno’s capital, Maiduguri, we have to fly in a UN helicopter.
The Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap), which splintered from Boko Haram seven years ago, is also becoming more of a threat. In 2022, it claimed the highest number of attacks since its formation, and it controls strategically important territory around Lake Chad.
There is also evidence that the group’s area of activity has spread to the north-west of the country, where they’ve infiltrated kidnapping gangs.
President Buhari is constitutionally barred from running again, but his inability to completely rid the country of the insurgency, as well as the spread of the violence, has turned some people in northern Nigeria, against his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In Dawauru, in the city of Kano, one of West Africa’s largest grain markets, wholesaler Mukhtar Garba Intini says he won’t be voting for the APC.
Image caption,Mukhtar Garba Intini wants the APC voted out of power
“Under the APC we’ve really suffered, we are praying for PDP to come back,” shouts Mr Intini angrily. He gets his grain from Maiduguri and says he’s always had to deal with insecurity.
“Security is a problem. There are many of our people that went to Maiduguri, up till now we haven’t heard from them, we just pray for them.”
Insecurity is something travellers in the region contend with daily. When we drive 300km (186 miles) east to Potiskum in Yobe state, we have to use armoured vehicles, as kidnapping gangs roam the roads.
Businessman David Oyebamiji lives in the southern city of Ibadan, but travels to Potiskum every month to buy grains and beans to sell down south. As he contemplates casting his vote, he says insecurity has driven up food inflation.
“Things didn’t used to be this expensive before, but due to the situation of the country – the insecurity, the Boko Haram issue, the price of things has increased. Farmers can’t farm safely so everything is expensive.”
He explains that in the last four years, during President Buhari’s second term in office, the price of a 105kg (230lb) bag of beans has doubled.
He won’t say who he’ll vote for but he has one wish: “In order for business to be better, the issue of security has to be dealt with first.”
Image caption,Boko Haram may be gone, but evidence of their control remains throughout the region
President Buhari’s inability to deal with security is one of the reasons supporters of Atiku Abubakar from the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) think he might be in with a chance of winning the northern vote this time round. It helps that he’s the only main candidate to come from the north.
Dolly Kola-Balogun is a businesswoman and PDP supporter who lives in the capital, Abuja.
“I’m not supporting the APC because I feel they’ve failed as a political party at the national level. They’ve failed to tackle the insurgency in the north-east, and now there are other issues including kidnapping for ransom.”
She thinks that the large number of young people who’ve registered to vote could work in Mr Abubakar’s favour, even though at 76, he’s the oldest of the three main candidates. Some 40% of the 10 million newly registered voters are under 35.
“More young people are engaged this time. In the south they’re more pro-Obi but northern youth are more pro-Atiku.”
More than half of registered voters, about 49 million people, live in northern Nigeria, and traditionally turnout has been higher in the region than in southern cities like Lagos. Winning over northern voters could potentially help secure the ticket.
Another indictment of the ruling party’s performance is the 1.6 million people who are still internally displaced in Borno state, due to the fight against Boko Haram.
Image caption,More than a million people remain displaced in Borno state
Hawa Goni, 25, left her village in Dikwa, Borno state, seven years ago. “Boko Haram were killing people’s husbands and kidnapping people, that’s why I decided to flee with my husband,” she explains.
After a short spell in Maiduguri, she tried moving down south to Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city, hoping for a better life, but they only lasted a year. “It was too difficult, very expensive,” she tells me. “We couldn’t manage.”
Now she’s back in Maiduguri, but aid has been cut to the camp where she lives, as part of a drive by the state governor, a member of the APC, to encourage internally displaced people to head to their homes and become less dependent on aid.
It’s had devastating consequences: her nine-month-old baby, Amina, is malnourished and relies on emergency food rations from a government-run clinic in the camp, supported by the WFP. She is being given a highly nutritious paste made out of peanuts for six months, to help get her body weight up.
Rights groups and think tanks have criticised the state government’s decision to close down the camps, saying it has pushed over 200,000 people into deeper suffering and destitution.
Like many other households in the camp, the only source of income for Hawa Goni’s family is the firewood her husband collects and sells. He doesn’t earn anywhere near enough to feed her family.
BBC
We have suffered a lot… we just want food and shelter Hawa Goni Displaced person in Maiduguri
She takes me to her tent in the camp and shows me a nearly empty plastic container of millet. That’s all the food they have left. As she talks to me, she tells me she can’t answer all my questions because she feels faint. She hasn’t eaten all day.
“It’s been like this for about five months now. Parents with six children are entitled to monthly rations of rice, maize and beans, but we don’t always get them on time. Sometimes it takes more than a month or two to get them, and that won’t do for us, especially with six children.”
The state government has stopped the WFP from distributing food aid in Maiduguri. It’s taken over the distribution of some emergency rations, but delivery has been patchy.
Hawa Goni is not able to vote because she doesn’t have a voters’ card, but she says she hopes there will be a change of government.
“We have suffered a lot. We don’t care about clothing and other material things, we just want food and shelter.”
She wants to return to her home in Dikwa, but much of the area is still too insecure.
Image caption,Hawa Goni’s daughter Amina is only nine months old and is receiving treatment for malnourishment
None of the main election candidates make direct mention of Boko Haram or Iswap in their manifestos. They do however have suggestions for how to tackle jihadists more broadly.
