Of late the media have been entertaining us on the public spat between His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari and his Wife, Hajiyya Aisha Buhari over the latter's public interview with UK based British Broadcasting Commission, BBC. While Nigerians were trying to understand the motive behind Mrs Aisha's interview, Mr President responded by reminding her that "she belongs to the kitchen". This subject I'm am writing on.

1. Where Does Aisha Belong?
While referring to the position of Dame Patience Jonathan the wife of then President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in July 2013, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka insisted that she was nothing but "Domestic Appendage" of her husband, the President and possess neither power nor office that is constitutionally recognized. President Buhari in his interview reechoed the sentiment of prof Soyinka by insisting that his wife Aisha belongs to his kitchen, bedroom and other rooms but not the government.

First thing first, I am in agreement with Mr President's position that his spouse holds no office in government (though I have no business in discoursing whether she belongs to the kitchen or bedroom). The Nigeria constitution neither recognized any office for spouses of officials of government nor allocated any power to them. Though being a spouse to the President and other senior government officials comes with some unofficial benefits, those benefits remains privileges and not right. It is the President, and not his family was given a mandate by Nigerians to run the affairs of the state for a given period of time. The President along with the Vice President owns the government, and appoint other officers to perform some specific tasks as constitutionally prescribed. Neither their spouses nor any family member have any right to share powers with them.

Haven said that, I find it ridiculous that Mr President just realised that his Wife is not an officer of government. This is the same woman that the President allocated office to, appointed Aides to work with her and allocated funds to. The President should not expect Nigerians to clap for him for not "recognizing the office" that doesn't exist after he has spent millions of our scarce resources to pay her Aides and run her "office". 

In fact, the President has only indicted himself that he has been upholding and  encouraging illegality since May 29, 2015. 

2. Muhammadu Buhari Promised Not To Operate Office of First Lady But...:
In an exclusive interview with Weekly Trust (in Kaduna) in December 2014, President Buhari as part of his campaign promises pledged not to operate the Office of First Lady because the constitution does not recognise it, and also because “There is the Ministry of Women Affairs, and so on” to represent the interest of women in government(cabinet)(DailyTrust December 26, 2014). Surprisingly, on January 2015, a month after making that statement,  his wife, Hajjiya Aisha "tactically" countered him by saying that “If the office of the first lady is constitutionally recognised, he will not tamper with it, but if it is not, that’s okay."(PUNCH Jan 24, 2015), and she went on to sermonise Nigerians how she would operate the "office" as wife of the President (tactically avoiding the First Lady nomenclature).

Upon assumption to office, Buhari and his wife not only operated the office as if it was recognized but craftily changed the title from."First Lady" to "Wife of the President".

Therefore, Buhari not only breached the constitution but also went against his campaign promise. A betrayal of trust.

3. The First Couple Should Stop Making Caricature of Themselves In Public:
There is something funny about Mr President, he is fond of making ridiculous remarks and demarketing Nigeria through international Press. Coincidentally, his own wife that was supposed to defend him in public but criticise him in private chose a foreign medium to lash at her husband and his kitchen cabinet. It is however funny that Mr President that is expected to respond to his wife via phone call to her line also decided on responding to her through foreign press.

What kind of couple is this? Even if Aisha's role is in the kitchen, won't it be best for Mr President to privately remind her that she shouldn't interfere in his government? What is the wisdom in the action of Mrs Buhari that is supposed to be a source of support to her husband? Why is Mr President and Aisha embarrassing themselves as couple? It is even painful that the world will now see the level of communication between Nigeria's first family.

Is Mr President saying that he is clueless in the home front? If President Buhari can't control his wife and family, how then is he expected to handle the complicated affairs of Nigeria?

4. Nigerians Are Not Interested In Aso Rock's Power Play:
Dear Mrs Buhari, Nigerians voted your husband to deliver on a mandate(which he has largely failed to do). Nobody is interested in who and who makes up his kitchen cabinet or who calls the shots in Aso Rock. It is not our business.

