Nigeria’s first lady will campaign for her husband—despite being told she ‘belongs to his kitchen’
Aisha Buhari, wife of Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, votes in the 2015 election in Daura, Katsina state, Nigeria, March 28, 2015. The first lady has said she is fully behind her husband.
First Lady Aisha Buhari Stands by Her Man
The wife of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has said she is seeking “the success of my husband’s administration,” weeks after saying she may not campaign for him at the next election.
Aisha Buhari gave an interview to the BBC earlier in October, in which she said that Buhari did not know “45 out of 50” of the people he had appointed as ministers and government officials. The first lady also said that she would not campaign for her husband ahead of the next election in 2019 “if things continue like this.”
The interview prompted a sharp response from Buhari. When asked about her comments, the Nigerian president—who was sharing a platform with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin at the time—said that his wife “belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room.” Buhari’s comments were widely criticized by Nigerians on Twitter using #TheOtherRoom.
“On our campaign promises to Nigerians, especially to the people of Borno state, we thank Almighty Allah for giving us the opportunity of beginning to fulfill these promises,” said Aisha Buhari on Thursday, Nigeria’s Premium Times reported.
The first lady added that the “essence of being a good leader” was trying to fulfil promises. “That is what we are all after. And what I am after in particular is the success of my husband’s administration,” she added.
Since Buhari came to power in May 2015, the Nigerian military and regional forces have driven Boko Haram back to its northeastern hideout of the Sambisa forest. The group now controls little territory but continues to carry out sporadic guerrilla attacks.
Aisha Buhari praised her husband’s success in tackling Boko Haram in the original BBC interview. “No one is complaining about being attacked in their own homes…Even kids in Maiduguri have returned to schools,” said the first lady, referring to the capital of Borno State.
Aisha Buhari: Icon of the moment
Mrs. Buhari…. Her comments, who knows, could mark a turning point for a government that has been most culpable in precipitating the current economic recession and generating growing disquiet, displeasure and confusion in the entire citizenry. It could offer a template that could instill flexibility to salvage the “crumbling giant” and impact sanity in the system towards a successful governance to ensure an indisputable legacy.
By Edel-QuinnAgbaegbu
For over one week, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, Nigeria’s reigning First Lady has been dominating the media space in Nigeria. Given the weight of what she said recently, which went viral on the internet, Mrs Buhari words are now a quotable quote in many public statements, articles and commentaries in the country. She must have also made wide impact globally, as the world is now a global village, thanks to online media and innovations in communication technology. By a mere expression of her view, against the modus operandi in the administration of a democratic government where her husband is the President and Commander-in-Chief, she stirred the honest nest. She is today seen by many as an icon of a sort.
Mrs. Aisha Buhari, in an interview she granted to BBC Hausa Service on October 14, 2016 pointed out many obvious flaws of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration in Nigeria, proffering what many have to accept as cogent and competent solutions and alternatives to the issues facing the nation. The interview which was quite revealing has given further insight to the undercurrents in the present administration. It has established more reality zones of incompetence, mistrust, inconsistency, impunity and insensitivity in a mission less and visionless system.
Her intelligent and careful articulation was an exposé of an administration of what some have described as new internal colonial masters by fellow Nigerians, holding sway in power and doing more damage to Nigeria. Mrs. Buhari, being highly sympathetic to the national course and having been knocked down with the obvious fact that few relentless mediocre and opportunists in the system are subverting government, had no other choice than to split the Pandora box open. It appears, nonetheless that there is nothing new in what she has said. Many Nigerians have earlier expressed apprehension about Mr. President’s performance. What just played out is that she spoke the minds of Nigerians and vented her frustrations with the turn of events.
There is no doubt that she spoke with good intents. Her statements couldn’t have been made to discredit the president because she loves her husband. She is also closer to him than any other and should understand him better.
In this trying time of the Nigeria nation, the outburst of Mrs. Aisha Buhari should not be decried. The situation is better expressed in the proverbial words of John Muonye in his book The Only Child, “what Chiaku thought to be an island was nothing but the back of a dangerous shark”. This is rather an event that douses our tense sensibilities, shrouded in subjection of Nigerians to unprecedented level of hunger and starvation, poverty, sufferings and deprivations. What she did has also de-escalated the situation in the face of battered economy, denials and multiple rights infringements that were hitherto unknown.
Without prejudice, Mrs. Aisha Buhari is living her pledge to our county Nigeria. Like other citizens, she has severally pledged, “To be faithful, loyal and honest. To serve Nigeria with all my strength”. She perfectly fits into this severally repeated wise saying: “Seest thou a woman diligent in her ways”.
