Why I openly criticised some of my husband’s policies  – Aisha Buhari

Why I openly criticised some of my husband’s policies  – Aisha Buhari

Outgoing First Lady, Aisha Buhari, said she was relentless in her support for President Muhammadu and sometimes came hard on those in government trying to take advantage of him.

She said she knew his husband needed help and had to step him, which came as opposition to some of his policies.

The President’s wife said she openly criticised decisions “taken for the interest of one person and not for the general public’s interests”.

Aisha made this revelation in an interview with The Sun published on Saturday concerning her time as first lady and the performance of her husband in office.

She said, “Because they did not know how we came in, we came in because of the love Nigerian people have for my husband, the trust, you know, and then after coming in, the expectations. So, I told myself we cannot afford that, I just knew my husband needed help.

“That is why I am here as a First Lady and as a wife. I don’t like people who want to make money to rubbish the image of the family, the hard-earned name of my husband, you know, and then we keep quiet and look at the person. So that’s why I normally step in and speak up.”

Aisha however said President Buhari had fulfilled half of his campaign promises.

She said insecurity had been significantly tackled under the administration of her husband.

The First Lady said, “Compared to what we met on the ground, he has done wonderfully well. But if one is to compare with the zeal that we came into power, we have achieved 50 per cent in all the areas captured in his campaign promises, especially in the areas of work like road constructions, bridges, you know, infrastructure in general. He has made a lot of difference.”

On security, she scored the president 70 per cent, noting that most kidnappings were perpetrated by family members for mischievous purposes.

“I think maybe we scored 70 per cent on security. I say so because before now, there were lots of barricades, roadblocks, but now there are no more roadblocks, nothing,” Aisha said.

“Even the kidnapping that is happening now is being organised among the family members. It is a deliberate thing, you know. And then the insurgency or the banditry may be organised by some local people, you know. But if there is no connivance, I can say that we have achieved 90 percent on security,” she added.