In fact, there is no government or institutions without inner caucus, internal politics and power play. Mrs Aisha should not drag Nigerians into Aso Rock's politics, looking for cheap public sympathy because she lost out in the power game. Please Ma, keep your wailing to yourselves and your cliques.

5. Mrs Aisha Didn't Say Anything New:
I was glad when Mrs Aisha admitted that the government has failed, but I also know that patriotic Nigerians in their tens of millions have been shouting this. Mrs Aisha stated that she won't campaign for her husband if he should seek reelection in 2019, but I know that whether she campaigns or not, her husband will leave Aso Rock in 2019 because he has failed Nigerians. No going back.

However, Nigerians will be highly grateful to Mr President and his wife if they desist from responding to each other in public and allow Mr President face the business of governance that he was elected to do until his time elapses in 2019.

I will end this piece by congratulating the 21 returnee Chibok school girls and their family for the reunion despite the challenges they went through. It is my prayer that other innocent girls are returned back.



May God Bless Us All and Bless Nigeria

Reading!

OK

His Wife Belongs To His Kitchen,the Living Rum And The Other Room?... Am Sure He Has Chefs, Cleaner's And Maybe Even A Mistress,why Have Them If Its Ur Wife Job? This Jst Goes To Show That Our President Is CLUELESS, SHAMELESS AND USELESS,always Going Out Of The Country And Making STUPID Comments.I Wonda What The Germans Gave Him To Eat

Nice write up, aptly put and smartly delivered, but bros what makes you think man who doesn't listen to a woman he supposedly shares the same bed will listen to you here.

Let the outcry continue, Buhari must amend his ways and come back to the main business of making Nigeria better!

Mummy Aisha's outburst is typical of a frustrated mother who has the best intentions for her family, and I see nothing wrong in that.

This is a night/weekend of solidarity in support our amiable first Lady and wife of the president.

#westandwithAishabuhari

Hmmm, an adage says, " A man whom the gods want to strike dead they first make him mad". I don't know if i'm correct someone should please correct me if i'm wrong. And i know God works in a mysterious way. Lets just watch as events continue to unfold itself in time to come. And as for the zombies i think your zombie disease would have been cured by now, except you love the president more than his wife.

According to Garba Shehu, the presidents comment is obviously a joke and I think we should leave it at that. Aisha Buhari's comment however is not a joke. She spoke bravely and I commend her.

Beyond the joke, the president should treat the concerns raised by the first lady with utmost importance. The bad blood in his party and immediate family should be addressed as soon as possible and not allow to fester too long.

seunmsg:
According to Garba Shehu, the presidents comment is obviously a joke and I think we should leave it at that. Aisha Buhari's comment os however not a joke. She spoke bravely and I commend her.

Garba Shehu was only doing a spin. I'm sure Nigerians won't fall for his spin.

Beyond the joke, the president should treat the concerns raised by the first lady with utmost importance. The bad blood in his party and immediate family should be addressed as soon as possible.

Are you suggesting that the President share power with Aisha? if his wife lost out in power games what is the business of Nigerians? if she is sincere about the success of her husband she won't castigate his caucus and his decisions in public.

Mrs. Aisha may not be a public office holder,but she is still a woman,most importantly....a human with dignity.

According to presidency,he was joking:
I don't remember seeing "making jokes" in pmb's job description.

There are many occasions buhari has publicly shown his disregard for women and this remark is going down in queue as one of them in history.

andyboi4real:
His Wife Belongs To His Kitchen,the Living Rum And The Other Room?... Am Sure He Has Chefs, Cleaner's And Maybe Even A Mistress,why Have Them If Its Ur Wife Job? This Jst Goes To Show That Our President Is CLUELESS, SHAMELESS AND USELESS,always Going Out Of The Country And Making STUPID Comments.I Wonda What The Germans Gave Him To Eat

Our President has a serious problem. What concerns us with where his wife belongs? that should be a family affair. In fact, must he comment on his wife in public?

Why can't he say "Sorry, I don't discuss my family in public"?

