Aisha Buhari And That BBC Interview - By Reuben Abati

 The article was written by Reuben ABati. Please read on: 

 
Public communication is one of the most delicate challenges that people in public life face, either in the corporate or the public sector. Many people suddenly find themselves in high places, and they become a source of news, a potential interview subject, and they get chased around by journalists and other media figures who want a story, in fact, not just a story, but a scoop. I used to explain in communication coaching classes and to the bosses whose media I managed, at one point or the other that they should never feel obliged to say things they do not want to say. No matter how aggressive the journalist may be, they should be careful what they say.

A journalist would make you feel at home, he or she may even reassure you that whatever you don’t want published could be edited out, and that if you don’t feel comfortable with a question, you should feel free to keep quiet. But a good journalist knows how to push you into a corner and get you, through follow up questions, to say things you may not ordinarily want to say. By the time the tape starts rolling, and you are encouraged to feel like a star, and your own tongue starts rolling, you’d be surprised the kind of emphasis, what you consider an innocent remark, would receive when it is published. Point is: journalists, while on duty, are not working for politicians or big men and women; they are working for organizations that need stories that can sell. They want scoops that can make the headlines. That is what makes them journalists: getting the good story, the good comments, the good shots.
After reading the interview granted by First Lady Aisha Buhari on BBC Hausa Service, I was tempted to conclude that this is what may have happened. She could have said the same things in a more delicately phrased manner. I have always held the view that anybody at all in a public position should be sent for media training (including how to deliver speeches, poise, pronunciation skills, even basic grammar lessons) before they are unleashed on a Nigerian public that has learnt to subject the lives of public officials to utmost scrutiny. The Aisha Buhari interview also fell short in this regard. She just gave the BBC Hausa service a scoop, which in my view has done more damage to her husband’s politics than good.
Given the enormous effect that the interview has had on the public, I would have expected that by now, she would perhaps have tactically disowned it, put a spin on it somehow, and make it clear that it is not intended in any way to discredit, or criticize her husband’s administration. But nothing of such has happened. And what does that mean? That the interview was deliberate and that she is standing by every word she said. She has been called the “good lady in the Villa.” She has been praised for being a modern wife who can speak up, and exercise her right to free speech. She has been called fearless and assertive. The only thing I have not heard from some of the hypocritical commentators is that she would be a good Presidential candidate for 2019.
I have also been told that she must have spoken out of frustration and that her public outburst about the existence of a cabal in the Villa, which determines who gets what appointment, to the disadvantage of members of the All Progressives Congress is making APC members who feel left out of the power-sharing process, very unhappy. But her outburst is nothing but a poor understanding of power politics. There will always be cabals around the seat of power. Power is so potent the people around the corridor will never leave it alone to the President.
And if it is true that this cabal or the President has recruited non-APC members into the government, then that is a positive thing, it is also a positive thing that the President does not know many of the people he has appointed. He doesn’t need to know them personally as long as they come from all parts of Nigeria and they are competent men who can get the job done. The First Lady seems to assume that only card-carrying members of the APC should work for the Buhari administration. On a positive note, however, she doesn’t want anybody to hijack her husband’s Presidency and she believes those who are trying to do so do not mean well. But what does that say about her husband?
The First Lady is also of the view that if the present trend continues, she cannot campaign for her husband in 2019 should he decide to seek re-election. She sounded pleased with what is being done to ensure security in the North East, but she gave the impression that she doesn’t think her husband has done enough to merit a second term in 2019. Hear her: “What I fear is the uprising of 15.4 million people”. And consider this: “…Nobody thought it is going to be like this. But now that it is so…Sometimes when one is doing something wrong without him knowing, but when people talk to them, they should listen”. Who is that person doing something wrong and who does not listen?