Her comments, who knows, could mark a turning point for a government that has been most culpable in precipitating the current economic recession and generating growing disquiet, displeasure and confusion in the entire citizenry. It could offer a template that could instill flexibility to salvage the “crumbling giant” and impact sanity in the system towards a successful governance to ensure an indisputable legacy.
Without prejudice, Mrs. Aisha Buhari is living her pledge to our county Nigeria. Like other citizens, she has severally pledged, “To be faithful, loyal and honest. To serve Nigeria with all my strength”. She perfectly fits into this severally repeated wise saying: “Seest thou a woman diligent in her ways”.
Perhaps, Ellen G. White, the American prolific writer had Mrs. Aisha Buhari in mind when she wrote, “The greatest want of the world is the want of men who will not be bought or sold, men who do not fear to call sin by its name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though heavens fall”.
Unfortunately, and to the chagrin of the entire world, the response of the President apparently dismissed these concerns with contempt. The president rather chose to denigrate the woman and women in general to the confines of the kitchen and the bedroom. Most disgustingly, it was done before a female German President, shocked German audience and an utterly dumbfounded world. The President’s comments went beyond the pale. They were inflammatory, inconsistent and not compatible with modern ideas. Very unthinkable!
It is purely an expression of his posture and a prismatic reflection of the composition of this government and the disdain to which women are held by the government. It is quite embarrassing, politically incorrect, far below the standard of human decency and globally intolerable and unacceptable.
And I wish to ask these questions: What was the intention of President Buhari’s response? Make women to feel daunted, cowed, frustrated or disgruntled? No! Never. It rather presents as a clarion call to “Every Woman” to deepen her resolve to do right things right and give life to a dream.
It should be a challenge for Nigeria women especially, to struggle and better their situation to reaffirm their abilities, prowess, intellect and power to prove that they are more than a unit of the family organization. This is the time to reawaken the demand of mainstreaming gender in public policies in order to influence the course of social change in the society for a better world. Higher responsibilities are never dependent on gender. Mrs. Angela Merkel of Germany is a proof. Men cannot do it alone.
One had expected on the contrary, that the President could have taken advantage of the wisdom and courage exhibited by his wife to readjust and do the needful. For example, his fight against corruption and the financial recovery which apparently is wrongheaded and targeted has become most unpopular and should have been redressed.
Citizens are more concerned about the excruciating and unimaginable economic hardship and joblessness facing the entire nation. The various security challenges including the impunity of the cattle herdsmen particularly in the Middle Belt and Southeast of Nigeria and of course the federal capital territory now in the map is yet to receive adequate attention. And the widely campaigned “change” still remains a mirage.
There could be no better opportunity than now, to evoke Buhari’s earlier popular, but now outdated remark, “I belong to nobody. I belong to everybody”. It was assumed this was irrespective of creed, gender or race, after all he pledged “to defend the country’s unity and uphold her honor and glory”. Instead of being hell-bent on knocking icons off their pedestals, it would have been more thoughtful for him to address the overarching theme of marginalization and promote the status quo to adjust the ladder that excludes women’s participation.
It should be appreciated that the role of women, in a standard operating practice, as a major factor in the internal control system in any democracy has been quite significant and dynamic. Although Nigeria’s democracy could be perceived as one of the most abnormal situations in the world, neither circumvention nor restriction can distort or dissuade the natural and traditional model of women. They are key in facilitating and galvanizing efforts and services towards nations building and to ensure development and sustainability.
No matter how dumb one may claim to be, the emancipation of women is a civil right. They are generations that need to be reached and harnessed. There is no alternative.
♦ Edel-quinn Agbaegbu is the Executive Director, Every Woman Hope Centre, Abuja,Nigeria based NGO and Publishers of LifeCare Journal.
Aisha Buhari’s Embarrassing Grammatical Infelicities at USIP – Video
By Dr. Farooq Kperogi
I am aware that this article won’t endear me to several of my thin-skinned Buhari/APC partisan readers who, interestingly, wildly acclaimed my past articles that pilloried former First Lady Patience Jonathan’s sidesplitting grammatical transgressions. But I am never one to shy away from embarking on what I’m convinced is a just and fair undertaking because of a fear of backlash from mawkish, hypersensitive crybabies.
In any case, in my Saturday column—and in my Facebook status updates—I have defended Wife of the President Aisha Buhari against Gov. Ayo Fayose’s brash and reckless calumny against her. In an ironic twist, it was her bid to give the lie to Fayose’s charge that she couldn’t visit the US without being arrested that caused her to come here and give a speech at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) that is the subject of this column. Mrs. Aisha Buhari’s speech at the United States Institute of Peace didn’t rise to the level of former First Lady Patience Jonathan’s legendary contortion of English grammar, but it was inexcusably egregious nonetheless, not least because it was supposed to be the product of preparation and forethought.
