Nigerian President wants his wife to remain in his kitchen

Abuja, Nigeria – Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s comment before an international audience that his wife Mrs Aisha Buhari belongs to the kitchen and the “other room” has evoked condemnation from campaigners for gender equality.

Mr Buhari’s statement came as a result of his response to Mrs. Buhari’s interview with the BBC Hausa Service where she expressed displeasure over how her husband’s inner cabinet had hijacked governance and created disaffection among his core supporters across the country.

Condemnation of Mr Buhari’s reply was widespread and included a response from Mr Ismail Ibraheem, a senior lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, who said: “While we agree that the President has the inalienable right to respond to whatever comments his wife makes, within and outside the ‘kitchen and ‘other rooms,’ we disagree with him over his choice of words, and the global and political environment where he said them.”

Mr. Ibraheem, who spoke in his capacity as the chairperson of The Centre for African Resources, Research and Development (CARRD) also said “President Buhari made those comments – which millions within and ourside Nigeria have interpreted to be misogynist, sexist and ‘Trump-like’.”

“However, when she made the comments to the BBC about issues millions of Nigerians are honestly, but secretly and quietly worried about, she was immediately demoted and banished permanently to the ‘kitchen and other rooms.’”

Aisha Buhari was known to be of inestimable political help to her husband and his party during the 2015 elections. She single handedly attracted millions Nigerian women to cast their votes for her husband, and openly defende him during a barrage of verbal attacks and accusations from the then ruling party.

In view of this new development, she has threatened not to campaign for him as she did in 2015, should he decide to seek re-election in 2019.

According to Ibraheem, “while Mr. President is doing a yeoman’s job fighting corruption, we at CARRD wish to remind him that key members of his inner circle have been publicly accused of corruption, with facts, figures and dates to boot, to absolute silence, and sometimes outright denial by him.”