Bola Tinubu of the ruling APC wants to create “highly trained and disciplined anti-terrorist battalions with special forces units.” He also wants to “win the hearts and minds” of communities affected by the insurgency by offering them emergency and economic support.
Mr Abubakar, the main opposition candidate, wants to deal with the insurgency by using “alternative approaches to conflict resolution, such as diplomacy; intelligence; improved border control; traditional institutions; and good neighbourliness.” He also wants to bring more development to the north-east.
Peter Obi of the Labour Party proposes to increase regional cooperation to secure borders, and “prosecute criminals, bandits and terrorists to end impunity”.
None of the main candidates gives details for how much these initiatives would cost, or how they would fund them.
But whoever replaces President Buhari will need a clear plan if they’re to make good on the promises he made eight years ago. The continued presence of insurgent groups and their spread to other parts of the country could pose a threat to stability in Africa’s most populous nation.
Ghana’s former president John Dramani Mahama is concerned about some of his former colleagues’ continued tenure in office.
Mahama is questioning why octuagenarians and nonagenarians continue to run for and stay in political office despite the obvious challenges of capacity and health in some cases.
But who are Africa’s octuagenarian presidents?
There are a number of African leaders who are above 80 years and in active service.
Cameroon President, Paul Biya (89 years)
Namibian President, Hage Gottfried Geingob (81 years)
President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa (80 years)
Nigeria president, Muhamadu Buhari (80 years this year)
What Mahama said:
Speaking at a lecture on the topic ‘Africa’s strategic priorities and global role’ at Chatham House in the United Kingdom, on January 27, 2023; the former president said it was time to reverse that narrative.
“When you have a leader who is old, he has no business continuing to be a leader, it doesn’t matter where the person is coming from, whether Africa or wherever.
Mr Mahama added that: “When you have leaders who have problems in terms of thoughts, they have no business continuing being in leadership, especially when you have a continent with a population as youthful as Africa.
“60% of the African population is young. So why would 80-year-olds and 90-year-olds still want to lead? I was going to say they should be home taking care of their grandchildren, but I recently became a grandfather myself,” he said to laughter.
According to him, some staff of government agencies like the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), amongst others, earn emoluments bigger than the President.
The Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Muhammed Shehu, has disclosed that some public servants earn monthly salaries bigger than that of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Shehu said this on Thursday in an interview on Channels Television.
According to him, some staff of government agencies like the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), amongst others, earn emoluments bigger than the President.
He noted that the NPA is one of the agencieswith high revenues in 2022, adding that the agency generated over N172 billion in the first half of 2022.
He said, “The salary of Mr President is not up to N1,300,000 a month…the allowances of the President are factored into that salary. In 2008, that was considered a lot of money but now, there are people in the private sector and public sector that earn twice, three times, four times.
“No public servant should earn salaries bigger than Mr President. but we do have public servants that earn bigger than Mr President: NCC, NIMASA, NPA, Central Bank.”
He said Nigeria has about 17 different salary categories across several agencies.
He, therefore, proposed the regularisation of the salary schemes for the civil service.
AS diversification of the economy remains paramount, PresidentMuhammadu Buhari, Tuesday, expressed satisfaction over inflow of investors into the mining sector since 2015.
Buhari who was represented by the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, at opening ceremony of the 2022 Nigerian Mining Week that kicked off on November 1, 2022 in Abuja, maintained that his administration is getting the expected results in the mining sector since the beginning of his administration in 2015, which he prioritised the development of the country’s mineral resources to make the economy virile with the bid of becoming a major global player in the international market based on the abundant mineral resources in all 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.
He also commended organisers of 2022 Nigeria Mining Week; the Miners Association of Nigeria, MAN, PwC, and the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development for faithfully organizing the event in the last six years as they have outclassed other editions subsequently by showcasing Nigeria’s mineral assets and its dynamic mining ecosystem to potential local and international investors.
He said: “I must also say that this event is a very significant complement to our vision and sustained effort to accelerate the growth of the mining sector as a major contributor to Nigeria’s economic diversification programme.
“But we all know that The mining sector has always needed a transformational leap to contribute meaningfully to the envisioned economic growth of the country , because despite the glorious contribution of the mining sector to our national economy in the past and the abundance of mineral resources found in almost every state of the Federation, the growth of the sector stagnated for ,many years especially since the early 1970s. And there have been many notable efforts by previous administrations to wake the sleeping giant that is is the mining industry up.
“But at the beginning of our administration in 2015 we intentionally prioritised the development of the country’s mineral resources as one of the frontiers for economic growth. This led to the comprehensive Roadmap for the Growth and Development of the Nigerian Mining Sector and we have steadily followed the steps set out in the roadmap.
“So far, we can say without fear of contradiction that this administration has committed more resources to the development of the mining sector than any other government in the history of this country.
“And we are proud that the indices of development in the sector are rapidly changing. Part of these is the increased revenue generation and of course the unprecedented investment interest that the industry has attracted in the past few years.
“Nigeria, for the first time, has a world-class gold mine in Segilola, Osun state, operated by Thor Exploration. Also, Eta Zuma Mining and Industries limited, Mosra Enerji are mining and supplying the coal needs of Dangote and Bua Cement factories. In the steel industry, African Natural Resources and Mines limited, owners of the Kagarko Integrated Steel plant, is about to produce liquid Steel from its Iron ore mine in Kaduna State.
“Several other investors are at different stages of mine development in various parts of the country, and these strategic milestones will hopefully catalyse more mining investment in the country.”