In general, the speech was riotously incoherent, lacked lexical and semantic discipline, and was peppered with avoidably ugly and elementary grammatical infractions. Mrs. Buhari vacillated between reading from a prepared script and speaking off the cuff. But the prepared speech and Mrs. Buhari’s extemporizations were indistinguishable: both were tortured, infantile, error-ridden, and cringe-worthy. Winston Churchill’s famous putdown of his opponent—”He spoke without a note and almost without a point.”—seems to apply to the Wife of the President. (Watch the video below.)
Aisha Buhari’s United States Outing - Appalling Speech delivered at George Mason University
Watch Video
Below are highlights of the infelicities that stood out like a sore thumb during Mrs. Buhari’s 10-minute speech at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, DC:
1. Subject-verb agreement. Like Patience Jonathan—and former President Goodluck Jonathan—Aisha Buhari doesn’t seem to have any respect for subject-verb concord rules in English grammar. These howlers illustrate this: “I want to…thank the international community for giving us a solutions…,” “those that needs to be…,” “the school have been running…,” “adult ones that needs the opportunity.”
Most people know that a singular subject (such as “the school”) agrees with a singular verb (such as “has”) and a plural subject (such as “those,” “adult ones”) agrees with a plural verb (such as “need” instead of “needs.”) That means the Wife of the President should have said, “those that need to be,” “the school has been running,” “adult ones that need the opportunity.”
Of course, “a solutions” is a self-evident bloomer: you don’t pluralize a noun that is preceded by the indefinite article “a” because “a” signals nominal singularity. In other words, “a solutions” is both ungrammatical and illogical since it implies nominal plurality and singularity simultaneously. It is either “solutions” or “a solution.”
2. Redundant pronoun. Pronouns typically take the place of a noun and save us the torment of ungainly repetition. That’s why, in Standard English, pronouns don’t typically appear in the same sentence as the nouns they refer to. In her USIP speech, Mrs. Buhari said the following: “As you are all aware, Boko Haram issue, it is a global issue attached to terrorism, which need [sic] to be addressed globally.” “Boko Haram issue” is the antecedent for the pronoun “it” in the sentence quoted above, which makes the pronoun superfluous since it appears in the same sentence as its antecedent.
“Boko Haram is a global issue…” would convey the same meaning—and without the ungrammatical baggage. I admit, though, that redundant pronouns of the kind I identified in Mrs. Buhari’s speech occur in nonstandard native English dialects. But we are talking of an official speech in a formal context in a foreign, English-speaking country.
The sentence also violates the basic principle of pronoun-antecedent agreement. The principle says, “A pronoun usually refers to something earlier in the text (its antecedent) and must agree in number — singular/plural — with the thing to which it refers.” The phrase “which need” refers to “Boko Haram issue,” which is a singular subject that needs a singular verb, i.e., “needs.”
3. A curious resultant “done.” During her speech, Mrs. Buhari praised the University of Maiduguri for remaining open even in the worst moments of Boko Haram insurgency. “The university really done us proud,” she said. This is a misuse of the past participle “done” that linguists call the “resultant done.” It is curious because it is typical of the informal, nonstandard (and sometimes illiterate) speech of the American south.
In Standard English, the sentence would be reworded as, “The university has done us proud.” If we want to be faithful to Mrs. Buhari’s lexical and structural choice, we would rephrase it as, “The university really did us proud.”
Roundtable…Aisha at the United States Institute of Peace.
4. Buhari’s government as a “recent regime.” Mrs. Buhari puzzlingly referred to her husband’s administration as “the recent regime.” Here is the context: After thanking the “international community” for its military and financial support that led to the defeat of Boko Haram, in a rather awkward transition, the Wife of the President said, “In which the recent regime has done so far considering what we inherited—the level of insecurity in the country—we can now say that we successfully fought the Boko Haram insurgency.”
Apart from the weak, messy transition, that’s some really dizzyingly incoherent verbal blizzard! But the bigger issue is that she called the current administration “a recent regime.” There are two problems with that. First, the word “recent,” especially when it is applied to administrations, implies an immediate past, that is, that which precedes the present. It is both ungrammatical and illogical to speak of an incumbent administration as “recent.”
Second, there is always a tone of disapproval when a government is referred to as a “regime.” That is why the word is often reserved for military and other totalitarian governments. Even the Associated Press Stylebook defines “regime” as “the period in which a person or system was in power, often with a negative connotation. For example, Saddam Hussein’s regime, the Nazi regime.” I hope Mrs. Buhari doesn’t consider her husband as the honcho of a regime.
