For the first time, Oshiomhole, a garrulous combatant, who pulls no punches, was tongue-tied. But many think that the First Lady’s comments encouraged a number of APC aspirants, who felt cheated, to either go to court, or leave the party in anger.
This other day when I chided one of them for jumping from one party to the other, and back again, he told me: “Even the First Lady condemned impunity in my former party, as presided over by Oshiomhole.”
In between, Aisha had helped in exposing her ADC for allegedly receiving money in her name.
If anybody thought that the First Lady was crying wolf where there was none, the Commissioner, Anti-Fraud Unit, Alagbon, Lagos, Dan Okoro, recently arrested a couple of people, with documents, duping high profile Nigerians, in the name of the First Family. And so did the Department of State Services, DSS.
Any other First Lady would, perhaps, have preferred a more quiet handling. But not Aisha. She has nothing to hide. Many find it refreshing.
Yet, not many APC members found her recent outing refreshing. To them, it is a bad market. And, they are nervously asking: What next? Addressing a conference hosted by an association of women, Project 4+4 (Meaning four more years for Buhari to make it eight years), Mrs. Buhari deviated from the script, and said the unbelievable.
She called for a revolution, almost. And accused two people she described as powerful, of hindering the progress of her husband’s government. She accused them of pulling the government back, thus denying it of achieving more than it has already. She called them retrogressive. And she doubted if there were still men in Nigeria.
Otherwise, she lamented, the situation won’t have been what it is. Mrs. Buhari: “If 15.4million people can bring in a government to be dominated by two people or three people, where are the men of Nigeria? Where are Nigerian men? What are you doing? Instead of them to come together and fight them, they keep visiting them one after the other, licking their shoes, I’m sorry to use these words.”
Noticing that some of those who accompanied her were uncomfortable with what she was saying she lashed out: “I have realised that Senator Babafemi Ojudu, Special Adviser, Political, to the President, and my aide, Dr. Hajo Sani, and wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Osinbajo, are not comfortable with my saying this, and want me to confine myself to the prepared speech, but we must say the truth.”
As she spoke, the women clapped and cheered. Some gave her a standing ovation.
Watching the video, which has since gone viral, I wondered if the women understood the implications of what the First Lady was saying, which are: That her husband is not fully in charge of his government; that he left the governance of the country to two men whose names she didn’t disclose, but who definitely were not elected by the people; that the two men are so powerful, even the President defers to them in every situation.
When the First Lady asked: “Where are Nigerian men?”, the question was not directed at only the APC men, but a call on all Nigerian men to rise up and fight instead of keeping quiet, and swallowing every thrash thrown at them.
She was telling them that their “mumu don do.” She meant that Nigeria is where it is today because those two men wouldn’t allow it move forward.
Where are Nigerian men?, she repeated. That question sounds like an indirect way of calling for a revolution, almost.
For the records, the First Lady has my sympathy. I believe she spoke out of frustration. She is the closest person to her husband.
Therefore, she knows her husband’s capabilities. She believes he would have done better without those retrogressive elements. The seemingly slow action is getting at her.
The questions many are asking though are: Does her husband know of her frustrations? Did she discuss her frustrations with her husband before going public? If so, what was her husband’s reaction? Did he ignore her, or dismiss her pains as nothing serious?
My opinion is that the First Lady must have been bottled up. She had to let out some of it for her own sanity. She had to let Nigerians know of the two powerful men drawing her husband and Nigeria back. Good.
But unfortunately though, the buck, as they say, stops on her husband’s table.
Nigerians don’t know those men, and didn’t vote for them. It is her husband the 15.4million people voted for. Nigerians have only one President – her husband – not three.
Having said all those let me say that I love this First Lady. I love her courage and boldness. I am attracted to bold and brilliant women. But, in her shoes will I go public? Not likely.
Of course, I will fight those men. I will so do it that when they hear my name, they will run. I will make the State House too hot for them.
Because, when the chips are down, my husband and I will be on the spot while the interlopers would relax comfortably in the arms of their wives.
It is okay to clap for Mrs. Buhari’s courage. But her comments amount to a de-marketing of her husband. If he is not solidly in charge, why vote for him, a number of people are asking.
The main opposition party, the PDP, and their sympathisers have since latched on it.
As I write this, an advert is running in national newspapers, placed by an association which goes by the name Society for Better Nigeria.
Analysing Mrs. Buhari’s comments, the Association wrote: “The President’s own wife, Aisha Buhari, just revealed that two unelected men are controlling her husband’s government.”
See? And they went on to ask: *”Do you want to vote for a man who can’t control his own government?
*”Do you want to vote for a man whose wife does not believe in him?”
But what does Mr. President think? We don’t know. He may be having a good laugh at the PDP. He knows his wife more than anybody else. He will not cage her. Or curtail her freedom of speech.
Proof: On Monday, December 10, Mr. President inaugurated his lovely wife, Aisha, as a member of the Two-Tier Presidential Intervention Structure on Elimination of Drugs. Bad belles, eat your hearts out!
Concluded
*Obi is the Editor-in-Chief/CEO of The Source (Magazine).
END
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