A few days ago, many convoy vehicles were seen parked at an open space close to the National Broadcasting Commission’s office inside the Villa. To some of us, that was an indication that some big men or (and) women were inside the premises. Surprisingly, by the time we rushed inside, we found out that traces of these top shots were not found either around the President’s office or around that of the Vice-President.

Further enquiry later showed that the people in question were meeting with Hajia Aisha Buhari, wife of the President at the First Lady’s (or Wife of the President’s) Wing of the Villa. The question then arose about whether Mrs. Buhari is wielding the same power like her predecessors especially in view of her decision not to be referred to as the First Lady like those before her.

To me, the question was apt because of President Muhammadu Buhari’s earlier position that he would not allow the office of the First Lady since it is not recognised by the nation’s law. “The Office of the First Lady is not in the constitution, so there’s no official role for them,” Buhari had said ahead of the 2015 presidential election which he won. So I decided to beam my searchlight on Mrs. Buhari’s activities.

Over the weekend, she hosted wives of heads of diplomatic missions in Nigeria to a cocktail inside the Villa where she identified one of the biggest challenges facing women and children in the country as lack of access to health care services. That cocktail came less than one month after the President himself hosted members of the diplomatic corps to an annual reception at the same venue. I remember that at that reception, the President had told his guests that his wife who was celebrating her birthday at that time travelled to Lagos.

Mrs. Buhari’s predecessors were known for floating pet projects. She is also not ready to take the back seat in that regard. Her pet project which is known as “Future Assured” is said to have been designed to spearhead advocacy for the promotion of the health of the vulnerable and marginalised people in the society.

Like her predecessors who used podium with the inscription “First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria” when addressing people, Mrs. Buhari also uses customised podium with the inscription “Wife of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

She operates from the office where her predecessors operated from with her own workers and personal aides, including official spokesmen. She had at different times presided over meetings attended by wives of the Vice-President, state governors and principal officers of the National Assembly, again, same way her predecessors did.

She has been organising events similar to the ones that were not in short supply during the recent past. It will be recalled that shortly after Buhari’s inauguration, she organised an elaborate “thank you dinner” in honour of All Progressives Congress’ women and youths for supporting her husband’s election.

Last year, she broke her fast with some women leaders and the less privileged. At the conclusion of Ramadan, Mrs. Buhari also hosted children to an elaborate Sallah party. This type of feast was not in short supply in the past. Her “office” in conjunction with a United Kingdom-based private firm had last year organised a seminar on protocol, etiquette and security for wives of state governors. At that event, the President’s wife charged the wives of the state governors to come up with laudable programmes to complement their husbands’ efforts.

The President’s wife has also been donating either cash or relief items to internally displaced persons and other groups in parts of the country.

Expectedly, those who want one favour or the other from the President would have been approaching Mrs. Buhari who is expected to have an influence on her husband. But whether the President will bow to such pressure is another matter.

Having observed developments closely, I have come to the conclusion that despite the change in nomenclature, nothing drastic has changed as far as the spouses of the President and former Presidents are concerned. The last time I checked, whether it is called Office of the Wife of the President or it is called Office of the First Lady, none of them is constitutional just like the President himself admitted ahead of the elections.

But to say the truth, even if the President’s wife (or the First Lady) is not too interested in being in the limelight, some folks who have been benefitting from the system will not let her be.

http://www.punchng.com/between-wife-of-the-president-and-first-lady/

Office of the first lady and office of the wife of the president(I DON'T KNOW WHO IS FOOLING WHO). When Buhari promised to scrap the Office during his campaign, his fans hailed him. But after the election which He won, instead of keeping to his promise, he 'changed' the name of the office to the amazement of his followers, and they call him Mr Itegrity.Those who refused to be fooled and challange him to keep his promise were called waillers, ipob, jonathanians etc. Change

APC is synominous with lies and deceits.Too much talks frm this party...the came frm fame to shame,name to lame,colour to odor,and then so many lies.. we the street niqqas we are tired of this national lies....oya youths mobilise we are takin ova soon.oya keshi ur Excellency too much toks unnecessary..Cause Trouble!Cause Trouble!!Cause Trouble!!! shut down the party of lies...

APC is synominous with lies and deceits.Too much talks frm this party...the came frm fame to shame,name to lame,colour to odor,and then so many lies.. we the street niqqas we are tired of this national lies....oya youths mobilise we are takin ova soon.oya keshi ur Excellency tell dem say too much toks unnecessary..Cause Trouble!Cause Trouble!!Cause Trouble!!! shut down Apc the party of lies...