My Wife Belongs To My Kitchen, Bedroom, Says Buhari

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari yesterday stated that his wife, Aisha, belongs to his kitchen and bedroom.

  He was reacting to an interview granted by the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) by his wife, where she questioned his leadership styles and said his government has been hijacked by those who did little during the campaigns that brought him to power.

   Buhari, who is on a state visit to Germany, speaking during a joint press briefing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, was quoted by the AP to have laughed of the issue before saying: “I don’t know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room.”

  He also said he has much more political experience, adding: “So, I claim superior knowledge over her and the rest of the opposition, because in the end, I have succeeded.

  “It is not easy to satisfy the whole Nigerian opposition parties or to participate in the government.”

  Senate President Bukola Saraki, also yesterday, said the First Lady’s statement vindicated his position that the Buhari administration has been hijacked by cabal.

  Saraki, who spoke through his aide on Social Media, on Twitter, said:

"To say there is government is now an understatement. What baffles me the most is the fact that they don't even share same ideology."

  He had earlier said some individuals within Buhari’s government were running a “government within the government.”

  In the interview with BBC’s Naziru Mikailu in Abuja, the First Lady warned that she might not back her husband for a second term unless he reshuffles his government, saying the President "does not know" most of the top officials he has appointed.

  She insinuated that the government has been hijacked, as a "few people" were behind presidential appointments.

   Buhari had during his inauguration said he "belongs to nobody and belongs to everybody." But his wife’s position appears to contradict that statement about 18 months into office.

  Mrs. Buhari said: "The President does not know 45 out of 50, for example, of the people he appointed, and I don't know them either, despite being his wife of 27 years."

  She cautioned: “If it continues like this, I'm not going to be part of any [re-election] movement,” lamenting that some people who did not share the vision of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were now appointed to top posts because of the influence a "few people" wield.

  "Some people are sitting down in their homes folding their arms only for them to be called to come and head an agency or a ministerial position,” she stated, though she declined to mention those who have hijacked the government, rather saying: “You will know them if you watch television."

  Asked whether her husband was in charge, she said: "That is left for the people to decide."

  She said thought her husband had not told her whether he would contest the 2019 election, but added: “He is yet to tell me, but I have decided, as his wife, that if things continue like this up to 2019, I will not go out and campaign again and ask any woman to vote, like I did before. I will never do it again."