Altogether, Mrs Aisha Buhari has passed the equivalent of a vote of no confidence in her husband, and the people around him. This is a kind of “home trouble” brought to the public. The biggest challenge a man can face is to have his own wife “fight” him in public. And what has happened is both unprecedented and significant considering that a Hausa-Fulani couple is involved. It is probably the first time a lady in this position would publicly upbraid her husband and his team. Is she furious because she has been scorned, ignored, rendered powerless?
Well, even if we were not privy to other details, she was publicly scorned when her husband sent a volcanic message from Germany that she should go back to her place in the “kitchen, the living room and the other room.” Feminists and critics of misogyny have protested over this, quite rightly too, at a time when women are leading countries and corporations, it is incorrect and insensitive to say that the best place for a First Lady is to be a cook, a living-room-soap opera-watching detainee and a bedroom object. But given the cultural circumstances involved, this may well be the future Aso Villa fate of First Lady Aisha Buhari. She could be marked out as an ambitious woman who wants to share power with her husband, and as a threat to her husband’s politics.
See how much damage has been caused already by the President’s counter-response: The German Chancellor glared at our President when she heard that comment about “the kitchen, the living room and the other room.” She quickly ended their press conference. Angela Merkel is married, and she is Chancellor, but I don’t think her husband would dare tell her she is best fit for the kitchen and the other room. And imagine if Theresa May, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Oby Ezekwesili, Grace Alele-Williams, Omobola Johnson, Chimamanda Adichie, Joke Jacobs… had all been chained down in the “other room”. No wonder, President Buhari’s local opponents are already making big political capital out of his un-Presidential comments, and the German public is shocked that any world leader could be so politically incorrect. The number of jokes and memes that have been designed around this husband-wife exchange are thoroughly amusing. Mrs Buhari has also handed over to critics of this administration, speaking points that would be exploited all the way till 2019, and she may well end up not as a powerful force in the Villa but as a strong voice for women’s rights.
It is possible she may be advised soon to recruit spin-doctors to do damage control, but she may have left that rather late already. On the other hand, there is no amount of damage control that the President’s spin-doctors can sell to anyone. Whatever happens, she is cultivating a reputation as a different kind of First Lady. Since independence, every Nigerian Head of State or President has enjoyed the support of his wife while in office: strong, fanatical support. Mrs Maryam Abacha was so supportive of her husband, while everybody condemned him, and long after his death, she has continued to celebrate his memory. Before her, Mrs Maryam Babangida brought greater colour and celebrity status to the Office of the First Lady and added much value to her husband’s tenure.
Mrs Fati Abubakar was a dignified presence behind her husband, the same with Mrs Margaret Shonekan. President Olusegun Obasanjo had as First Lady, the very elegant and beautiful Stella Obasanjo who mobilized support and goodwill for her husband. Turai Yar’Adua, wife of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was also so devoted to her husband’s cause, she was declared the head of the Aso Rock cabal. No one doubted her determination to protect her husband’s interest during those critical moments. You all know Mrs Patience Jonathan. She was as First Lady, her husband’s most vocal supporter. This brought her at loggerheads with some sections of the public who objected to her prominence and controversial statements, but not once did she or the other First Ladies before her, criticize their husbands in public.
Elsewhere, First Ladies also support their husbands. With all the reported cases of dalliance and cuckoldry during the Bill Clinton Presidency, Hillary Clinton stood by her husband. Michelle Obama has also proven to be a very good role model in this regard. Certain positions require careful grooming. Any form of tension in the home could distract a political leader and make him seem vulnerable in the eyes of the public. Mrs Aisha Buhari may have spoken her mind, but she should not make a habit of assuming the role of a radical, in-house critic, throwing her husband under the wheels. She ought to be thoroughly embarrassed by all the fun being poked at her husband because of that BBC Hausa interview she granted. How this matter is resolved between their kitchen and “the other room” is a family affair into which we cannot dabble.

