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Aishat Buhari confirms husband doesn’t rule Nigeria.
When I publicly voiced my concerns in 2018 that Muhammadu Buhari was too cognitively and physically ill to have the capacity to govern Nigeria and that the country was being ruled on his behalf by an unorganised and unelected gaggle of corrupt cronies and family members, some people didn’t believe me.
But his wife’s unprecedentedly stinging public censure of presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu and Mamman Daura, Buhari’s nephew, on December 11, 2019 provides evidentiary grounding for what most of us have always known and said: that Buhari is too weighed down by dementia and physical infirmity to even control his immediate family, let alone rule a country of nearly 200 million people.
In my January 19, 2019 column titled “Buhari’s Physical and Mental Health is now a National Emergency,” I noted the following:
“On November 23, 2018, for instance, I tweeted that a doctor who has met Buhari during a personal, non-medical visit told me he was troubled that Buhari appeared to evince tell-tale symptoms of dementia (of which Alzheimer’s disease is a type), which is often characterised by repetitiveness, unawareness, mental deterioration, impaired memory, diminished quality of thought, slurred speech, and finally complete helplessness.”
“A friend whose dad has dementia and who has also met Buhari in the recent past had earlier told me Buhari reminded her of her dad whom she forced to retire, adding, sadly, that Buhari’s dementia is way worse than her dad’s is. She was, and still is, concerned that Nigeria has no president. She’s right, and the evidence stares us every day. Buhari barely has any awareness of his existence, much less the requirements of being president…
“People around the president are intimately familiar with his considerably diminished sentience and his notoriously declining short-term memory.
As a consequence, he is being taken advantage of by several people close to him. Aso Rock insiders say Buhari doesn’t remember anything, so no one even obeys his instructions–if he gives any at all. The last person to see him gets him to do whatever they want. Someone from the Presidential Villa told me it’s precisely because of this fact that governors frequent the Villa several times in a week; they are in a race to be the last people to see the president before he takes decisions and signs off on them.
“If you think with Buhari as president Nigeria has a president, you should sue your brain for non-support; you’re NOT thinking! We have a national emergency on our hands. Buhari appears infirm both in mind and in body. Without a doubt, other people are ruling on his behalf, and his own wife hinted at that when she said her husband’s presidency had been hijacked by a three-man cabal.”
Aisha also told TVC’s, “Journalists’ Hangout” that she doesn’t have private conversations with her husband. “There is no pillow in the villa,” she said. “No, because we are always busy listening to one story or another. I think the people he puts in the cabinet, they should just sit up and do the needful. That is why it is not good to have godfatherism.”
A lot of people were flustered by the revelation that she has no access to her husband. But I am not.
I actually hinted at that in my October 22, 2016 column titled “Aisha Buhari and the Evil Aso Rock Cabal.”
Here’s what I wrote:
“This [her BBC Hausa interview chastising her husband’s government] can only mean that although Aisha is formally married to President Buhari, she is actually isolated from him. This is consistent with what I’ve heard from inside sources about the relationship between the first couple. Buhari is held hostage by an evil, sneaky, corrupt, vulturous, and conniving cabal that ensures that his wife doesn’t see him even in the ‘kitchen,’ the ‘living room,’ or ‘the other room.’
“The BBC interview was Aisha’s vigorous ventilation of pent-up anguish against a cold, calculating, and corrupt cabal that has made Buhari a stranger to his own wife.”
And I had written about Aisha’s December 11 revelation that Garba Shehu and other Aso Rock media aides have no access to Buhari and take directives from Mamman Daura and other unelected Buhari cronies and family members.
In my August 26, 2017 column titled “Garba Shehu, Presidential Villa Rodents and Bad PR,” I wrote the following, which Aisha just confirmed:
“First, it’s obvious that both Adesina and Shehu don’t have a robust, direct access to the president. Directives don’t seem to always come directly from the president to his media aides. It’s usually, it would appear, from the president to a tortuous labyrinth of surrogates before it gets to the media team. Most of the times, it’s actually influential people connected—or thought to be connected—to the president who dictate what the presidential media team says to the public.
“I recall an incident in late 2015 that left me in no doubt that the president’s media team members don’t enjoy the respect usually accorded to presidential spokespeople. I was having an argument with someone close to the Buhari presidency over something, and he suddenly said, ‘I will tell the president’s media team to issue a statement to clarify this.’ A few hours later, a statement was issued expressing the exact sentiments of my interlocutor who isn’t even officially a part of the government. That blew me away.
“So, basically, the presidential spokespeople are mere errand boys of Buhari’s shadowy surrogates and a motley crowd of official, semi-official, and unofficial power brokers who pull the levers of power in the presidency.
“No public relations person, however smart he might be, can function optimally in the kind of politically toxic and factious environment that the Buhari presidency exemplifies.”
I warned Nigerians in the run-up to the 2019 election that if they voted APC, they were voting Mamman Daura and Abba Kyari, not Buhari who is barely aware of his own existence. People who thought I was merely being mischievous are now coming to terms with what I said.
For selfish reasons, Aisha won’t reveal the true state of her husband’s health, but she’s opportunistically railing against someone who is taking orders from people who hold the real power. As they say, nature abhors a vacuum. If Buhari can’t exercise power, others will exercise it on his behalf and in his name.
If Nigeria weren’t the dysfunctional theatre of the absurd that it is, the revelations from Aisha Buhari would be regarded as a national emergency.
The National Assembly would have constituted an independent team of medical experts to examine the state of Buhari’s physical and mental state.