However, the President acknowledged and pointed that, “The extraction of mineral commodities entails considerable impact on land, water, air and other environmental assets that are central to human living both now and in the future.
“The painful experience of the negative impact of oil and gas exploitation in the Niger Delta cannot be ignored. Therefore, all operators in the mining sector are obliged by law ethics, and our responsibility for the future, to ensure that proper environmental, social and governance principles are practiced in the sector.
“On our part, the government will continue to intensify its regulatory and supervisory role in ensuring that mining Is held to the highest standards of sustainable development and intergenerational equity.”
Meanwhile, he expressed hope that, “On a brighter note, it is now well known that the global energy systems are transiting to clean energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero.
“These massive changes will increase the demand for critical minerals for clean energy generation.
“Leveraging on the opportunities emerging from the market potentials for these minerals, government is encouraged to intensify the exploration of these critical minerals.
“The investment community is also invited to participate in the mining and processing of minerals along the entire value chain of this emerging opportunity.”
Meanwhile, the President allayed fears of Nigerians on Ajaokuta Steel Company, and promised to broke the jinx.
“Our vision for an industrialised nation cannot be achieved without a vibrant steel sector. We understand the huge demand for Steel and iron in our domestic markets and across the sub-region.
“This is why we prioritized the resolution of all the issues constraining the full operation of the Ajaokuta Steel company.
“To this end a transaction adviser has been appointed to concession the Ajaokuta Steel Company and the Nigerian Iron Ore Mining Company Itakpe.
“The selection process is ongoing. Our commitment is to break the jinx and actualise the dream of a vibrant steel sector”, he said.
Also, the President commissioned the Electronic Mining Cadastre Plus.
The Presidency has confirmed the SaharaReporters’ exclusive report that President Muhammadu Buhari who recently travelled to Seoul, South Korea on a five-day official visit will also be going to London, UK where he will be seeing his doctors.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that Buhari would visit Royal Brompton Hospital situated at Sydney St, London SW3 6NP between November 1 and 2, 2022 to see his doctors.
A source had told SaharaReporters, “President Muhammadu Buhari is scheduled to depart Abuja for Seoul, South Korea on a 5-day official visit to the Asian country.
“The President who wanted to visit Doha, Qatar last month but was snubbed by the Qatari leader is poised to go on a merry-go-round around the world between now and his eagerly awaited exit from power in about 7 months.
“From Seoul, Buhari will proceed to London where he is scheduled to undergo a medical procedure at the Royal Brompton Hospital situated at Sydney St, London SW3 6NP, between November 1 and 2, 2022.”
Confirming the report on Monday, the Special Assistant to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, on his Twitter account said the President would be back in Nigeria in the second week of November.
Adesina said, “President Buhari leaves for London October 31, 2022, for routine medical checkup. He returns to the country 2nd week of November, 2022.”
This is despite the rising tension and fear in the country, especially in Abuja over the terror alert by the US, UK and Canadian commissions.
“It is not titles that honor men, but men honor the titles.” Nicolò Machiavelli, Discourses on Livy (1531)
At the beginning of August 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari constituted a nine-member National Honours Nominations Committee with a four-year tenure. It is chaired by Alhaji Sidi Muhammad Bage, the senior judge who resigned from Nigeria’s Supreme Court in 2019 to become the Emir of Lafia in Nasarawa State. Minister for Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, George Akume, inaugurated the committee on September 16 with the mandate “to screen and select eminent Nigerians and friends of Nigeria, who have contributed to the development of the country”.
In what would have been a record of unprecedented efficiency in the annals of such committees, a list emerged a mere fortnight later of recipients of national honours. Among the recipients, it listed the Emir of Lafia, himself the newly inaugurated chair of the National Honours Committee, for one of the highest honours – Commander of the Federal Republic, CFR.
After initially repudiating that list, government’s “authentic” list, when it finally came out, did not much differ from the repudiated one. However, it appears that government had approved a national honours list at least six months earlier in April 2022 which suffered some last minute tinkering in October.
Indeed, over seven and a half years into his tenure, Muhammadu Buhari as president had only ever conferred national honours once on three Nigerians, two of whom were dead. That was on June 12, 2018 when he honoured Moshood Abiola, the late winner of the presidential election annulled in June 1993; Babagana Kingibe, his running mate; and Gani Fawehinmi, the remarkable lawyer who made a vocation of lawyering in the public interest. No committee took part in that decision.
Prior to the inauguration of the Sidi Bage-led National Honours Committee, there had in fact been no committee in existence. So, how were these decisions made? To answer this, it is necessary to address four questions.
The first is the legal bases for national honours in Nigeria. Part 1(B)(6)(iii) of the third schedule to the 1999 Constitution empowers the National Council of State to “advise the President in the exercise of his powers with respect to the award of national honours.” In force since October 1963, the National Honours Act confers discretion on the President to “by warrant, make provision for the award of titles of honour, decorations and dignities”. As a matter of law, the president’s discretion on the award of national honours appears unlimited. He does not even need any committee to help him do it.
This leads to a second question relating to who should be eligible for the national honours. This is also arguably a matter of law. In the 2022 list, presidential intimates and serving public officers are the leading category among recipients. However, the Code of Conduct provisions in the 5th Schedule of the 1999 Constitution prohibit a serving public officer from accepting “benefits of any kind ….for anything done or omitted to be done by him in the discharge of his duties”. Does conferring national honours on serving public officers violate this constitutional prohibition? President Buhari clearly thinks not.