Reuben Abati's 'spiritual side of the Villa', Buhari's 'Kitchen wife' and the curse and pain of Power- Femi Fani Kayode

This is a subjoined article to Reuben  Abati's earlier piece 'spiritual side of the Villa', written by Femi Fani Kayode.  

READ:

I read Reuben Abati's excellent write-up titled "The Spiritual Side Of Aso Villa" and I concur with his submissions. I worked in the Villa for three years as President Olusegun Obasanjo's spokesman on public affairs and a lot of very strange things happened there.

Amongst them is the fact that the two people that served as Senior Special Assistant to President Obasanjo on Media and Publicity one after the other, namely the much-loved Mr. Tunji Oseni and then later Mrs. Remi Oyo, both contracted a terrible terminal illness whilst in office and died a few years later. 

Apart from that many other aides that worked in the Villa at that time were also afflicted with strange diseases and a sudden and tragic end. 

Amongst them were Col. Solomon Giwa Amu, Obasanjo's hard-working and good-looking ADC and Mr. Stanely Macebuh, his brilliant and cerebral Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications. 

I was so moved by Abati's piece that I decided to share the following thoughts about the spiritual challenges that those in power have faced. 

When our President can get up and tell the whole world all the way from distant Germany that his wife "belongs to the kitchen, the living room and the other room" simply because she dared to speak her mind to the BBC then you know that he is in the grip of something evil and that demons are speaking through him.

It is all part of the spiritual dimension of living in the Villa that Abati was referring to in his essay. The President's mind has become twisted and he is now possessed by strange and powerful entities. He needs a lot of prayer. 

Yet the problem is much bigger and wider than that. When one studies the history of our country critically and takes the time to do the appropriate research, one thing becomes very clear- that, in Nigeria, politics and the power game is a dangerous calling and terrible business which, more often than not, comes with a heavy price tag.

That price tag includes pain, anguish, betrayal, humiliation, persecution, misfortune, hardship, loss, death, strange ailments and tragedy for those who reach the top and their loved ones. 

It is rather like playing Russian roulette- there is one live bullet in the six empty chambers of the pistol and one doesn’t quite know when that bullet will go off when the trigger is pulled. 

The gamble and risks taken are not only compulsive but they are also addictive and at the same time utterly deadly. 

Sadly the result is as follows- virtually every single one of our national leaders and those that have ever ruled this country has suffered immeasurably at some point or the other in their lives, whether it be before, during or after they came to power. 

They too have shed tears in the loneliness of their closets and have eaten portions of what the Bible describes as the ”bread of sorrows”. Yes, even the rich and powerful cry and even they suffer loss and tragedy.

This is the case for leaders all over the world but in Nigeria it is far more pronounced and common than anywhere else.

Here the angel of death, misfortune and sorrow seem to stalk those that find power and, like an ugly old crow plucks out the pink feathers and precious eyes of a beautiful flamingo, she cuts short and plucks away their lives or the lives of their loved ones. 

Like a light bulb attracts a moth and leads it to a sudden end, so power attracts those who seek it with equally tragic consequences. As painful as it is, let us look at the facts.

In the early  60′s Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the first Premier of the Western Region, lost his first son and years later his second son and second daughter were cut short in the prime of their lives. 

Chief S.L. Akintola, his bitter political rival and the second Premier of the Western Region also lost his first daughter in the early 60′s and a few years later lost his third and youngest son.  His second son was also cut short in his prime a number of years later. 

My father, Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode, the Deputy Premier of the Western Region, who was a close ally and second in command to S.L. Akintola, lost his second son. 

Sir Adesoji Aderemi, who was the Ooni of Ife, a close ally of Awolowo  and the first ceremonial Governor of the old Western Region, lost his first son. Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Premier of the old Eastern Region and Nigeria’s first and only ceremonial President, lost his first wife. 

President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s second democratically-elected President lost four wives and one son many years ago whilst Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Premier of the Northern Region, lost two sons and one daughter. Awolowo and Obasanjo went to jail for three years each whilst Ahmadu Bello went to jail for three months.

S.L. Akintola was killed in the prime of his life just as were Ahmadu Bello and Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria’s first democratically-elected leader and Prime Minister. 

As a matter of fact they were all killed on the same night- the night of January 15th 1966. President Shehu Shagari, Nigeria’s second democratically-elected leader and first executive President lost four children whilst he was in power and was locked up for over two years after he was toppled. 

Chief MKO Abiola, the winner of the June 12th 1993 Presidential election, lost two wives, was locked up for 4 years and was eventually killed.

Chief Bola Ige, the first democratically-elected Governor of Oyo state and the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice of the Federation lost his first son and he himself was later murdered. 

Chief Bisi Onabanjo, the first democratically-elected Governor of Ogun state lost his first son. Alhaji Lateef Jakande, the first democratically elected Governor of Lagos state, lost his first daughter. 

Dr. Omololu Olunloyo, the second democratically-elected Governor of Oyo state lost his son. Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, the first Minister of Finance of Nigeria was killed. 

Chief Alfred Rewane, one of the founding members of the Action Group and a leading figure in NADECO, was killed. The list is endless and I could go on and on.

