Professor Abubakar Mohammed Siddique of the Department of Political Science and International Studies at Ahmadu Bello University, ABU and Director, Centre for Democratic Development Research and Training (CEDDERT), said the wife of the president, Aisha Buhari is right to protect her husband, President Muhammadu Buhari.
The don was reacting to the incident that led to shooting at the presidential villa last week.
President Buhari on Sunday ordered an investigation into the reported gunshots in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Daily Trust had reported how trouble broke out when First Lady Aisha Buhari asked the Special Assistant to President Buhari, Sabiu Tunde Yusuf, to self-isolate in line with the COVID-19 guideline after returning from Lagos.
Different sources including those that worked in the Villa in the past said the probe directed by the president would most likely not produce any result because it is a family matter.
Some of them said the crisis is an extension of supremacy battle and deep rooted rivalry between the first lady and her inner circle on one hand and the purported “cabal” in the presidency on the other.
Tunde is the son of the younger sister of Mamman Daura who is Buhari’s nephew.
He is said to be very powerful and exudes enormous authority around President Buhari.
Though Aisha had given her own side of the story and a statement from the villa followed yesterday, Tunde is yet to say anything.
Efforts to hear his side of the story was not successful as he did not return a call and did not also respond to a text message sent to him around 7.30pm yesterday.
Aisha right to protect husband
Professor Siddique said the First Lady did the right thing by insisting that Tunde should self-isolate as recommended by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
He, however, added that: “It may be an extension of her fight with Mamman Daura and Abba Kyari as I read in the newspapers, but her action shows that she loves her husband.
“This is what a good wife should do to protect her husband, because when he gets infected, she would also be infected with her children.
“You can see that Sabiu Yusuf (alias Tunde) ran to Mamman Daura’s house, obviously to get protection, because they are in the same camp, as people are alleging. This is not my concern anyway; my concern is that the security agents ought not to have allowed him to get into the Villa as they did to people that attended Abba Kyari’s burial. So, Aisha is absolutely right to protect her husband since the people that are supposed to do that are not up to their responsibilities. I don’t know why some people don’t want to respect women. For them anything a woman does is wrong.”
How the latest trouble started
Daily Trust recalled that the shooting in the villa, which occurred on Thursday, June 11, led to the arrest of police officers attached to the president’s wife, including her Aide-De-Camp (ADC), Usman Shugaba and the escort commander.
Hajiya Buhari, unhappy with the move by the police authorities, called on the Inspector General of Police via her Twitter handle, to free her ADC and other police aides taken into custody.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) subsequently asked the National Assembly to intervene in the persistent infighting in the Presidential Villa.
The PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan argued that it is necessary for the National Assembly to intervene in the matter as it alleged that those in charge of Aso Rock had failed to demonstrate the required capacity to engender the needed orderliness for productive governance. Reacting to the incident yesterday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the event happened outside the main residence of the president.
He flayed attacks on President Buhari by critics over what he called “a minor occurrence.”
The statement titled ‘Presidency Statement on the Security Incident in the State House on Thursday’, read: “The Presidency wishes to acknowledge concerns expressed by several members of the public regarding the recent incident among the occupants of the State House, which escalation led to the arrest of some staff by the police.
“This is to assure all and everyone that the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Muhammadu Buhari, is not, and was not at any time in any form of danger arising, either from deadly infections or the reported incident by security personnel, which is currently under investigation.
“This particular incident happened outside the main residence of the president.
“Armed guards and other security personnel assigned to the State House receive the necessary training of especially weapons handling and where they come short, their relevant agencies have their rules and regulations to immediately address them.
“Having authorised the proper investigation to be carried out into this unfortunate incident by the police, the president has acted in compliance with the rule of law.
“That a minor occurrence is being used by some critics to justify attacks on the government and the person of President Muhammadu Buhari beggars belief.
“In this particular instance, the president says the law should be allowed to take its course,” he said.
Who should take charge of Buhari’s health?
There have been counter arguments in the last two days as to who should be responsible for President Buhari’s health.
“It should be the responsibility of the president’s personal physician to decide the health protocols around the president,” a medical doctor who served as physician to a former Nigerian leader told the Daily Trust yesterday.
Another medical personnel with close ties to the villa in the past corroborated, saying in an ideal situation, the president’s physicians should provide the template that will ensure the safety of the number one citizen.
“The truth is that physicians of leaders work underground; they are expected to brief the chief of staff, or the chief protocol officer, or the principal private secretary of the president who would in turn issue directive on how issues relating to the president should be treated. This is particularly important when there is fear that he might contract a disease. It is not the responsibility of the first lady,” he said.
Dr. Abdulaziz Umar, a consultant at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Zaria, said the age of the president makes him vulnerable to infections hence the need for caution.
He said: “It is true that the president needs to be careful. He has to restrict his contact with people because of his age. Anyone that goes out and is associated with people outside the president’s family who may be potential carriers of COVID-19 has to be made to isolate before he/she relates with the president.
“Alternatively, the person has to maintain social distancing, wear a face mask and wash or sanitise his/her hands. As I said earlier, this protocol must be enforced because of the age of the president. The family members of the president who travelled out must also observe these protocols and the same thing must be applied to his aides. Failure to observe these protocols would mean that they are endangering the health of the president.
“The president’s physicians know better. They are supposed to ensure that these protocols are obeyed no matter who is involved; aides or family members. The health of the president should be of importance to everyone.”
Rancour in the villa an embarrassment
Another prominent personality who worked in the villa in the past described the ongoing altercation as “a serious pathetic situation.”
He said: “How embarrassing can the situation be…It is one family that is washing its dirty lining in the market square. It is a terrible situation that the president cannot manage issues relating to his family…This tells you that he (the president) has lost grip because if his wife and his grandchild are fighting in the open, it means something is fundamentally wrong,” he said.
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