So, thirdly, what then are the governing criteria? The answer in one word is nothing. Among the things that the president should specify under the National Honours Warrant, the National Honours Act mandates him to provide “for the deprivation of an honour in a case where a recipient conducts himself in a manner which the President considers to be inconsistent with the honour.” This implies that the National Honours system must strive to be credible. It should not, to reprise John Steinbeck, be lavished on “the embezzler, the tramp, the cheat”.
But several previous recipients of Nigeria’s national honours, such as bankers Richard Akingbola and Cecilia Ibru, and former Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, have kept the awards despite being the subjects of judicial verdicts for criminal malfeasance. To date, no president has made rules for lifting the national honour from those who bring it into disrepute. Like Hotel California, Nigeria’s national honours system seems “programmed to receive…. But you can never leave”.
This is why the issue of criteria on the basis of which people can get honoured matters. The assumption is that certain categories are reserved for people who have held certain positions. So, Heads of State, for instance, enjoy a monopoly of the very highest honour, Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic, GCFR. In 1981, President Shehu Shagari made an exception to this and granted that honour to Chief Obafemi Awolowo, leader of the opposition Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, affirming that high office does not itself alone confer honour or merit. His successors have failed to appreciate that point.
This leads naturally to a fourth question as to whether there is a process to ensure that the honours system is not brought into disrepute by being populated with too many undeserving people or by simply being transactionalised. When he chaired the National Honours Nominations Committee at the turn of the millennium, Alhaji Liman Ciroma proposed a set of reforms to make it more credible.
Among other things, he recommended a cap on the maximum number of recipients of the national honour in any year to not more than 100 persons; a gender diversity ratio reviewable every three years to ensure equal recognition of both men and women; a limit on the number of nominations proposed by the Presidency to not more than 25% of the maximum; a prohibition on honours for serving public officers; and a requirement for the publication of nominations for objections or comments at least 90 days before decision.
President Obasanjo did not find these deserving of implementation. Over two decades later, therefore, President Buhari’s national honours list in 2022 reads like a friends and family affair. The recipients include his spokesperson, his two closest nephews, and the closest members of his backroom. Surely, even a president is entitled to his favorites, but being a presidential intimate does not require nor does it import honour.
Even if there were any criteria – there are none – they are not consistently applied. Among the recipients of the honours this time are Nigerians serving in leadership positions in various multilateral agencies, including the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, WTO, and the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. Chile Eboe-Osuji, the Nigerian who led the International Criminal Court, ICC, in The Hague as its president for three years until 2021 is missing.
So, Nigeria’s National Honours system is not exactly national and does not seem to much confer honour. Chinua Achebe rejected it in the past. On this occasion in 2022, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie appears to have done so too; and the family of a late Chief of Army Staff is reported to have boycotted it altogether. Buhari only managed to pin it on Gani Fawehinmi long after he had died.
In response to the question: “what is the worth of a national honour in Nigeria?”, columnist, Reuben Abati guffaws that“it is a nice chieftaincy title which comes with a medal, a certificate and a pin on your chest, to which anyone who has ever served Nigeria feels entitled. It doesn’t matter if you were a houseboy in the corridors of power, the thrill of the recognition is in itself the thing.”
Current Majority Whip of Nigeria’s Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, has for a long time appended the suffix, “MON” after his name. Most people assumed that it denoted that he was a recipient of the National Honour of “Member of the Order of the Niger”. It turns out, however, that he had never in fact been granted any such honour.
According to Kalu, his version of M.O.N. meant ‘Madu Oha Nile’, that is the Igbo interpretation of ‘a man of the people’. Under section 2(c) of the National Honours Act, this is an offence punishable with up to six months in prison. Instead, Orji Uzor Kalu is responsible for party discipline in Nigeria’s Senate. That says all there is to say really about Nigeria’s national honours system.
After weeks of dilly-dallying about the formal kick-off of its presidential campaign, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has now said President Muhammadu Buhari will determine the commencement of the exercise.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN) who doubles as the official spokesman of the campaign council, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja, shortly after a meeting of the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led National Working Committee, NWC, governors of the party and the PCC itself
The meeting, which was held at Transcorp Hotel, Abuja, started a few minutes after 11a.m and ended at 2:15 pm.
It had in attendance Tinubu, campaign Director-General and governor of Plateau State, Simon Bako Lalong; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and APC running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima.
Governors at the meeting were Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Bello Matawalle (Zamfara), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Abubakar Bello (Niger), AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq (Kwara), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Umara Zulum (Borno), David Umahi (Ebonyi) and Mai Mala Buni (Yobe).
According to Keyamo, all parties at the meeting agreed on the composition of the PCC, the manifesto and other programmes.
Keyamo said APC is not competing with the Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, on the timeline for campaigns, saying the party will allow the “little boys’’ to continue, while the ‘’big boys’’ will be coming behind.
He said: “What you have seen here is the meeting of different layers of the party. It was the meeting of the major stakeholders of the party -the Progressive Governors, the NWC, and the PCC with the presidential candidate.
“We are a very united party with all the organs of the party working in unison towards one purpose.
“All we did today during the meeting was to review the draft of our manifesto. Our candidate is not the type that operates on his own. He carries everybody along.
“He presented the draft of the manifesto to all the stakeholders that looked at it. And guess what, almost all the stakeholders gave that draft more than 90 per cent pass mark.
“We can’t give you the content because we are not going to take it away from our candidate. He is going to present himself before Nigerians on a particular date and occasion.
