Two sources close to President Muhammadu Buhari have told SaharaReporters that there was growing concern over the apparent determination of the president’s wife, Aisha Buhari, to transform herself into a politically powerful spouse, in defiance of her husband’s wishes.
The sources remarked that President Buhari had ordered that his wife not be officially addressed as “First Lady,” adding, however, that Mrs. Buhari has been operating as one.
Since Nigeria’s return to democratic governance in 1999, the wives of successive Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua, and Goodluck Jonathan had operated in a politically controversial and high profile manner. Stella Obasanjo, the wife of Mr. Obasanjo, was known as a quiet power broker who reportedly demanded loyalty to herself from those who worked closely with her husband. She died on October 23, 2005 in Spain during a secretive trip to perform cosmetic surgery to enhance her physique.
