How to be the wife of the president

Recent utterances by Hajiya Aisha Buhari, the wife of the President, have generated a lot of reactions and comments from Nigerians of all classes. Some of them who were with her, saw reason in what she said, defended her actions and inactions and celebrated her in the mainstream and social media, while the majority, especially in the northern part of Nigeria punctured her approach to the issues she raised, scolded the language she used and to a greater extent expressed dismay at the timing.
 Sincerely speaking, the vast majority of those who expressed their views reprimanded and upbraided her, saying the behaviour of the wife of the President was diametrically contrary to our norms.
According to them, the manner she sent the message was a flagrant departure from our tradition and culture.
The consensus was that as a wife, Hajiya Aisha has all the luxury of privacy, the uncontestable right of access and the elaborate and undeniable opportunity of closeness, hence should have talked to her husband and advised him at home, for they are always together.
By all standards and expectations, she should be the first person to conceal his secret if there is any, but not to divulge it with the view of exposing him to public cynicism and misandry.
Agreed, the trek to the Aso Villa was a long and tortuous journey,  full of obstacles, frustrations and distractions, but if  the wife of the President  is dissatisfied or has any grudges against her husband, the general consensus is that the media is not the right place to express herself.
Above all, mentioning the name of her husband plainly –“Buhari” – was seen as rudeness and discourteous. Undoubtedly, he is the President of this country and should be dignified by all and sundry, irrespective of political or primordial differences.
And by all standards, the courtesy, protection, and support must start from the home front, no matter the odds.
President Muhammadu Buhari deserves respect from all Nigerians, and especially from his wife, which is also seen as the mother of the nation, the role model for the womenfolk and upcoming generation.
Courteously, she should refer to him as “Maigidana” meaning, the man of the house in Hausa or Mr. President during the interview she granted with the BBC Hausa service.
By and large, with all her assertions, which have been subjected to public scrutiny, far more than many issues in recent times, many did not find the  President culpable.
He is the Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria Armed Forces and constitutionally empowered to work with whom he pleases, provided the sanctity of federal character is not infringed upon.
All what we know is that, President Buhari is working relentlessly to reposition our country.
Nevertheless, we are not saying that he is impeccable as a human being who has limitations. But, so far, most of the things he is doing are meant to bring out the country from the trenches.
We all know his incorruptibility, sincerity, patriotism and diligence.
To me, these virtues endear him to many people, who see him as the symbol of our unity.
To my opinion, his alleged failure to appoint some people from his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), is not a shortcoming or flaw.
Considering the circumstances he found himself soon after taking over the mantle of leadership, it is evident that the President was confronted by many challenges, than anticipated during the electioneering period.
And while trying to liberate the country from economic doldrums, the tendency is that some problems that revolve around political patronage would definitely suffer.
Herein lies the grudge of the wife of the President and to me, the way to resolve the issue would have been to  draw his attention to the matter again and again.
In conclusion, I will like to say that Hajiya Aisha had made her views and feelings known to the public in her capacity as a Nigerian and not as a house wife. As such Nigerians also reserve the right to make their comments in favour of the President.
A simple blast from the past will tell a lot on how to be the wife of Mr President.
I hope our mother of the nation will emulate the likes of Amina Ahmadu Bello, the wife of former Premier of Northern Nigeria. She was killed while defending her husband.
Another woman was Aisha Jori Hamani, the wife of former President of Niger Republic, who was also killed  while defending her husband.
Mrs Hillary Clinton  is today a woman to beat and in the next coming days,  there are clear indications that she will be the most powerful in the world.
This was a woman who stood by her husband, Mr Bill Clinton, at the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
Indeed, Hillary swallowed the bitter pill during the scandal that nearly cost her husband the presidency but she remained resolute amidst excruciating pain, anguish and frustration. Alas! The fruit of that patience is manifesting today.
The mother of our country should also emulate Mrs. Laurent Gbagbo, the wife of former President of Cote d’Ivoire.
She should also emulate the ‘positive sides’ of Mrs Patience Jonathan, who continuously supported her husband despite glaring apathy across the land over his style of leadership.
We pray that the wife of the president will make her husband to be successful by staying behind him and supporting him through thick and thin, and by consoling and giving solace to him when he is overwhelmed by the challenges of working hard to satisfy the expectations of nearly 200 million people.
Our consolation is that with his commitment, dedication and altruistic disposition,  which have already started yielding fruits, our President will be overwhelmingly  elected by not only  19 million Nigerians  but over 20 million voters.
Prof. M. Muazu Nguru is the Director/CEO NALV, Borno State 08066163910