“We have set up a small committee charged with the responsibility of reducing the manifesto documents to major highlights in message form we will sell to even the market women, street trader in the most simple language.
“We don’t want to present to Nigerians a very complicated document that they cannot understand in simple terms.”
Campaign kick-off
On the specific date for resumption of campaigns, Keyamo said the president’s itinerary will determine that.
“You know that the structure of our campaign involves presidential diary. I have said that our campaign is not going to be like those that they can kick and start like small vehicles. It is maneuvering a 50-ton tanker in a highway and once we hit the highway, it will be motion and movement.
“Since Mr. President is the chairman of the Campaign Council, we are going to take his diary into consideration in picking and choosing the date.
“However, we have all virtually agreed to hit the streets very soon. We have also agreed on the region we are going to kick-start but I won’t say that now.
“We have also agreed on all the basic issues. We just want to carry along the leader of the party, Mr President and hit the streets.
““We have accommodated all the interest groups in the campaign list. There was virtually no disagreement in the meeting today,” Keyamo added.
No pressure on INEC to bend rules
He also dismissed allegations by the Conference of United Political Parties, CUPP, that the APC was putting pressure on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to bend the rules to its advantage.
He said: “The accusation from the CUPP is absolutely nonsense. There has been absolutely no occasion where the APC, either through NWC or any level of leadership put any kind of pressure on INEC.
“Those sensing defeat are already looking for reasons for that defeat. It is one of the reasons they are trying to generate things to accommodate that defeat but they should know that their defeat is imminent.”
Why Adamu was absent
APC National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Felix Morka defended the absence of the National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, saying he was fully represented.
He said: “The National Chairman was not missing, he was adequately represented by the Deputy National Chairman, North and the Deputy National Chairman, South and he was in touch with every stakeholder who was here.
“He did inform them (the candidate) of his inability to be here, but he was effectively represented.”
On campaign funding, Morka said all the stakeholders will deliberate on it “in due course.”
Agreement reached on PCC membership
Head of the New Media Directorate at the APC Presidential Campaign Council PCC, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, also said the stakeholders have agreed on the list of membership of the council.
“This meeting we just had has more or less clarified everything. That is why the Publicity Secretary of the party is here, that is why all the four media directorates in the PCC were represented.
“Everybody was there, the governors, the PCC, we are all speaking as one, we all agreed on everything.
“We are working towards an objective which is to launch as soon as possible and to come out strongly and there is really no hurry about this as far as we are concerned.”
On allegations that APC was trying to force INEC to stop the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System BVAS, Fani-Kaypde said: “The answer to that is absolute nonsense.
“It is what you call poppycock and these are the words of a drowning party spoken by a drowning man with a drowning candidate. There is nothing like that.
“We are above board, we are serious about what we are trying to do, we are going to achieve our objective, we are going to win this election fair and square and they are the ones that have lost five governors.
‘They are the ones that cannot get their party leaders to come to their rallies at their presidential inauguration. We don’t have that challenge.
“We are working slowly but surely, as one, together. Everybody is coming together and I am very proud to be part of this.”
Tinubu’s wife begs women
Meanwhile, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, wife of the APC presidential candidate and lawmaker representing Lagos Central in the Senate, has called on women to mobilize for electoral victory of the party at next year’s presidential elections.
This was as she expressed confidence that the duo of her husband and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, will protect the interests of women and safeguard their rights if elected. She made the remarks in a statement issued Wednesday in Abuja.
The women’s campaign team had earlier been inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday.In her address, Tinubu commended the President and the leadership of the party for being “gender-sensitive and placing premium value on the women folk.”
She also expressed confidence that the women’s wing of the APC presidential campaign, comprising of seasoned politicians, market women, media professionals and others, possess the ability to bring the party over the finish line in first position at next year’s polls.
“When women are united, wonderful things happen; and I have immense confidence in the ability of the amazing team assembled here today to secure the women’s vote for APC,” she said.
She also thanked the diverse women groups within the party for their support of Tinubu’s presidential campaign.
The Minister of Labourand Productivity, Chris Ngige, has refused to publicly endorse the presidential candidate of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, for the 2023 general elections.
Ngige, former Senator and governor of Anambra State, also refused to endorse his successor, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, publicly insisting that Nigeria elections are secret ballot.
The Minister who stated this while featuring Channels TV programme, said he would make his choice at the ballot.
“I’m not active in politics for now because I am facing national assignment,” he said when asked his preferred candidate between the APC’s Tinubu and the Labour Party’s Peter Obi.
“Both of them are my friends. My choice will be in the ballot box. It is a secret ballot. I shouldn’t tell Nigerians what I would do secretly.”
He however noted that Tinubu performed incredibly well in Lagos and laid “a solid foundation” for the state, an often-used campaign argument made by APC supporters.
When pressed on who he felt would win the 2023 elections, Ngige said the big parties had problems.
“We have problems in APC; PDP has their own. Their own is two times our own. Our own is family disagreements. If we get our acts together, my party will sweep,” he said.
A soldier of the Nigerian Army, who identified himself as Sergeant Ismaila Ukwuhcodu, has lamented the poor salaries of junior army personnel in the country.
The sergeant noted that to meet financial needs, soldiers now got “involved in illegal duties, sabotage, arms and ammunition deal, armed robbery and kidnapping” while calling on the Nigerian government to attend to their plight.
