According to her, “US$16 million is a huge sum of money that is enough to fumigate mosquitoes in the entire country, wondering how the money had been spent.”
“We have a lot of women that do business locally. Due to the cultural thing in the North, they are at home doing their businesses. Some are millionaires.
“Some have thousands of Naira. This less privileged need the assistance but they do not get it. Most northern women do not belong to any market association.”
She, however, thanked the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, who she said had included women in the inaugural activities of her husband for a second term in office and also looked forward to the inclusion of women on appointive positions in the administration.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Uwais has responded as to how the funds were disbursed but Nigerians are not convinced about her explanations after the First Lady raised the issue of national interest rather than personal.
Just recently, Aisha Buhari fired another salvo at President Buhari’s administration, saying she must speak on what’s going wrong in Nigeria. She called on the security agents to take action or allow the situation continue until bandits finished killing our people.
She also continued that it is not proper for us to give the highest number of votes during the general elections and allow bandits to continue killing people while we keep quiet.
She challenged the security agencies under her husband’s watch to quickly end banditry and other insecurity challenges in parts of the country.
She made this call recently when she visited Katsina state while distributing relief materials to over 35,000 victims of banditry.
She also said it was necessary to degrade the criminal elements before they end the civil population, adding, “We should not keep silent while things are happening, thinking that if something happens today it will not happen tomorrow.
“What happened today will happen tomorrow, it will also happen the day after tomorrow if we keep silent.”
Indeed, it is a heartwarming clarion call from the mother of the nation, who will do anything within her powers to rally the Nigerian people to live in peace, unity and harmonious co-existence.
The knack for love of her people, irrespective of their religions, class, region or parochial interest of anyone should be paramount in our hearts.
We can see when recently the former President Olusegun Obasanjo hailed and admonished the first lady for speaking out because of her patriotic and nationalistic role on the national landscape and called on her to always have “pillow talk” with President Muhammadu Buhari by engaging him privately on some government policies.
The former President commended Mrs. Buhari for speaking out and said she should engage her husband more often in “pillow talk.”
Mrs. Buhari will continue to be a reference point and a rallying figure for the Nigerian women, youths and the less privileged.
Her belief firmly in an egalitarian society where justice, equity, rule of law and a dignified life of its citizenry is a must.
She sees nothing wrong in speaking truth always and as the conscience of the nation at a time like this in our history, she has a crucial role to play in the advocacy and empowerment of not only the Nigerian women but the sensitisation of all and sundry to get the desired change we all long for.
Mrs. Buhari as part of her intrinsic nature must “speak out,” and she always speaks truth to powers that be.
And unseen and unknown to her she stands above board, she joins other well-meaning Nigerians to lead the future generation to the Promised Land.
Concluded
By Omoba Kenneth Aigbegbele, a human rights activist and public affairs commentator