Someone is trying too hard to stay relevant.

flokii:

I can see you feel relieved now.. I don't regret supporting Mr President. Now I'm even more impressed with this.. such a beautiful, fearless and adorable first lady unlike one witch + thief we once had
In fact PMB till 2023

"Pains of being a zombie and agony of defending a failed govt"

#westandwithAishabuhari

When he took his wife to UNGA in New York, he did not remember that she belonged to the kitchen. Buhari is clueless!

PMB is right. Aisha belongs to the kitchen and nothing more. What where we expecting from an old clueless and useless old man.
The shame is on all women of all ages who opt to elect an intellectual deficit man who thinks women are omly good for sex and cooking. Shame on all of you who bequitted this nation with such a man

Blame the past administration of all you like but we had a fine president who despite the shortcomings of his wife still saw her as a partner in progess and not a sex and cooking tool.

My wife is not met for the kitchen alone but by my side in the board room as we make decision to change this world.

Aisha buhari is the wife of the president,she is not part of the cabinet,thus she is got no constitutional right to speak for the govt,but she's got the right as an adult citizen of the federal republic of nigeria to air her displeasure bout how things are being handle,

she simply put her self in d shoes of the ordinary nigerians,is their any constitutional law that forbids her frm such

Your epistle here ignores the major criticism behind the president's comment.
His statement relegates women to the background, to being mere professional maids with an office location of the kitchen.

That is totally unacceptable. I understand you trying to creating a correlation with politics, which I admit you did quite nicely, but let's not deviate from the point here. The president owes all Nigerian women an apology.

Also, you mentioned having a cabal isn't our business,
I beg to differ with you again. Nigerians voted in Mr. Buhari and not Daura or Kyari, so it is of utmost importance to Nigerians if that mandate has been stolen.

Aisha didn't insult her husband na, she only stated her fears.. which one is where does she belong? you want her to be in GEJ's bed in otueke or where exactly?

@OP you better calm down, GEJ is gone, a Northerner will run for PDP in 2019 with a possible SW (king makers) VP to win hearts of d yorubas.. They know SS & SE won't have option than to vote out of hate they have for APC and Buhari

Take things easy, for all we know the President might be joking, a sane man won't say that in all seriousness in front of a "female" like his wife.

Making such shameful comment in front of a FEMALE PRESIDENT is very very uncharitable.

An old Man should be of wisdom but this speech from the president hold no wisdom at all

flokii:
Aisha didn't insult her husband na, she only stated her fears.. which one is where does she belong? you want her to be in GEJ's bed in otueke or where exactly?

@OP you better calm down, GEJ is gone, a Northerner will run for PDP in 2019 with a possible SW (king makers) VP to win hearts of d yorubas.. They know SS & SE won't have option than to vote out of hate they have for APC and Buhari

Take things easy, for all d we know the President might be joking, a sane man won't say that in all seriousness in front of a "female" like his wife.

Then buhari must be insane becuase he actually made that statement

flokii:
Aisha didn't insult her husband na, she only stated her fears.. which one is where does she belong? you want her to be in GEJ's bed in otueke or where exactly?

@OP you better calm down, GEJ is gone, a Northerner will run for PDP in 2019 with a possible SW (king makers) VP to win hearts of d yorubas.. They know SS & SE won't have option than to vote out of hate they have for APC and Buhari

Take things easy, for all we know the President might be joking, a sane man won't say that in all seriousness in front of a "female" like his wife.

Joking you mean. He can as well tell the Germany president she is not worthy to be President jokinly

rose54321:
Your epistle here ignores the major criticism behind the president's comment.
His statement relegates women to the background, to being mere professional maids with an office location of the kitchen.

That is totally unacceptable. I understand you trying to creating a correlation with politics, which I admit you did quite nicely, but let's not deviate from the point here. The president owes all Nigerian women an apology.

Also, you mentioned having a cabal isn't our business,
I beg to differ with you again. Nigerians voted in Mr. Buhari and not Daura or Kyari, so it is of utmost importance to Nigerians if that mandate has been stolen.