5. “Academicians.” Mrs. Buhari called university lecturers in the audience “academicians.” Well, it’s OK to refer to university teachers as “academicians” in Nigeria and in other non-native English-speaking countries, but it doesn’t hurt to learn the proper form when you address native speakers in their own territory. Educated native English speakers call university teachers “academics,” not “academicians.”
Here is an abridged version of what I wrote on this in my December 6, 2015 column titled, “Academician” Or “Academic”? Q and A on Nigerian English Errors and Usage”: [A]n ‘academic’ is someone who teaches or conducts research in a higher educational institution, typically in a university. In British and Nigerian English, academics are also called ‘lecturers.’ In American English, they are called ‘professors.’
“An ‘academician,’ on the other hand, is a person who works with or is honored with membership into an academy, that is, an institution devoted to the study and advancement of a specialized area of learning such as the arts, sciences, literature, medicine, music, engineering, etc. Examples of academies are the Nigerian Academy of Letters, the Royal Academy of Arts, the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, etc.
“Not all academics are academicians and not all academicians are academics. In other words, you can teach in a university, polytechnic, college of education, etc. and never be made a member of an academy, and you can become a member of an academy without ever being a teacher or a researcher at a higher educational institution. Note that while most academicians are also academics, most academics are never academicians.
“A little note on pragmatics is in order here. Although many dictionaries have entries that say ‘academician’ and ‘academic’ can be synonymous, this isn’t really the case in actual usage, at least among educated native English speakers. It is considered illiterate usage in British and American English to call higher education teachers and researchers ‘academicians’; they are properly called ‘academics.’ Many dictionaries merely capture the entire range of a word’s usage without discriminating socially prestigious usage from uneducated or archaic usage.”
Concluding Thoughts
Mrs. Buhari obviously needs a lot more help than she is aware of and is getting. She is grossly ill-served by her speech writer, who also probably manages her social media accounts. The recent grammatical bloopers from her Facebook page (which were quickly cleaned up after she became the object of ridicule on social media) could be an indication that her speech writer is also her social media manager.
Given how much she is thrusting herself into the public eye, her poor grasp of English grammar will soon become grist to the humor mills—like it was for Patience Jonathan. She can avoid this by doing the following: (1) recede to her quiet, unobtrusive self, (2) bone up on basic English grammar, (3) surround herself with people who give a thought to grammatical correctness and completeness, or (4) speak in Fulfulde or Hausa and get an English translator.
Postscript:
Mrs. Aisha Buhari spoke at George Mason University, Washington, DC, not at the USIP. It’s “sore thumb,” not “sore thump.”
♦ Dr. Farooq Kperogi is a professor, journalist, newspaper columnist, author, and blogger based in Greater Atlanta, USA. Contact: farooqkperogi@gmail.com
Aisha Buhari’s visit to the U.S. not a proof of innocence – State Department Sources
The U.S. show: Mrs. Buhari had indicated that the reason for her visit was to hold discussions with aid organizations on how to help the women and children facing starvation in the north eastern part of Nigeria, but critics differ accusing the First Lady of lavishing millions of Dollars to paint the wrong image of her past deeds
♦ Why she was allowed in the U.S ♦ More than a million dollars spent on legal consultants, media campaign, and event organizers
♦ Why the regime backtracked from cooperating with the US in locating and returning funds stolen by corrupt government officials.
International Guardian – Houston TX/
While the allies of Nigerian ruling party and government celebrate the First Lady, Aisha Buhari’s visit to the United States, sources of the State Department reveals otherwise. “Her visit is neither a guilty verdict nor a proof of innocence. We don’t just arrest persons without a course, and that course has a process. The simple fact is that her case is open, and she has not yet been indicted for specific reasons, so she’s entitled to visit,” a top official of the States Department stated.
It may be recalled that after the documents implicating Mrs. Buhari in a money-laundering case (See document – Page 23) involving a former United States congressman, William J. Jefferson was revealed, Buhari’s regime allegedly instigated a media campaign claiming it was a different Aisha Buhari that was mentioned in the case. The regime further intensified its determination to shield the First Lady’s involvement after it was learnt the United States Department of Justice had reopened the case.
Mrs. Buhar’s possible indictment in the scam was hindered in July 21, 2008 after a district judge in Virginia declined to request the U.S. government to invoke a treaty with Nigeria to make specific individuals involved in the case available to testify. It may be recalled that a former Nigerian vice president Atiku Abubakar and the wife, Jennifer Douglas Abubakar, who were involved with Rep. Jefferson were accused of scheming to bribe, and were subpoenaed by a federal court in Virginia. A district judge however, declined to request the U.S. government to invoke an accord with Nigeria to facilitate the process.