The soldier in an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, obtained by SaharaReporters on Wednesday, said they pay for essential items, which the military ought to provide, out of the meagre pay.
According to him, they are also forced to spend their own money on buying uniforms, boots and other items of equipment.
He urged the President to thoroughly investigate happenings in the military, particularly issues involving and affecting the rank and file.
“As a trustee of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, I humbly wish to address this letter to you who called us to serve the nation. The Nigeria Army (NA) is the land component of the Armed Forces created to defend and maintain its territorial integrity from external aggression and act in aid of civil authorities to restore order when called upon by Mr President,” the letter read.
“In the face of security challenges bedeviling the nation, men of the armed forces sacrifice their lives. Despite the risks involved, NA fall in their responsibility and duty to meet the benefits and services of soldiers not minding the consequences it will breed with time. Perhaps the concept is that “soldiers are illiterates with no prospect for a successful future”.
“The system preaches patriotism, discipline, loyalty and dedication to duty, regrettable sir, our meager salary makes it difficult for us to care for our families and own personal house while in active service.
“Painfully, we buy uniforms, boots, and other military kits from the same salary to serve Nigeria. Below is the salary breakdown of your soldering per day/month.
“a. Warrant Officer’s Salary is N95,000/31 days =N3,064 per day(28 yrs in service)
b. Staff Sergeant Salary is N84,000/31 days = N2,709 per day(26 yrs in “. )
c. Sergeant Salary is N68,000/31 days =N2,193 per day(21 years in “ )
d. Corporal salary is N62,000/31 days = N2,000 per day (16 yrs in “ )
e. Lance Corporal N57,000/31 days = N1,838 per day (10 yrs in “ )
f. Private salary is N50,000/31 days = N1,612 per day (5 years in service)
“To meet financial needs, soldiers’ involve in illegal duties, sabotage, arms & ammunition deal, armed robbery and kidnapping. The insensitive negligence to enhance salary and welfare of soldiers is the cause of mass resignation of trained troops.
“The day soldiers will demand their right will be a sad day for the Nation, on that day, all moral sanctity would have been lost. With due respect Sir, I need respectfully request Mr President and other action addresses to please stand for principle of truth and moral sanctity by holistically and reflectively act on serial 3 above with a view to addressing salary and welfare package of SOLDIERS of the Nigeria Army.”
Campaigns for Presidential and National Assembly seats officially kicked off Wednesday, Sept 28, in Nigeria.
In accordance with Section 94(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, campaign in public by all political parties “commences 150 days before polling day [Editor’s note: Sept.28] and ends 24 hours prior to that day”.
On September 20, the Commission published the final list of candidates for national elections – Presidential, Senatorial and House of Representatives – as provided in Sec. 32(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 and the Timetable and Schedule of Activities released by the Commission.
18 candidates are vying to become Mohammadu Buhari’s successor and the 16th Presidentof the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Only one woman is among the 18 presidential candidates listed by Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC, on Tuesday.
The campaign for the governorship and State Houses of Assembly will start on October,12.
Speaking at a meeting organised the by Centre for Democracy and Development on Sept.1 st, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) appealed “to all political parties and candidates to focus on issue-based campaigns”.
“This is the best way to complement our efforts to ensure transparent elections in which only the votes cast by citizens determine the winner”, Mahmood Yakubu added.
Upcoming challenges
The electoral commission projected that 95 million voters would participate in the February election. Security and economic crises have caused hardship for many of the more than 200 million citizens of Africa’s most populous country.
Despite being one of the continent’s top oil producers, Nigeria is grappling with a 33% unemployment rate and a 40% poverty rate, according to the latest government statistics.
The country has also battled an insurgency by Islamic extremist rebels in the northeast, as well as armed violence now spreading across parts of the northwest and southeast regions.
The House of Representatives has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to order a partial reopening of schools to allow pupils sit for the 2020 West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
This is coming as a legal luminary and the founder of Afe Babalola University, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), said yesterday that the cancellation of the 2020 WASSCE by the Nigerian authorities was capable of breeding frustration and promoting criminality among the 1.5 million students who registered for it.
The House made the call at the plenary yesterday following a unanimous adoption of a motion moved by a member, Hon. Nnolim Nnaji.
The Committee on Basic Education and Services had earlier on Friday faulted the decision by the federal government to suspend the plan to partially reopen schools for pupils in final classes to take external examinations.
The committee had particularly criticised the decision to disallow Nigerian pupils from sitting for WASSCE to be conducted by the West African Examination Council for the 2019/2020 academic session.
Meanwhile, legal luminary and the founder of Afe Babalola University, Babalola, said yesterday that the cancellation of the 2020 WASSCE by the Nigerian authorities was capable of breeding frustration and promoting criminality among the 1.5 million who registered for it.
Babalola advised that rather than canceling the examination, the federal government should let it hold in the various school halls in addition to fashioning ways to ensure compliance with COVID-19 protocols.
The ABUAD founder, who spoke in a statement entitled, ‘Nigeria’s non-participation in the 2020 WASCE: Irreparable damage,’ argued that “a year of idleness for 1.5million people may breed frustration and promote criminality”.
He said, “If the federal government insists that there would be no WASSCE this year, the students are not just losing one calendar year, but losing an integral part of their entire lives which is gone forever by such declaration. We should always remember that after all, ‘time is life and life is time.
“The federal government should allow the WASSCE to take place in the empty spaces which are wasting away in our tertiary institutions, secondary schools and elementary schools which can conveniently accommodate them with a lot of social distancing and due compliance with World Health Organisation’s rules.”