Prof Farooq Kperogi
Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi recently defended his past interactions with armed groups, stating he “took the bull by the horns” in 2021 as a necessary step to address Nigeria’s insecurity.
In a post shared on Facebook on Thursday, Gumi said decades of neglect of disadvantaged populations had created deep socio-economic inequalities, leaving many youths vulnerable to manipulation by external forces seeking to destabilise the country.
According to him, the widening gap between the rich and the poor has turned many young people into “ready-made foot soldiers” in cycles of violence that enable the exploitation of Nigeria’s resources.
He also criticised the political class for being largely unresponsive, while noting that the intellectual community is preoccupied with survival struggles.
Reflecting on his past efforts, Gumi said he “took the bull by the horns” in 2021 by attempting to reintegrate violent elements into society rather than allowing them to be further radicalised.
He wrote: “Nigeria for decades has ignored the underprivileged section of its society. There is a significant socio-economic discrepancy, and the society is stratified. This makes our teaming youth ready-made foot soldiers for any foreign interest trying to divide us and rule. To plunder our resources while we are involved in a vicious circle of violence.
”Unfortunately, the political class is unattentive while the intelligentsia is held hostage in the struggle for existence.
“In 2021, I took the bull by the horns in an attempt to bring some of these uncouth elements back to our fold rather than letting them be exploited by the devil.
“I still believe this is the only way out of our predicament. However, it needs the political will and determination to achieve.
“May Allah bring peace back to our nation.”
The Federal High Court in Abuja rejected an ex-parte application seeking to bar Senator Ireti Kingibe from participating in the activities of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Justice Peter Lifu declined the request from Wuse Ward leaders, ruling that such an order could not be granted without first hearing from the senator.
Instead, the judge ordered the ward leaders said to be loyal to the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, to put the senator on notice to appear in court to join issues with them on their grievances.
Justice Lifu in a ruling on Thursday held that discretion in such a request for prohibition from party activities and in political matters must be exercised judicially and judiciously.
The judge said justice would be met in the case of the plaintiffs only when the side of the defendant is heard on its merit, along with that of the plaintiffs.
Consequently, the judge ordered that Senator Ireti Kingibe should be served with all court processes by the plaintiffs to enable her become aware of the suit and to prepare her defense.
The judge fixed April 20, 2026, for the plaintiffs and the serving senator to appear before him for hearing of all applications in the matter.
Those who sued the senator in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/ CV/539/2026 are Okezuo Godfrey Anayo and Isaiah Ojonugwa Samuel, on behalf of themselves and ward members as plaintiffs. The senator is the sole defendant.
In their ex-parte application, Kingibe representing the FCT in the Senate was said to have been suspended on March 10, 2026 by her Wuse Ward executives following allegations of anti-party activities and disregard of your cnstitution of the ADC.
In the ex- parte application filed on their behalf by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Kolawole Olowookere, the aggrieved ADC members in Wuse Ward applied for an order of interim injunction restraining Kingibe from parading herself as a member of party, pending the hearing and determination of their motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.
They also asked the judge to restrain the senator from performing any function, attending meetings or performing activities reserved for ADC members or representing the party in any activities.
Besides, the Ward Executive Committee had asked that she be restrained from further interfering with the administration of the ward, ward register and other activities.
The suit was predicated on five grounds among which are that Mrs Kingibe was placed on suspension due to anti-party activities, gross misconduct and confiscation of the ward statutory records.
They argued that the suspension followed due process as enshrined in the ADC constitution and ratified by the two thirds majority of the EXCO members.
They averred that despite the communication of the suspension to Kingibe, she has continued to hold parallel meetings, issue press statements as an ADC member, and using her security details to intimidate the executive committee.
“Her actions constitute flagrant disregard to the internal mechanism of the party,” the plaintiffs stated.
Meanwhile, a lawyer, Abubakar Marshall who claimed to be representing the senator, announced that he had filed a preliminary objection against the suit. He added that it was served on M. S. Garba, who stood for the plaintiffs at Thursday’s proceedings.
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, visited Jos, Plateau State, on Thursday, April 2, 2026, to lead a high-powered security assessment following recent security breaches.
The visit was aimed at strengthening public confidence and reinforcing ongoing efforts to stabilize affected communities.
Colonel Appolonia Anele, acting Director, Army Public Relations, said in a statement that the visit forms part of ongoing efforts to restore calm and entrench lasting peace across the state.
According to the statement, upon arrival, the COAS was received by the Executive Governor of Plateau State, Caleb Mutfwang, in a clear demonstration of strong civil-military cooperation and a shared commitment to addressing emerging security challenges.
The statement said the COAS received a comprehensive operational briefing from the General Officer Commanding 3 Division and Commander, Joint Task Force Operation ENDURING PEACE, Major General Folusho Oyinlola, who highlighted ongoing operations and proactive measures being implemented in synergy with other security agencies to contain threats, protect lives and property, and stabilise affected communities.
“As part of his engagements, Lieutenant General Shaibu also interacted with community leaders and residents, reassuring them of the unwavering commitment of the Nigerian Army to safeguarding all law-abiding citizens.
He urged residents to remain calm, vigilant and supportive of security agencies by complying with the curfew and cooperating fully with ongoing operations and investigations, while going about their lawful activities.
The chairman of Jos North Local Government Area, Hon. Dachung Bagos, commended the COAS for the timely visit, noting that the presence of the nation’s top military leadership would boost public confidence and reinforce trust in ongoing security efforts.
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