Saudatu Aliyu’s Imaginary Marriage to Buhari

By Zayd Ibn Isah

In the midst of Nigeria’s daily affairs, interesting stories often come to light, and one such tale revolves around Saudatu Aliyu and the fake ‘arrangee’ marriage with former President Muhammadu Buhari. Saudatu was doing well as a food vendor somewhere in Minna, Niger State, until Gambo Adamu happened to her. Gambo, a private security guard at Kure Ultramodern Market where she sells food, frequent her shop to buy food to eat. But it seems Gambo was not too pleased with his status as a regular customer as he expressed interest in marrying Saudatu’s daughter who comes to the shop to assist her mother in selling food.

Saudatu disclosed during her interview with Daily Trust that she didn’t object to the marriage but advised Gambo to seek the consent of her daughter’s divorced father. Although, the father was not happy with the choice of Gambo as son-in-law, but his daughter was already in love and even threatened to commit suicide if the marriage approval to Gambo was not given. It was at this point that the man realized that it was better to have Gambo as son-in-law than to lose his precious daughter. Lucky Gambo obtained the approval at all costs, and the marriage took place sometimes in 2018, according to her. Gambo, now the son-in-law, proposed the establishment of an NGO to aid the needy, a concept Saudatu embraced, believing it would contribute to the welfare of the less privileged.

After he successfully convinced Saudatu to initiate the NGO, Gambo introduced his grand plan — which is a fake marriage proposal from Muhammadu Buhari. Collaborating with his wife, they executed the scheme seamlessly. When questioned about informing her daughter, Saudatu explained that her daughter would swear that whatever her husband tells her is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Thus, the complexities of this elaborate plot surfaced.

Despite criticism directed at Saudatu for falling prey to such a scheme, the story raises questions about societal aspirations who would not want to have anything to do with broke guys. Saudatu Aliyu’s narrative reflects a common theme of individuals in Nigerian society who “have eyes for big things.” Of women who would not marry or date a guy earning 100k a month. Who would rather follow a man with no visible source of income, but spends lavishly on her, than a man earning an honest living. As a result, dubious men are devising all means to woo women. We have heard cases of men going to their would be wives’ houses with borrowed or rented cars and they succeeded, only for the marriage to crumble if the wife realized that she was being played with flashy cars all along. This is very common among car repairers. In Saudatu’s case, the allure of being married to the President of the most populous black nation might have been too tempting to resist, just it will be for others of her ilk. The only problem with her is that, she dreamt too far.

Adding to my astonishment is the revelation that she was already in a valid marriage and still agreed to the fake arrangement with the former President. The level of selfishness and greed exhibited can be categorized as Type A.

Gambo Adamu, however, has been punished accordingly, with the Magistrate Court in Minna convicting him to 12 months imprisonment with an option of a fine for cheating. While the decision is commendable, the daughter’s role as an accessory before the fact ought to be put into consideration. Her constant reassurance to her mother, affirming her husband’s deceptive words, might suggest her involvement in the plot. She could be seen as the typical daughter, perhaps viewing her mother as having ample resources but being too unwilling to share, leading her to conceive this scheme as a means of extracting money. It’s a scenario where manipulation and greed intertwine, raising ethical concerns in this elaborate family saga.

The prevalence of indigenous fake marriage scams is becoming alarming. Marriage scams, typically known between indigenous yahoo boys and their foreign clients, seem to have evolved, with scammers realizing that even their compatriots can be gullible. In that same Niger State, a 43-year-old fake lawyer, Barrister Samuel Idu, was recently remanded in prison after luring a woman into a fake marriage. The victim, Deborah Omeiza, alleged that Samuel Idu presented himself as a lawyer and an American citizen, extorting 5.4 million naira from her after claiming to be kidnapped during one of his foreign trips. I doubt if Deborah would have agreed to marry Samuel Idu if he presented himself as a graduate, hustling to make a honest living.

The entire landscape of internet fraud, marriage scams, and other crimes underscores our societal morals and the prevalence of a ‘get-rich-quick’ syndrome. A society that places more emphasis on material wealth than values is likely to grapple with more cases akin to those of Gambo and Samuel Idu.

Isah can be reached via: [email protected]