Below is the BBC Hausa interview the wife of Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha, granted early last week. Since the outburst, Nigerians have been voicing their opinions on its possible virtues and demerits.
People have goodwill towards President Muhammadu Buhari, especially looking at the things he did before, but since coming into power, things have not been working the way they should, what do you think is the cause?
I am not a government official, but in my opinion as a woman, a mother, what I think is, it is well known that the first four years are not going to be easy. Firstly, it was people that brought the government into power. More than half of those people are not appointed into the government. Some people that are not politicians, not professionals were brought into the government. They don’t even know what we said we want and what we don’t during the campaign. They even come out and say to people we are not politicians, but they are occupying the offices meant for politicians. Some have parted with their wives, some lost their children, some women too have parted with their husbands because of politics, a lot happened during the time. The way things are going, I too, I am not happy. We are just starting, we have not finished.
Who are those doing these kinds of things?
Everybody knows them. Those people should know that people voted singly. Even Buhari too had one vote. Nobody voted 5 times. 15.429 Million People. That one that people are thinking too, he had only some 2 or 3 people. I am pleading to them to have the people at heart and embrace everybody so that we can all move together. Not even now in 2016 or 17, lots of people are creating divisions within the APC, which is our source of concern. They think they have worked for the government while those appointed, some of them had no voter’s card. What I fear is uprising of 15.4 million people.
Is the President aware some people are subverting his government?
Whether he knows or he does not, those that voted for him know.
But you are the closest to him, did you tell him?
There is nothing I can tell him, he is seeing things himself. Out of the people he has appointed, take 50, 45 of them I don’t know them. Perhaps he doesn’t know them too. I have been living with him for 27 years.
Do you think there are some people that are dictating to the President things to do, not him?
That is what I am saying, those that know they don’t have voters card, they should give chance to those that have, they are the ones that struggled and know what we want to do. Some of them if you go to a meeting with them, they will tell you, we are not politicians, if somebody is wise, they will not accept to take any political office. They didn’t even work for it. Even if you are asked to, you should say it is not my profession. Those places not headed by politicians will cause people discontent.
One would wonder to hear you say some people have hijacked the government without him knowing, but who do you think are those people?
I don’t know them, I don’t know them. I don’t know them.
But some people are calling names, saying 2 or 3 are the ones, do you think that as well? Yes I agree. Because of those appointed apart from Fashola, Ameachi and some others, not much, I don’t know them, most of us too don’t know them, and he too does not know them.