Alhaji Musa Yar’adua was Minister of Lagos Affairs in the First Republic. He was blessed with a long and peaceful life. However two of his sons were not so lucky. 

His first son, General Shehu Musa Yar’adua, who was number two to General Obasanjo when he was military Head of State and who for many decades was one of the most powerful men in the country, was murdered whilst he was in prison. 

His second son, President Umaru Yar’adua, was cut short in his prime by a strange and inexplicable ailment after he had been President for only three years.

He was succeeded by his number two, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan. Jonathan lost his brother and his mother-in-law one year after the other after he became President. 

Worse still those that he had been deputy to throughout his political life, either as Deputy Governor or Vice President, always suffered one form of misfortune or the other, whether it be death, shame, incarceration or impeachment, and he would end up stepping into their shoes and taking their place.

When it comes to our military rulers the story of consistent tragedy is no different- General Aguiyi-Ironsi, our first military Head of State was killed. General Yakubu Gowon, our second military Head of State, was toppled from power, exiled and lost his brother. 

General Murtala Mohammed, our third military Head of State, was killed and lost both his son and son-in-law. 

General Olusegun Obasanjo was our fourth military Head of State and we touched on his misfortunes earlier. 

General Muhammadu Buhari, our fifth military Head of State, was toppled from power, locked up for a number of years, lost his mother whilst he was in detention and was not allowed to attend her burial, lost his first wife, lost his daughter and now he has publicly described his second wife as nothing more than a "kitchen, living room and 'other room' wife". 

His number two, General Tunde idiagbon, was cut short under very strange and suspicious circumstances.  General Ibrahim Babangida, our sixth military Head of State, was eased out of power and compelled to ”step aside” amidst massive controversy and turmoil and later lost his wife.

His number two, Rear Admiral Augustus Aikhomu, lost his first son, Chief Ernest Shonekan, our first and only Interim Civilian Head of State, was badly humiliated and toppled from power. 

General Sani Abacha, our seventh military Head of State, lost his first son, was removed from power and was killed. 

General Abdulsalami Abubakar, our eight military Head of State, as far as I am aware is the only exception and appears to have escaped any misfortune.

Yet the picture is very depressing. This is indeed a catalogue of tragic events. Sorrow and pain just appears to be following sorrow and pain. It is a vicious circle of misfortune and calamity. 

Yet the most curious phenomenon and bizarre series of events of all is the fact that every single Head of State or President that has ruled our country from the Presidential Villa in Aso Rock, Abuja for three years or more has either ended up dying whilst there or has lost a spouse before leaving office. 

President Jonathan stayed there as President for four years in a stretch but the travails of his wife and her series of illnesses and medical complications which suddenly and miraculously ceased and abated after he conceeded the 2015 election indicates that had he continued in office after 2015 he may have lost her and the demons of Aso Rock Villa would have come for their prey. Thankfully he left before they could lay claim to it and before the curse was activated. 

Babangida did not stay in the Villa in Abuja for up to three years so he and his wife escaped what has come to be known as the ”Villa curse”. 

It was the same for Chief Ernest Shonekan who, wisely, never stayed at the Villa at all but who chose to preside over the affairs of the nation from Aguda house next door and who remained in power for barely six months. General Abdulsalami Abubakar stayed at the Villa but he remained there for less than a year. 

However Abacha, Obasanjo and Yar’adua were not so lucky- each of them stayed at the Villa for three years or more and before the end of their tenure they either lost their own life or the life of their spouse whilst there. 

The story is that once the three year mark is passed the curse sets in and the clock begins to tick. At the end of the day only one of the two spouses comes out alive. 

When one considers all these facts and series of misfortunes that have trailed our leaders in the last 56 years of our existence as an independent nation one cannot but conclude that there has indeed been a harvest of hardship, pain and death attached to the highest, most powerful and most prominent offices in the land and to those that are close to or have occupied it.

The truth is that power comes at a terrible price and those that wield it have, more often than not, experienced terrible pain and anguish in their lives. 

That is the price that virtually every single one of them has had to pay. What a tragedy. Yet at the end of the day I wonder whether it is all worth it. 

For as the bible says, it is nothing but ”vanity upon vanity- all is vanity”.