The William Jefferson’s scandal resurfaced in bold news headlines, after the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, reiterated Mrs. Buhari’s involvement in the scam, daring her to visit the United States. The Governor’s challenge ignited a renewed panic in Buhari’s regime over a possible indictment and arrest, prompting the First Lady to cancel her scheduled trip to Colorado for the World First Ladies’ Conference.
It may be recalled that after the documents implicating Mrs. Buhari in a money-laundering case involving a former United States congressman, William J. Jefferson was revealed, Buhari’s regime allegedly instigated a media campaign claiming it was a different Aisha Buhari that was mentioned in the case.
International Guardianreliably gathered that Buhari’s regime collaborated with a team of paid lobbyists in Washington D.C. to ascertain the current status of the case before Mrs. Buhari’s could travel to the U.S. An anonymous government source alleged that more than a million dollars was spent on lobbyists, media campaign, and to various event organizers who facilitated multiple photo-taking events for the First Lady. The campaign was obvious. For example, a caption that accompanied a series of photos emailed to our newsroom, read; “Please help us circulate these photos in your highly valued media – we want to put Governor Fayose to shame.”
Mrs. Buhari had indicated that the reason for her visit was to hold discussions with aid organizations on how to help the women and children facing starvation in the north eastern part of Nigeria, but critics differ accusing the First Lady of lavishing millions of Dollars to paint the wrong image of her past deeds.
“It’s a challenge to the Buhari regime, and they felt they needed this trip to save face, and they spent quite a lot to get here,” said an anonymous guest who witnessed the First Lady as she was received by a cheering group of Government loyalists on her arrival. In sheer condemnation, Nancy Bolton, an Austin TX – based humanitarian consultant familiar with West African issues described Mrs. Buhari’s visit as a “staged-show put out at a very wrong time”. “With nearly quarter of a million children severely malnourished in Nigeria’s Borno state, spending millions to clean her image in a case clearly in the public domain does not make sense,” Bolton said.
Nigeria Food Crisis: “With nearly quarter of a million children severely malnourished in Nigeria’s Borno state, spending millions to clean her image in a case clearly in the public domain does not make sense,”
Late July, International Guardian reported how diplomatic options of Aisha’s case is being explored and resolved before she could visit the United States. (See publication). The regime, it was gathered engaged pricey government lobbyists and legal advisors to explore Aisha’s foreign immunity options under Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). FSIA –defines the jurisdiction of United States courts in suits against foreign states – where a foreign state generally is immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of another sovereign state.
An anonymous government source alleged that more than a million dollars was spent on lobbyists, media campaign, and to various event organizers who facilitated multiple photo-taking events for the First Lady.
The Buhari’s regime did not officially addressed this matter, but Mrs. Buhari had skipped previous U.S. invitations for allegedly fear of arrest. For instance, in August 2015, Mrs. Buhari was scheduled to lead four other First Ladies; from Ghana, Mozambique, Gambia and Rwanda to Houston for a conference about African women in leadership positions but did not show up.
Investigations of Mrs. Buhari’s suspected money laundering case was purportedly reopened after President Buhari in his first visit to the United States solicited assistance in prosecuting cases involving Nigerian public officers. In July 2015, The United States said it would assist Nigeria in locating and returning funds stolen by corrupt government officials. United States also donated technology equipment to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to enable the anti-corruption agency enhance its fight against crime.
Buhari’s regime however backtracked after it was discovered that core members of his administration, allies, past Nigeria leaders, and possibly his own wife could be indicted if the United States proceeded. Documents from the United States Justice Department, it may be recalled, revealed that Aisha Buhari, was used as conduit and engaged in fraudulent wire transfers from her Nigerian account in favor of Congressman Jefferson via the ANJ Group LLC.
Jefferson’s case was made famous by the $90,000 in what prosecutors said was bribe money that the FBI found stuffed into his freezer, and a legal battle over the raid of his Washington office. He was convicted in August 2009 in U.S. District Court in Alexandria of 11 counts that included bribery, racketeering and money laundering. Jurors acquitted Jefferson of five counts.
ASO ROCK MEETING: BUHARI COURTS OBASANJO TO COVER-UP MULTIPLE REGIME SCANDALS
An unnamed Aso Rock employee confirmed that both leaders discussed briefly about a recent trip made by Obasanjo, but stated, “Buhari need’s Baba’s help to cover his own past and also make sure Aisha’s U.S. scandal doesn’t bring more disgrace to his regime.”
