Perhaps reacting to allegations of huge sums paid by visiting
seeking audience with past Presidents and their first ladies, wife of the
President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, at the weekend, warned the public against
yielding to any demand for gratification from anyone to have audience with the
first couple.
“First Lady Aisha Muhammadu Buhari
(right), wife of Vice President, Dolapo Osinbajo (middle), wife of Senate
President, Toyin Saraki (left), and some of Governors’ wives… at the
Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja at the weekend.”
“I will like to inform you that in the past regime… whether it is
true or false, only God knows… some people were going round and parading
themselves as Personal Assistants. If you wanted to see the First Lady,
you will pay (between) $30,000 (and) $50,000. And if you are seeing the
President, you will pay all that you have gathered in your lifetime.
“This will not happen in our regime.
Whoever asks you to give a single penny in the name of coming to see the
President or his wife is not our staff. He is not an APC (All Progressives
Congress) member. It is a lie, don’t be deceived”, she warned.
She stressed that it was such behaviour by presidential aides of
the past administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan that contributed to
its downfall.
Mrs. Buhari agreed that President Jonathan
was himself a good man surrounded by such aides that were not honest with him,
a situation she hoped her husband would not find himself in.
Her words: “There was nothing that people
did not say about the past administration. It is not Jonathan that is not good,
but the people around him. So, the people that are going to be around
Buhari have to be very careful because the election ended peacefully.”
“We are praying and hoping that people
around him should know that it took him 12 years to get to that position and
they must know that they are coming to serve the masses, not Buhari in
person. It is the people that are around him that will determine the
political health of our state.”
Aisha also used the forum to canvass for
policies or legislation that can curtail high rate of divorce in the northern
parts of the country as well as oppressive widowhood practices in the south.
Specifically, she wants alimony to be paid
to divorcees in such circumstances, while efforts are made to ensure better
women representation in government.
According to her: “The women of Nigeria
are not asking for equal representation, but rather a fair representation.
“As you are all aware, they were the major
voters, we constitute more than 50 per cent and in the end, we found out that
the number of female legislators that we used to have declined. I do not think
this is fair for women. We feel we are not represented.
“We should now make it as a mission in the
next four years, to fight for fair representation of women in both leadership
and decision-making bodies. Other problems like high rate of divorce in the
North are a major setback for the Northern Nigeria. I think something has to be
done. A guideline should be given on divorce.
“In the next four years if you are
divorced in the North you can have what is called alimony. Whichever way our
people may like to operate: whether based on religion or customarily, something
has to be done on divorce in Northern Nigeria and the widowhood rights in the
South.
“Because you have lost your husband, it
will be like an end of the world for you. Something has to be done about
it customarily or in the modern way. The women from the southern part of
the country can’t continue living under suppression or oppression just because
they are widows.”
She expressed delight that she had
transmuted from wife of a former president (head of state) to wife of a
president and promised to help her husband work for Nigerians.
“I want to thank all Nigerian women and
youths for the crucial roles you played towards the success of the last
election. I am very much aware of your steadfastness during the electioneering
campaigns up till the elections proper. I wish to acknowledge your efforts
which contributed significantly to our success story.”
“An occasion like this will naturally
offer us an atmosphere to interact and reflect on how to play more supportive
roles to our government at all levels for the benefit of our people”, she said.
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