So on point....also "making jokes" this expensive isn't part of his job description.

SirWahl1:
Then buhari must be insane becuase he actually made that statement

you need deliverance from ur warped reasoning style.. the man of steel can't be serious all d time or can he?

TonyeBarcanista:

Garba Shehu was only doing a spin. I'm sure Nigerians won't fall for his spin.


Are you suggesting that the President share power with Aisha? if his wife lost out in power games what is the business of Nigerians? if she is sincere about the success of her husband she won't castigate his caucus and his decisions in public.

I read the full interview of the first lady and I can't recollect where she demanded that the president should share power with her. She raised three major issues in her interview.


1, Some people who don't share the vision of APC and who were not around during the campaign have hijacked the presidency against the overall interest of the party members that shared the party's vision and worked tirelessly for the success of the party in the last presidential election. This is a legitimate concern that the president need to address.

2, Over 15million people voted for the president and they seems not to be happy with the direction of the government. She feared that these huge number of people may revolt against her husband if the government doesn't find a way to change the current economic challenges. Another legitimate concern if you ask me.

3, She won't campaign for the president in 2019 if he refused to address the two legitimate concerns above. This goes to show that the first lady is a very principled lady who knows when to drop emotions and be pragmatic when necessary. I really appreciate her bravery.

If of all the things in the world its his wifes position and importance to him he finds to joke with in front of foreign media....... then indeed he is in sane

engineerboat:


Joking you mean. He can as well tell the Germany president she is not worthy to be President jokinly

do you even know what the atmosphere was like then? what they said prior to that and after.. you just picked that statement and built bank on it. Even d yeye people that released that video had to cut that part out to fool the foolish ones.. what a pity

so many shallow and illogical minds on here now.. just so sad

flokii:


you need deliverance from ur warped reasoning style.. the man of steel can't be serious all d time or can he?

If of all the things in the world its his wifes position and importance to him he finds to joke with in front of foreign media....... then indeed he is in sane

SirWahl1:
If of all the things in the world its his wifes position and importance to him he finds to joke with in front of foreign media....... then indeed he is in sane

Hmmn! might be damage control

He'll most likely apologize but I'm sure it wasn't intentional

flokii:


Hmmn! might be damage control

He'll most likely apologize but I'm sure it wasn't intentional

These are indeed trying times for zombies, take heart.

jiinxed:


These are indeed trying times for zombies, take heart.

I can see you feel relieved now.. I don't regret supporting Mr President. Now I'm even more impressed with this.. such a beautiful, fearless and adorable first lady unlike one witch + thief we once had

In fact PMB till 2023

flokii:


do you even know what the atmosphere was like then? what they said prior to that and after.. you just picked that statement and built bank on it. Even d yeye people that released that video had to cut that part out to fool the foolish ones.. what a pity

so many shallow and illogical minds on here now.. just so sad

Nomatter how, when or what happen before, during or after.
Making such insane statement in front of a FEMALE PRESIDENT is uncultured

seunmsg:
According to Garba Shehu, the presidents comment is obviously a joke and I think we should leave it at that. Aisha Buhari's comment however is not a joke. She spoke bravely and I commend her.

Beyond the joke, the president should treat the concerns raised by the first lady with utmost importance. The bad blood in his party and immediate family should be addressed as soon as possible and not allow to fester too long.

Joke as in how? The verbal version of the comics he's fond of reading? I wonder why APC operatives and supporters never think things through! In this time where there is heightened sensitivity about the role of women and equality of the sexes that is when the mightily daft n dull president, standing beside a world leader who happens to be female, decides to make a tasteless, sexist statement about where she belongs and they call it a joke!

Do u guys realise the implications on our image worldwide? Did he even need to address his wife's interview via the press? What happened to a private conversation whether via telephone or face to face? What do u mean by saying that Garba says it's a joke and it should be left that way? That Nigerians are not allowed to have independent thoughts and opinions or he's the only one qualified to interprete the President's spoken words? Jokers!