Revealed:
♦ Meeting was also about Aisha-Jefferson money-laundering scandal
♦ Buhari scared because Obasanjo is the only one to rightly expose his past fraudulent records;
♦ Has been pacifing Obasanjo with free access to Aso Rock and undisclosed paid responsibilities
A meeting between a former and the current Nigeria’s Presidents, Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari respectively may have been underreported, International Guardian reliably gathered. Conflicting reports about the closed-door meeting had flooded the social media, but authentic source reveals that the two leaders actually had a chat over a thread of past scandals involving some United States-based companies and key Nigerian officials, including the one in which the First Lady Aisha Buhari was involved.
A source from Aso Rock, the seat of Nigeria’s presidency indicated the meeting was about critical national issues including the Senate and the Delta crisis. Obasanjo, in his own conflicting report, told journalists he had delivered messages he brought overseas to the President. The former president who recently travelled to Liberia and Gambia, said, “I have messages that these two countries will want me to deliver to the president.”
An unnamed Aso Rock employee confirmed that both leaders discussed briefly about a recent trip made by Obasanjo, but stated, “Buhari need’s Baba’s help to cover his own past and also make sure Aisha’s U.S. scandal doesn’t bring more disgrace to his regime. I don’t know about oversea message. Since when has baba become Buhari’s messenger? ”
United States, it may be recalled, recently reopened investigations of Mrs Buhari’s suspected money laundering with a former United States congressman, William J. Jefferson who was sentenced to 13 years in prison 2009 for accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. Deliberations and bilateral engagements about a possible Mrs. Buhari’s prosecution remain in rock-solid secrecy.
Earlier in July, International Guardian revealed that Buhari’s regime was looking at Aisha’s foreign immunity options under Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). FSIA –defines the jurisdiction of United States courts in suits against foreign states – where a foreign state generally is immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of another sovereign state.
The FSIA option appeared to have failed leaving the Buhari’s regime with a rather fraudulent approach. The regime floated a fake passport of another “Aisha Buhari” in the media, claiming that Jefferson’s collaborator was not the First Lady. To further suppress the indictment of the First lady, Buhari has been tactically courting Obasanjo who had threatened in the past to release killer-documents about both Buhari and the wife.
President Buhari, it may be recalled, had requested assistance from the United States to carry out his threats to arrest and prosecute past ministers and other officials who stole Nigeria’s oil and diverted government’s money to personal accounts – a move that would have exposed previous fraudulent engagements in the Obasanjo’s regime.
Buhari’s plans swiftly boomeranged, prompting the General to personally send apologies to Obasanjo. Obasanjo was already gathering a dossier which included documents linking President Buhari and key allies and colleagues in his administration to major fraud related to various affairs of the government, when he received President Buhari’s “es·prit de corps” plea for a common understanding and restraint. To further appease the aged former leader, President Buhari quickly announced a retraction of his threats, announcing publicly that he would not extend his corruption probe beyond the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Since then, Buhari has courted Obasanjo unconditionally, allowing him free access to Aso Rock, and appeasing him with undisclosed paid responsibilities, it was reliably gathered. The recent meeting between both leaders, therefore, was not a surprise.
Last year, International Guardian reported how President Obasanjo was the only one to rightly expose President Buhari’s negative past records of public accountability, revealing his readiness to hit the blogs with documents that would shock the nation. The story also narrated how Buhari as the chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) between 1998-99, failed to account for a missing 25 billion naira, confiscating all related documents and obstructing all investigative channels. A source close to the All Progressives Congress (APC) told our newsroom than that “When it comes to being vindictive, you know Baba does not waste time and Buhari should have known better.”
Nigeria: Aisha Buhari Launches Project On Child Nutrition
Mrs Buhari called for the active participation and support of Nigerians and organizations, especially the organized private sector, development partners, relevant United Nations agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).
By Ojoma Akor, Daily Trust
The wife of the president, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, has launched a programme called, “Get involved”, to prevent death of children from malnutrition.
A statement signed by Nadabo Zakari, her Director, Media & Publicity, said the programme was a major component of her “Future Assured” pet project which comprises healthcare delivery, education and other facets of lives of Nigerian woman and children.
Speaking during the launch of the programme in Abuja yesterday, Mrs Buhari called for the active participation and support of Nigerians and organizations, especially the organized private sector, development partners, relevant United Nations agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).
She said with the participation of these bodies, the new initiative would also help to combat the endemic malnutrition among children at Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in the country.
According to her, with the collective efforts of well-meaning Nigerians, no child in the country would lack good diet.
Culled from Daily Trust
Buhari vs. Aisha: War in Aso Rock as the First Lady gets a much younger rival
There is a mystery first lady in Nigeria, widening the existing gap between President Muhammadu Buhari and the official First Lady, Aisha. The “Young Igbo Girl” as Buhari’s close confidants would call her had often visited the President from Canada where she lived as a spy-agent, until she was finally relocated to Abuja to be close to him. Since her arrival, the First lady, Aisha has been kept away from the President, with excuses about his deteriorating health, it was gathered.
