Former First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has revealed that rumours and fear-mongering within the Presidential Villa once led her late husband, former President Muhammadu Buhari, to believe she intended to harm him—a development she said triggered a chain of events that severely affected his health in 2017.
The revelation is contained in a newly published biography, “From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari”, authored by Charles Omole and launched on Monday at the State House in Abuja.
According to the book, the atmosphere of gossip and mistrust within Aso Rock briefly created tension between the President and his wife, prompting Buhari to change key personal habits. These reportedly included locking his room and skipping meals, actions that disrupted a carefully managed nutrition routine essential to his well-being.
Mrs Buhari explained that the breakdown in Buhari’s feeding schedule marked the beginning of the illness that kept him away from office for several months in 2017. She said she had, for years, personally overseen her husband’s meals and supplements due to what she described as his long-standing nutritional challenges.
“Buhari’s illnesses were neither mysterious nor the result of poisoning,” she was quoted as saying, dismissing rumours that later circulated during his absence from public view.
The biography noted that after the family moved from Kaduna to the Presidential Villa, responsibility for Buhari’s feeding shifted to official handlers. This, Mrs Buhari said, resulted in delays, skipped meals, and the suspension of prescribed supplements. At one point, she claimed, the President went nearly a year without taking lunch regularly, a situation that significantly weakened him.
The deterioration in his health eventually led to prolonged medical trips to the United Kingdom in 2017, where Buhari spent a total of 154 days and temporarily transferred presidential authority to then Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Upon his return, Buhari publicly acknowledged that it was the worst illness he had ever experienced and confirmed that he received blood transfusions during treatment.
The book also recalled how Buhari’s extended absence fuelled widespread speculation and conspiracy theories, including claims of poisoning and allegations that he had been replaced by a body double. Mrs Buhari dismissed these narratives as false, insisting that the real cause of the crisis was the collapse of a consistent nutrition and supplement regimen.
According to the account, doctors in London prescribed an intensified feeding plan, which Mrs Buhari said she personally ensured was strictly followed. Once the regimen was restored, Buhari’s recovery was rapid, with the former first lady noting that he regained strength within days and soon resumed receiving visitors.
The author further addressed criticism of Buhari’s reliance on foreign medical care, arguing that specialised treatment for an elderly patient may not always be readily available locally due to decades of underinvestment in Nigeria’s health sector.
Beyond health issues, the biography also highlighted claims by Mrs Buhari of a climate of mistrust within the Presidency, including alleged surveillance and the bugging of private conversations—factors she said heightened anxiety during Buhari’s final years in office.