The Spiritual side of Aso Villa- By Reuben Abati

  
  This is yet another comical, yet revealing piece from the former presidential media  aid to Former President Goodluck Jonathan, Rueben Abati
READ:

People tend to be alarmed when the Nigerian Presidency takes certain decisions. They don’t think the decision makes sense. Sometimes, they wonder if something has not gone wrong with the thinking process at that highest level of the country. I have heard people insist that there is some form of witchcraft at work in the country’s seat of government. I am ordinarily not a superstitious person, but working in the Villa, I eventually became convinced that there must be something supernatural about power and closeness to it. I’ll start with a personal testimony. I was given an apartment to live in inside the Villa. It was furnished and equipped. But when my son, Michael arrived, one of my brothers came with a pastor who was supposed to stay in the apartment. But the man refused claiming that the Villa was full of evil spirits and that there would soon be a fire accident in the apartment. He complained about too much human sacrifice around the Villa and advised that my family must never sleep overnight inside the Villa.

I thought the man was talking nonsense and he wanted the luxury of a hotel accommodation. But he turned out to be right. The day I hosted family friends in that apartment and they slept overnight, there was indeed a fire accident. The guests escaped and they were so thankful. Not long after, the President’s physician living two compounds away had a fire accident in his home. He and his children could have died. He escaped with bruises. Around the Villa while I was there, someone always died or their relations died. I can confirm that every principal officer suffered one tragedy or the other; it was as if you needed to sacrifice something to remain on duty inside that environment. Even some of the women became merchants of dildo because they had suffered a special kind of death in their homes (I am sorry to reveal this) and many of the men complained about something that had died below their waists too. The ones who did not have such misfortune had one ailment or the other that they had to nurse. From cancer to brain and prostate surgery and whatever, the Villa was a hospital full of agonizing patients.
I recall the example of one particular man, an asset to the Jonathan Presidency who practically ran away from the Villa. He said he needed to save his life. He was quite certain that if he continued to hang around, he would die. I can’t talk about colleagues who lost daughters and sons, brothers and uncles, mothers and fathers, and the many obituaries that we issued. Even the President was multiply bereaved. His wife, Mama Peace was in and out of hospital at a point , undergoing many surgeries. You may have forgotten but after her husband lost the election and he conceded victory, all her ailments vanished, all scheduled surgeries were found to be no longer necessary and since then she has been hale and hearty. By the same token, all those our colleagues who used to come to work to complain about a certain death beneath their waists and who relied on videos and other instruments to entertain wives (take it easy boys, I don’t mean nay harm, I am writing!), have all experienced a re-awakening.
Every one who went under the blade has received miraculous healing, and we are happy to be out of that place. But others were not so lucky. They died. There were days when convoys ran into ditches and lives were lost. In Norway, our helicopter almost crashed into a mountain. That was the first time I saw the President panicking, The weather was all so hazy and he just kept saying it would not be nice for the President of a country to die in a helicopter crash due to pilot miscalculations. The President went into a prayer mode. We survived. In Kenya once, we had a bird strike. The plane had to be recalled and we were already airborne with the plane acting like it would crash. During the 2015 election campaigns, our aircraft refused to start on more than one occasion. The aircraft just went dead. On some other occasions, we were stoned and directly targeted for evil. I really don’t envy the people who work in Aso Villa, the seat of Nigeria’s Presidency. For about six months, I couldn’t even breathe properly. For another two months, I was on crutches. But I considered myself far luckier than the others who were either nursing a terminal disease or who could not get it up.
When Presidents make mistakes, they are probably victims of a force higher than what we can imagine. Every student of Aso Villa politics would readily admit that when people get in there, they actually become something else. They act like they are under a spell. When you issue a well- crafted statement, the public accepts it wrongly. When the President makes a speech and he truly means well, the speech is interpreted wrongly by the public. When a policy is introduced, somehow, something just goes wrong. In our days, a lot of people used to complain that the APC people were fighting us spiritually and that there was a witchcraft dimension to the governance process in Nigeria. But the APC folks now in power are dealing with the same demons. Since Buhari government assumed office, it has been one mistake after another. Those mistakes don’t look normal, the same way they didn’t look normal under President Jonathan. I am therefore convinced that there is an evil spell enveloping this country. We need to rescue Nigeria from the forces of darkness. Aso Villa should be converted into a spiritual museum, and abandoned.
Should I become President of Nigeria tomorrow, I will build a new Presidential Villa: a Villa that will be dedicated to the all-conquering Almighty, and where powers and principalities cannot hold sway. But it is not about buildings and space, not so?. It is about the people who go to the highest levels in Nigeria. I really don’t quite believe in superstitions, but I am tempted to suggest that this is indeed a country in need of prayers, We should pray before people pack their things into Aso Villa. We should ask God to guide us before we appoint Ministers. We should, to put it in technocratic language, advise that the people should be very vigilant. We have all failed so far, that crucial test of vigilance. We should have a Presidential Villa where a President can afford to be human and free. In the White House, in the United States, Presidents live like normal human beings. In Aso Villa, that is impossible. They’d have to surround themselves with cooks from their villages, bodyguards from their mother’s clans and friends they can trust. It should be possible to be President of Nigeria without having to look behind one’s shoulders. But we are not yet there. So, how do we run a Presidency where the man in the saddle can only drink water served by his kinsman? No. How can we possibly run a Presidency where every President proclaims faith in Nigeria but they are better off in the company of relatives and kinsmen. No. We need as Presidents men and women who are wiling to be Nigerians. No Nigerian President should be in spiritual bondage because he belongs to all of us and to nobody.
Now let me go back to the spiritual dimension. A colleague once told me that I was the most naïve person around the place. I thought I was a bright, smart, professional doing my bit and enjoying the President’s confidence. I spelled it out. But what I got in response was that I was coming to the villa using Lux soap, but that most people around the place always bathed in the morning with blood. Goat blood. Ram blood. Whatever animal blood. I argued. He said there were persons in the Villa walking upside down, head to the ground. I screamed. Everybody looked normal to me. But I soon began to suspect that I was in a strange environment indeed. Every position change was an opportunity for warfare. Civil servants are very nice people; they obey orders, but they are not very nice when they fight over personal interests.
The President is most affected by the atmosphere around him. He can make wrong decisions based on the cloud of evil around him. Even when he means well and he has taken time to address all possible outcomes, he could get on the wrong side of the public. A colleague called me one day and told me a story about how a decision had been taken in the spiritual realm about the Nigerian government. He talked about the spirit of error, and how every step taken by the administration would appear to the public like an error. He didn’t resign on that basis but his words proved prophetic. I see the same story being re-enacted. Aso Villa is in urgent need of redemption. I never slept in the apartment they gave me in that Villa for an hour.