The Mystery First Lady, accusable identified as Buhari’s mistress is a curvaceous light skinned journalist based in Canada. Looking chic in her late 30s, she was brought back to Nigeria and lodged in an exquisite suite on the third level of an Abuja five star hotel. “She spend most times with the President, and helps him with media stuff” confided an informant. It was also gathered that this mystery lady operates and heads a team that helps President Buhari to identify bloggers and activists bitterly opposed to his regime. A major victim of this operation is Nnamdi Kanu who was arrested on October 18, 2015, in Lagos State by Nigeria’s secret police the Department of State Services (DSS).
Aisha Buhari has since been sidelined on activities of Aso Rock, but staffers loyal to her are not taking it likely. “Why would the wife of the President need a protocol to see her husband? I totally disagree with this nonsense, and if they want fire, we will give them fire” said one of Aisha’s Aso Rock informant who vowed to leak to the media, the unfolding drama surrounding the presidency.
One of President Buhari’s right-hand person, Alhaji Mamman Daura who is also his nephew, it was gathered, relocated to the presidential Villa permanently, directing most of the President’s protocol, and at some point, clashes with the First Lady over communicating personal matters about her husband. President Buhari’s assumed mystery significant other however has an uncontrolled access to the Villa and liaises with the him at will.
President Buhari’s secret brawl with Aisha got worse shortly before his last 2-weeks medical leave when Aisha was neither briefed not allowed to see him. “This is not right” complained a source. “I could not conceive the President going on a medical leave without any of his immediate family members – not even his wife. Aisha has always travelled with him in other medical trips, so why would it be different this time?”
President Buhari’s relationship with the Mystery First Lady remains one of his top secrets, but frustrated Villa employees loyal to Aisha have vowed a retaliation, threatening to leak embarrassing materials to the social media. As for the Mystery First Lady, “We know where she is – the hotel, the floor, and the room. I know that they would likely move her if this information gets to the media, but we have more than her location,” an anonymous angry Villa employee threatened.
Why Aisha Buhari canceled her planned visit to the United States
Nigeria’s First Lady fears U.S. arrest
Embattled Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari Abuja has cancelled her scheduled trip to the United States of America for the World First Ladies’ Conference in Colorado for reasons related to her pending money-laundering case with the United States Justice Department, sources reveal. However, her media director, Zakari Nadabo, who announced the cancellation, did not give any reason for Aisha’s decision.
A source close to Buhari’s regime told International Guardian that options of Aisha’s case are being explored diplomatically and must be resolved before she could visit the United States. The regime, it was gathered are looking at Aisha’s foreign immunity options under Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). FSIA –defines the jurisdiction of United States courts in suits against foreign states – where a foreign state generally is immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of another sovereign state.
November 2009 – Former Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA) walks with his wife Andrea Jefferson as he arrives at US District Court for his sentencing hearing in Alexandria, Virginia. (Wilson/Getty).
While the Buhari’s regime has not officially addressed the matter, government sources reveal that a U.S. travel restriction of the First Lady has always been in place as a precautionary measure to avoid what might be embarrassing to both the regime and the country. For instance, Mrs. Buhari had skipped similar U.S. invitations in the past without concrete reasons. In August 2015, Mrs. Buhari was scheduled to lead four other First Ladies; from Ghana, Mozambique, Gambia and Rwanda to Houston for a conference about African women in leadership positions but did not show up.
Deliberations and bilateral engagements about a possible Mrs. Buhari’s prosecution remain in rock-solid secrecy. United States it was gathered reopened investigations of her suspected money laundering with a former United States congressman, William J. Jefferson. Jefferson who was sentenced to 13 years in prison 2009 for accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes.
Documents from the United States Justice Department, it may be recalled, revealed that Aisha Buhari was used as conduit and engaged in fraudulent wire transfers from her Nigerian account in favor of Congressman Jefferson via the ANJ Group LLC. (See complete Government’s Sentencing Memorandum).
TIMELINE: WILLIAM JEFFERSON’S BRIBERY WOES
■ On August 5, 2009, he was found guilty of eleven of the sixteen corruption counts. Jefferson was sentenced to thirteen years on November 13, 2009, the longest sentence yet handed down to a congressman for bribery or any other crime.
■ On March 26, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed Jefferson’s conviction and sentence on ten of the eleven counts on which he was convicted. The Court of Appeals vacated and remanded the conviction on one count of the indictment, involving alleged wire fraud, holding that venue on that count was improper in the federal court in Virginia.
■ On April 20, 2012, U.S. District Court judge T.S. Ellis revoked Jefferson’s bail and ordered that he report to prison to begin serving his thirteen-year sentence by May 4, 2012.