“It is my firm belief that the future of these 1.5 million young Nigerians who have registered for WAEC should not be put in jeopardy. It is a well-known fact that all schools, colleges and tertiary institutions in the country are currently shut down. This affords the federal government the opportunity to use them for WAEC examination.
What the government should do is to prepare the empty rooms for WAEC examination – fumigate the halls and the premises, use face mask, provide sanitisers and ensure that WHO rules are obeyed to the letter,” he said.
Babalola, who wondered why it was only Nigeria that withdrew from the examination among the five West African countries involved, queried, “What steps have the other countries taken which would enable them to take WAEC examination which we cannot take?
“Are we saying that the other four countries do not appreciate the lives of their students? Why was the issue not turned over to the Nigerian body of WAEC or the general body of WAEC in Accra before the declaration of withdrawal to Nigeria?
Did the Hon. Minister take into consideration the moral and legal implication of Nigeria as a signatory to WAEC laws or the effect of such unilateral declaration of withdrawal?
All that is required to take the WAEC examination is proper management, consultation, and discussion instead of unilateral cancellation of annual international convention,” Babalola stated.
A convener of Bring Back Our Girls campaign, Aisha Yesufu has said that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd ), and Hushpuppi are involved in the same kind of job.
Hushpuppi and his gang were arrested a few weeks ago by the police in Dubai for defrauding 1.9 million people worldwide in tune of N168 billion.
In reaction, Aisha Yesufu said that what he does is not different from what Buhari is doing with his administration.
“Muhammadu Buhari @MBuhari and Hushpuppi are in the same business.
“They both defrauded millions of their money! Where is the 2015 Buhari campaign donations, statement of account?
“While Hushpuppi defrauded financially, Buhari defrauded both financially and politicallyâ€, she tweeted.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has lamented the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Africa’s biggest economy following stringent measures imposed to contain coronavirus outbreak.
In the capital Abuja, and the commercial hub Lagos, businesses were closed for more than four weeks before restrictions were eased from 4 May. Inter-state passenger travel is still banned across the country, while school and restaurants are closed.
President Buhari has said the country has no money to import food and urged farmers to get back to work to produce enough food for the country.
Mr Buhari said the increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the country was frightening.
The International Monetary Fund predicts that Africa’s economy will contract by 1.5% points in 2020
Nigeria was to proceed to a second phase of easing restrictions last week, but the task force in charge said the country was not yet ready for full reopening of the economy.
The president this year opted for private Eid prayers in State House as opposed to the usual large celebrations he holds every year.
He urged Nigerians to follow the ministry of health’s guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Nigeria’s Channel TV shared a video of the president speaking after Eid prayers at State House.
The president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has announced a lockdown in the cities of Lagos and Abuja in an effort to contain the spread of Covid-19.
The restrictions, which will start from 23:00 local time (22:00 GMT) on Monday, will also apply to Ogun state, which borders Lagos.
The lockdown will take effect for an initial period of 14 days.
Mr Buhari said everybody would have to stay at home, all businesses and offices would have to close, and only food shops, hospitals and other essential service providers would remain open.
Travel to or from other states will be banned. The president said a special fund of $40m (£32m) had been set aside to help deal with the pandemic.
Nigeria has recorded 97 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and one death.
Africa has not been hit as hard by the virus as most other continents, but the number of cases and deaths is on the rise.
Are these Nigerians kidding us? because it most certainly looks like they are.
How are is saying Covid-19 that heads of state are finding it strenuously hard to pronounce?
A few days ago, when the president of Nigeria mounted the podium to address the spread and talk about the Covid-19 pandemic, he made a mess of himself when instead of Covid-19, he unabashedly said Covik One Nine.
Following this lifetime gaffe by the president, people have asked that his whole media team be sacked whilst others have maintained that, it was his accent that made him say that. Whatever it is, we have dealt with it and moved on until…
Senator Ahmed Lawan who is the who represents the All Progressive Congress in the Yobe North Constituency of Yobe State decided to follow suit and commit the worse of it all.
Addressing the house, the Senator Lawan is heard saying COD 19 instead of Covid-19. We do not know if he was in a hurry to get the sitting over and done with that is why he said what he said.
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the suspension of the coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Charles Quaker Dokubo.
Presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said in a statement issued Friday that President Buhari had directed that the caretaker committee set up to review the programme should oversee the running of the programme henceforth with a view to ensuring that government objectives were achieved.
Adesina said the National Security Adviser (NSA) set up a caretaker committee to look into the activities of the programme on the directive of President Buhari.
He said the directive followed numerous allegations and petitions surrounding the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
The statement said part of the committee’s task was to ensure that allocated resources were properly utilized in consonance with government’s objective of alleviating problems in the Niger Delta region, and stamping out corruption in the Amnesty Programme.
The NSA, the statement added, recommended to Mr President that the coordinator of the Amnesty Programme, Dokubo, be suspended, a recommendation which had been approved took immediate effect.
Nigeria’s first family, the Buharis, are embroiled in a still developing story resembling one of Nollywood’s many Sunday evening soap operas.
It is a story about the president purportedly taking a second wife – a female cabinet member to boot – while his wife’s furious outburst hint at deeper issues. The plot was supplied by Nigeria’s vibrant social media and was aided by Mrs Buhari’s cryptic comments. The setting is Nigeria’s presidential villa, Aso Rock.