Controversies continue to trill Aisha Buhari recent critique of Buharis's kitchen cabinet. Read the full text

 Mrs Aisha Buhari recent interview with Hausa Service of the BBC has been trilled with controversy ever since the agency decided  to air an excerpt from the interview. There was pressure coming from the presidency to the BBC not to air the full version of the interview  since it was considered to have revealed too much and poses some elements that may make the general public, especially the opposition to think that there is a crack in Buhari's leadership. In the said interview, which was literally translated, she said that  it is worrisome that some individuals have started creating division among members of the All Progressive Congress (APC).  Mrs Buhari said that those who took the lion share of appointments in the present administration were people who did not contribute to the success of the party during the last year presidential election and are the ones  creating division among the party. She was quoted to have also said that she may not support her husband's re-election. President Buhari  replied moments later form Germany that "Aisha belongs to my kitchen and the other side."

 Read the full text of the interview with BBC Hausa.

BBC Hausa: It has been One and a half years since President Muhammadu Buhari came into power, a lot of people are expressing their unhappiness over the way few acquaintance of the President have hijacked power while neglecting people that work for his success. Like we have promised, here is how the interview with Aisha Buhari and Naziru Maka’ilu from Abuja goes. 

BBC Hausa: 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 thing is the cause?
 Aisha Buhari:  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 4 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 lost, 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. Some people that worked for the government have been appointed. But those heading government agencies you can find one fighting his state governor, they contested together during election one in APC while in PDP.
 
BBC Hausa: Who are those doing these kinds of things?
Aisha Buhari: 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, lot 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.

BBC Hausa: Is the President aware some people are subverting his government?
 Aisha Buhari: Whether he knows or he do not, those that voted for him knows.

BBC Hausa: But you are the most closest to him, did you tell him?
 Aisha Buhari: 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.

BBC Hausa: Do you think there are some people that are dictating to the President things to do, not him?
 Aisha Buhari: 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 knows 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.