■ On May 4, 2012, Jefferson surrendered to the Bureau of Prisons facility in Beaumont, Texas to begin serving his 13-year sentence. He is scheduled for release on August 30, 2023.
Jefferson’s case was made famous by the $90,000 in what prosecutors said was ‘bribe money’ that the FBI found stuffed into his freezer, and a legal battle over the raid of his Washington office. He was convicted in August 2009 in U.S. District Court in Alexandria of 11 counts that included bribery, racketeering and money laundering. Jurors acquitted Jefferson of five counts.
Aisha’s U.S. trip cancellation has again generated another wave of controversy over scope of her involvement with the bribery scandal. “We had hoped Aisha Buhari would have capitalized on the opportunity to visit America, and put to rest the controversies surrounding her name in the matter” a source said. An outspoken Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Ayodele Fayose had earlier accused he First Lady of avoiding the United States to evade her involvement in the scandal.
Corruption wars: Obasanjo to expose Buhari
Buhari, Obasanjo….President Obasanjo was the only one to rightly expose President Buhari’s negative past records of public accountability.
Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari’s threats to probe governance affairs of his predecessors has tumbled into a boomeranging breadth, prompting the General to personally send a plea with apologies to the former President and one of the targets of his proposed probe, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, International Guardian reliably gathered. “I didn’t personally know what was said or written, but to my understanding, PMB was only trying to diffuse rumors in the media about Obasanjo being a target of his probe,” a source close to Buhari’s administration explained in a text message.
Chief Obasanjo was already gathering a dossier which included documents linking President Buhari and key allies and colleagues in his administration to major fraud related to various affairs of the government, when he received President Buhari’s “es·prit de corps” plea for a common understanding and restraint. To further appease the aged former leader, President Buhari quickly announced a retraction of his threats, announcing publicly that he would not extend his corruption probe beyond the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
A worried President Buhari specifically indicated through his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Femi Adesina, that he would not waste time in probing the administrations of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Abdulsalam Abubakar, Sani Abacha, and Ibrahim Babangida. The retraction nonetheless created doubts among critics on the president’s credibility in fighting corruption as he initially swaggered.
President Buhari, it may be recalled, had consistently vowed to investigate and bring to book, all persons who looted the country’s funds. Consequently, he made a threat to arrest and prosecute past ministers and other officials who stole Nigeria’s oil and diverted government’s money to personal accounts.
The President’s request for collaboration with the United States, however, prompted an alleged reaction by President Obasanjo considered as one of Nigeria’s most corrupt past leader by most western countries. The United States has indicated it would help Nigeria’s new leader track down billions of dollars in stolen assets – a move that might expose previous fraudulent engagements in the Obasanjo’s regime.
Atiku was implicated by a US Grand Jury which report detailed his fraudulent involvement with Congressman, William Jefferson to secure a business deal in Nigeria. Jefferson was sentenced to 13 years on November 13, 2009, the longest sentence ever handed down to a congressman for bribery. crumbly economy.
International Guardian gathered that President Buhari’s backtrack from his initial plans for a comprehensive probe of public-fund misappropriation may jeopardize Nigeria’s request to the United States for collaboration on tracing missing funds. The United States government it was gathered, may not oblige to selective investigation of executive fraudsters and may not spare Buhari himself. It may be recalled that as the Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was implicated by a US Grand Jury which reports detailed his fraudulent involvement with Congressman, William Jefferson to secure a business deal in Nigeria. On August 5, 2009, Jefferson was found guilty of 11 of the 16 corruption counts, and was sentenced to 13 years on November 13, 2009, the longest sentence ever handed down to a congressman for bribery.
From fraudulent privatization of state-owned enterprises; filthy oil deals; bribery associated with Halliburton, Siemens, and Transcorp, rushed terminal contracts, to personal loans for his farm business, embezzlement of Excess Crude Account, and Petroleum Trust Development Fund (PTDF), Chief Obasanjo’s regime has been considered the most fraudulent in Nigeria’s history. “For Buhari to claim that he would not waste time digging into the far past, simply signals a red flag about his involvement in the whole thing,” confided a source close to Washington.
Last week, International Guardian reported how President Obasanjo was the only one to rightly expose President Buhari’s negative past records of public accountability, revealing his readiness to hit the blogs with documents that would shock the nation. The story also narrated how Buhari as the chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) between 1998-99, failed to account for a missing 25 billion naira, confiscating all related documents and obstructing all investigative channels. Buhari’s alleged plea to Obasanjo, therefore, was timely. “When it comes to being vindictive, you know Baba does not waste time and Buhari should have known better,” a source close to the All Progressives Congress (APC) told our newsroom.