What’s all this talk about a wedding?
The wedding at the centre of the story that was largely played out on social media involves President Muhammadu Buhari, and one of his female cabinet ministers, Sadiya Farouq.
What we do know is that President Muhammadu Buhari is married to Aisha Buhari and has not said anything about taking a new wife.
Ms Farouq has also not said anything about the purported marriage.
It could easily have been dismissed as fake news and left at that but for a comment from Mrs Buhari.
What did Aisha Buhari say?
She had been out of the country for two months with a stop in the UK for a medical check-up. Her return on Saturday was taken by those following the story as a sign that she had come back to “defend her territory”.
Her response when asked about the wedding at the airport did little to extinguish rumours that the president was taking another wife.
In an interview with BBC Hausa, the first lady offered confirmation, albeit in a very cryptic way, that there had indeed been plans for President Buhari to take a second wife, by referring to a “promise of marriage”. She also said that the purported bride-to-be was disappointed the marriage hadn’t taken place.
Mrs Buhari said: “The person that promised her marriage didn’t know it wasn’t going to happen. She [believed to be Ms Farouq] didn’t deny the marriage until the day passed.”
She spoke entirely in Hausa, measuring her words and mentioning no names. But it was clear from listening to the interview that Mrs Buhari was upset that Ms Farouq hadn’t publicly denied rumours of the marriage.
Aisha
Though unofficial, the First Lady position of Nigeria wields political power
To further complicate matters, the minister’s Twitter account denied commenting on rumours of the marriage, refuting claims made by a fake account in her name that had actually denied the rumours.
The minister’s account tweeted: “It has come to my attention that a fake Twitter account @Sadiya_farouq_ has been created in my name.
“I wish to inform my followers and well-meaning Nigerians to disregard the handle and any information posted on it. My official Twitter handle remains @Sadiya_farouq”.
Some say she missed an opportunity to quash the rumours with a firm denial.
So who is Sadiya Farouq?
At 45 years, she is one of the younger ministers in Mr Buhari’s cabinet and heads the newly created Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management & Social Development.
Little was known of her before she was appointed by Mr Buhari in August to lead the newly created ministry. The creation of a new ministry and her appointment came as a surprise to many, but those who know her say she’s been a staunch supporter of the president for decades.
She was head of the country’s National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and was a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council, where she was in charge of election planning and monitoring, field operations, and fundraising.
So was there a wedding?
No.
The wedding was supposed to have been planned last Friday, 11 October, but the Twitter account of Sadiya Farouq showed she was far away in the Swiss city of Geneva from Thursday, leading Nigeria’s delegation to a meeting of the United Nations refugees agency.
She did not return to Nigeria until Tuesday, based on what she posted on the same account.
But that didn’t deter Nigeria’s social media users, especially on Twitter, from providing the guest list, a venue and entertainment.
This user even designed the wedding card:
A Nigerian wedding is not complete without an aso-ebi, the colourful attire worn by close friends and family on the day. This user recycled an old photo not related to a wedding:
And what’s all this about a family feud?
A sub-plot to the fake wedding story is the strained relations between different members of the wider Buhari family.
We now know, courtesy of that BBC Hausa interview, that a viral video that circulated on social media of Aisha Buhari in an angry outburst was genuine. She confirmed the authenticity of the video which she said was recorded by a relative of the president who lives in Aso Rock, some time in 2018.
Mrs Buhari says the video was filmed by Fatima Daura, daughter of Mamman Daura. He is Mr Buhari’s nephew and has been a close associate of the president. He holds no official position in the government but is widely believed to wield huge influence over the government.
He was even given an apartment – The Glass House – in the presidential villa that was the scene of the outburst in the video.
According to Mrs Buhari: “They shot the video in front of my security and everybody there. She [Fatima Daura] was actually recording the whole thing right in front of me and was laughing and mocking me.
“They did that because my husband sacked them from the house. He told them to get all their belongings and leave the house for my son [Yusuf] to occupy.
Fatima Daura had responded to Mrs Buhari’s interview, saying: “If one reasons well, he or she will understand that it is not possible to say that the wife of the president is denied access to her apartment.”
Nigeria’s presidency is yet to say anything about the video but on Wednesday, Mrs Buhari posted an apology on Instagram, saying: “I use the opportunity to apologise for the embarrassment I might have caused my children, my immediate family members, well meaning Nigerians and the institution I represent, on the circulated leaked video clip”.
Aisha Buhari didn’t say who was planning the marriage, but it is clear she knows who it was. Some people are speculating that her willingness to confirm the authenticity of a video from 2018, in which she mentioned Mamman Daura and his daughter Fatima, was another cryptic message.
Ms Daura denies that a wedding was being planned, telling BBC Hausa that both her father and the president are “monogamists”. She also said that “the kind of power and influence that is being ascribed to my father is only attributable to God”.
So is the wedding still on the cards?
That would depend on if it was on the cards in the first place.
If people were planning it, they might not have altogether abandoned those plans.
If there’s anyone who would know the signs of a new marriage in the making, then it’s Mrs Buhari. She married the president after he divorced his first wife in 1988. The president is known as a monogamist but as a Muslim, he is allowed to take up to four wives.
Mrs Buhari was clearly referring to Ms Farouq as the intended bride in the BBC Hausa interview and the fact that neither the minister or the president have said anything about the rumoured marriage has many wondering if, like a true Nollywood soap, this story might have a sequel.