BBC Hausa: One would wonder to hear you say some people have hijacked the government without him knowing, but who do you think are those people?
 Aisha Buhari: I don’t know them, I don’t know them. I don’t know them

BBC Hausa: But some people are calling names, saying 2 or 3 are the ones, do you that as well?
 Aisha Buhari: 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

BBC Hausa: One would wonder that Buhari is not the one charge knowing him as a person who had leadership experiences, people would not believe
 Aisha Buhari: Yes it is surprising; nobody thought it is going to be like this. But now that it is so…sometimes when one is doing something wrong without him knowing, but when people talk to them, they should listen. Because in the future, whether he is going to contest or not, it is that same people that would vote for APC. We hope those people don’t come back, and everybody don’t hope so too

BBC Hausa: You said “Whether he is going to contest in the future or not”, has he disclose it to you whether he is standing or not?
 Aisha Buhari: He didn’t tell me, but I have made up my mind.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/10/read-full-text-aisha-buharis-interview-bbc-hausa/

Read full text of Aisha Buhari’s interview with BBC Hausa On October 14, 20165:11 pmIn NewsComments Controversies have continued to trail the comments of the First Lady, Aisha Buhari in an interview with BBC Hausa-language service broadcast last Friday, where she alleged that cabals had hijacked her husband’s party and that she might not support her husband should he decide to contest the 2019 elections. President Buhari who is currently on a state visit to Germany has responded to his wife’s claims by saying she belongs to his kitchen and other rooms. Wife of the President, Hajia Aisha Buhari and Her Aidw, Dr. Hajo Sani (r) during the presentation of a book titled Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges Of Leadership In Nigeria authored by Prof. John Paden at the African Hall, International Conference Centre, Abuja. Photo by Abayomi ADESHIDA 03/10/2016 Wife of the President, Hajia Aisha Buhari However, below is the full transcription of the Hausa version of the interview the First Lady, Aisha Buhari granted BBC Hausa as translated by www.nishadi.tv,. BBC Hausa: It has been One and a half years since President Muhammadu Buhari came into power, a lot of people are expressing their unhappiness over the way few acquaintance of the President have hijacked power while neglecting people that work for his success. Like we have promised, here is how the interview with Aisha Buhari and Naziru Maka’ilu from Abuja goes. BBC Hausa: 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? Aisha Buhari: 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 4 years are not going to be easy. We are just starting, we have not finished. Some people that worked for the government have been appointed. But those heading government agencies, you can find one fighting his state governor, they contested together during election, one in APC while the other in PDP. BBC Hausa: Who are those doing these kinds of things? Aisha Buhari: 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, lot 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 cards. What I fear is uprising of 15.4 million people. BBC Hausa: Is the President aware some people are subverting his government? Aisha Buhari: Whether he knows or he does not, those that voted for him knows. BBC Hausa: But you are the most closest to him, did you tell him? Aisha Buhari: 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. BBC Hausa: Do you think there are some people that are dictating to the President things to do, not him? Aisha Buhari: 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 knows 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. BBC Hausa: One would wonder to hear you say some people have hijacked the government without him knowing, but who do you think are those people? Aisha Buhari: I don’t know them, I don’t know them. I don’t know them BBC Hausa: But some people are calling names, saying 2 or 3 are the ones, do you know that as well? Aisha Buhari: 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 BBC Hausa: One would wonder that Buhari is not the one in charge knowing him as a person who had leadership experiences, people would not believe. Aisha Buhari: Yes it is surprising; nobody thought it is going to be like this. But now that it is so…sometimes when one is doing something wrong without him knowing, but when people talk to them, they should listen. Because in the future, whether he is going to contest or not, it is that same people that would vote for APC. We hope those people don’t come back, and everybody don’t hope so too. BBC Hausa: You said “Whether he is going to contest in the future or not”, has he disclosed it to you whether he is standing or not? Aisha Buhari: He didn’t tell me, but I have made up my mind.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/10/read-full-text-aisha-buharis-interview-bbc-hausa/

PHOTO: President Buhari arrives Berlin, Germany

President Buhari has arrived Berlin for his three-day official visit to Germany. 

The presidential media aid, Femi Adesina had said in a  statement that while in Berlin, President Buhari, will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on issues of shared interests between Nigeria and Germany, including further cooperation on security, the humanitarian situation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and rehabilitation of the North-East, as well as trade and economic relations between both countries.

