FORMER First Lady Aisha Buhari has disclosed that her late husband, former President Muhammadu Buhari, once believed rumours within the Aso Rock that she was plotting to kill him.
She said the development disrupted his feeding routine and worsened his health.
Aisha Buhari’s account is contained in a newly released biography titled ‘From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, authored by Charles Omole, a doctorate holder, and launched at the State House on Monday, December 15.
The 600-page book chronicles Buhari’s life from his childhood in Daura, Katsina State, to his final days in a London hospital in July 2025, according to a Punch report.
The book quotes the former First Lady as saying Buhari began locking his room and changing his habits after being fed with what she described as malicious gossip within the Presidential Villa.
“Then came the gossip and the fearmongering. They said I wanted to kill him,” the book says.
“My husband believed them for a week or so,” it adds.
Aisha Buhari also linked the health crisis that kept Buhari away from office for several months in 2017 to what she described as a breakdown in his nutrition routine rather than poisoning or a mysterious illness.
The ICIR reports that in February 2016, Buhari embarked on a six-day vacation to the United Kingdom. A few months later, in June, he returned to England for a 10-day medical trip to treat an ear infection. He later extended his stay by three days to recuperate.
In January 2017, Buhari returned to London for another medical vacation. The following month, he wrote to the National Assembly requesting an extension of his medical leave.
He returned to Abuja on March 10, 2017, after spending 50 days outside Nigeria. In May 2017, the late leader again left for London on what became one of his longest medical vacations, spending 104 days before returning to Nigeria.
What followed was a wave of speculation and misinformation about his health, with some even claiming he had died and was replaced by a body double named “Jubril of Sudan” – a tale many still believe even after his death.
The late leader did not visit London later that year for another medical check-up until May 2018, when he spent four days for a “medical review.”
Explaining further on the former president’s health, Aisha said before moving into Aso Rock, she had personally overseen Buhari’s meals and supplements, a system she said helped manage his long-standing malnutrition symptoms.
“Elderly bodies require gentle, consistent support,” she recalled, adding, “He doesn’t have a chronic illness. Keep him on schedule.”
The book says after Buhari moved into the Villa, the routine collapsed, with meals delayed, supplements stopped, and nutrition mismanaged.
“My husband believed them for a week or so,” she said, revealing that Buhari began locking his room, while “meals were delayed or missed; the supplements were stopped.”
“For a year, he did not have lunch. They mismanaged his meals,” she added.
Aisha explained that she convened a meeting with senior aides, including the presidential physician, the Chief Security Officer, the housekeeper, and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, to explain the nutrition plan her husband required.
She described the regimen as “daily, at specific hours, cups and bowls with tailored vitamin powders and oils, a touch of protein here, a change to cereals there.”
In London, doctors reportedly prescribed a more intensive nutrition plan. Initially, Buhari was said to be reluctant to comply, prompting his wife to take charge of his care.
“She took charge of his welfare, slipping hospital-issued supplements into his juice and oats,” Omole wrote.
Aisha Buhari described the recovery as rapid. “After just three days, he threw away the stick he was walking with. After a week, he was receiving relatives.”
She said, “that was the genesis, and also the reversal of his sickness.”
She also dismissed long-standing claims that Buhari was poisoned, insisting that the health crisis stemmed from “loss of a routine, ‘my nutrition.’”
The biography further revealed what it described as a climate of mistrust within the Presidency.
Aisha further dismissed rumours that Buhari was replaced by a body double known as “Jibril of Sudan,” describing the claim as absurd and blaming poor government communication for allowing conspiracy theories to thrive.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M