Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, has put the controversy generated by her BBC interview aside to attend a women’s forum in Belgium.
She will not be speaking on domestic affairs but on women’s role in global security.
Heading to Brussels to attend a forum where I will be giving the opening remark on “Women’s Role in Global Security” pic.twitter.com/ToJJQylB0M
— Aisha M. Buhari (@aishambuhari) October 18, 2016
Mrs Buhari was seen at St. Pancras railway station in London on Tuesday boarding a Eurostar train heading for the Belgian capital.
Opposition politicians who hailed her for speaking out against a cabal that had allegedly hijacked her husband’s administration have turned back on her, claiming she wore a cape worth over N1million in the face of the economic recession in Nigeria.
They want their CHANGE to begin with u, but @aishambuhari wears $2,600 (N1.17m) Salvatore Ferragamo Zig Zag Cape. pic.twitter.com/HL0Q4SQZZd
— Lere Olayinka (@OlayinkaLere) October 18, 2016
The 45-year-old told the BBC in an interview published on Friday last week that she might not back her husband in the next election unless he shakes up his government.
“He is yet to tell me but I have decided as his wife, that if things continue like this up to 2019, I will not go out and campaign again and ask any woman to vote like I did before. I will never do it again,” she said.
Responding, President Muhammadu Buhari said his wife belonged in the kitchen and he had “superior knowledge” about running a government.
“I don’t know exactly what party my wife belongs to. Actually she belongs in the kitchen, the living room and the other rooms in my house,” Buhari told reporters with a chuckle after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
He doubled down in an interview he granted Deutsche-Welle’s Phil Gayle shortly before departing Germany on Saturday.
“Recently your wife criticised your choices for top jobs, and you responded by saying ‘I don’t know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room.’ What did you mean by that, sir?” Gayle asked.
To which Buhari replied: “I am sure you have a house. … You know where your kitchen is, you know where your living room is, and I believe your wife looks after all of that, even if she is working.”
“That is your wife’s function? The interview asked.
“Yes, to look after me,” Buhari responded.
Asked if Aisha should stay out of politics, the President said “I think so.”