President Buhari is accompanied by Governors Kashim Shettima of Borno State and Rochas Okorocha of Imo respectively and representatives of the National Assembly, they will meet with Federal President Joachim Gauck.

In furtherance of the administration’s objective to attract more foreign investment and create economic opportunities in the country, President Buhari will participate in a Business Forum in Berlin with leading German companies already active in Nigeria and other prospective investors. Before returning to Abuja, President Buhari is expected to meet with representatives of the Nigerian community in Germany. It has also been reported by Sahara Reporters that President Buhari will use the opportunity to meet a German  physician.

Buhari celebrated as he enters Germany Eromosele Ebhomele Moments ago 0 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Send email – President Muhammadu Buhari is currently in Germany on an official visit that could further strengthen the relationship between Nigeria and the country. – The president left Nigeria with Governor ROchas Okorocha of Imo and Kashim Shettima of Borno state President Muhammadu Buhari was given a special honour as he arrived Berlin, Germany on an official visit on Wednesday October, 13, 2016. Full details of the actual time his jet touched the country’s airport was not known at the time of this report, but Germany had a host of military men in wait to accord the president a befitting welcome. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Buhari in Germany President Buhari honoured in Germany Femi Adesina, the presidential media aide, had said Buhari was on an official visit and that while in Berlin, he is expected to meet with Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss issues of shared interests between Nigeria and Germany, comprising further cooperation on security, the humanitarian situation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and rehabilitation of the North-East, as well as trade and economic relations between both countries. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Buhari in Germany Some Nigerian officials welcoming Buhari Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Buhari in Germany Welcome to Germany, President Buhari “Thereafter, the president, who will be accompanied by Governors Kashim Shettima of Borno state and Rochas Okorocha of Imo respectively and representatives of the National Assembly, will meet with Federal President Joachim Gauck. READ ALSO: Buhari’s second visit to Germany “In furtherance of the administration’s objective to attract more foreign investment and create economic opportunities in the country, President Buhari will participate in a Business Forum in Berlin with leading German companies already active in Nigeria and other prospective investors. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Buhari in Germany 5 Nigerian envoy welcoming the president Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Buhari in Germany Buhari is on official visit to Germany “Before returning to Abuja, the President is expected to meet with representatives of the Nigerian community in Germany. “President Buhari is committed to deepening relations with Germany and building on the very cordial relations both countries enjoy in several areas of bilateral cooperation including the fight against terrorism, economic relations, rebuilding of the Northeast, support for IDPs, vocational training, energy partnership and cultural relations,” Adesina had said in a statement.
Read more: https://www.naij.com/1007953-just-celebrations-buhari-steps-presidential-jet-germany-photos.html

AY's 'A TRIP TO JAMAICA' Breaks new record in Nollywood in just 11 days in Cinemas

Comedian AY's A Trip to Jamaica has set an all record high by becoming the highest grossing Nollywood film in 2016 with 11 days in cinemas. The movie which is currently running in Cinemas nationwide as already raked in over 80 Million Naira to surpass every other Nollywood movie that has hit the cinemas in 2016.The movie which  was first premiered on September 25, at the Filmhouse IMAX Cinemas in Lekki, Lagos  generated over 6o million naira in the first seven days beating Hollywood movie, Will Smith's   Suicide Squad that made a record of 40 Million Naira in Nigeria Cinemas.

AY and Nse Ikpe-Etim

Going by the figure the movie has already raked in a short while, which has placed it as the fastest film to hit the Naira mark in the history of Nollywood. It is set to smash the box office records currently held by '30 Days In Atlanta.' AY's debut movie in 2014 that made over N160 million during its stay in Nigerian cinemas making it one of the 3 world highest region-specific domestic gross movies in the current edition of the Guinness Book of World Records.
 A Trip to Jamaica features Ay, Funke Akindele, Nse Ikpe-Etim, Eric Roberts, Paul Campbell, Chris Attoh and others.

Currency with free Nnamdi Kanu/ Biafra Tags in circulation in most major markets

I did  some business transaction in my recent visit to Ariaria International Market, Aba and found some of these  Nigerian notes. I was told it is in circulation in most major market like Onitsha, Ogbeto, Ngwa road Market etc..well when a people is drive my passion....

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