By Tajudeen Suleiman
The dust raised by President Muhammadu Buhari’s remark about his wife’s comments on his government is clearly yet to settle as a frontline Northern politician and one of his former allies; Junaid Mohammed, has asked women in the president’s cabinet to resign in protest.
Aisha Buhari, in a BBC interview last week had claimed that 45 among 50 people her husband appointed into government were imposed on him and that she may not support him for re-election if he failed to re-shuffle his cabinet.
When asked to react to his wife’s remarks while in Germany, Buhari said his knowledge about politics was superior to that of his wife and that his wife belonged to his kitchen and “the other room.”
But Mohammed, who spoke with www.icirnigeria.org on Monday, said the president’s comments was an insult to women and represented a mindset that was inimical to the advancement of women.
“What he said was a reflection of his inner attitude towards women generally and if he doesn’t respect them for who they are, then why should they be of service to him? They should immediately tender their resignation letters in protest,” he advised.
The radical Kano politician said he listened to the interview granted the BBC by Aisha Buhari and did not see where the woman raised any personal issue, but instead spoke about issues that are fundamentally national issues.
He said for the president to have put down his wife in such condescending manner was “a disgrace not only to him but also to all Nigerians.”
He stated further: “When the question was put to him in Germany, he was standing beside Angela Merkel, a woman and Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.
“She is today arguably the most influential woman on earth, and if Buhari knew nothing about courtesy or protocol, he should have at least remembered that if he said something which looks or sound misogynistic, it will not go down well with the woman who was standing by his side.
“He came across as a terrible misogynist who had nothing but contempt for womanhood. It is really unfortunate because what he did was to diminish himself and to diminish every Nigerian man, and especially every Northerner.
“In the 21st century and a leader of 180 million people to come out with that kind of statement, then we have really derailed. He did not address the issues raised by his wife.
“In this modern age to look at a woman and say she is just a companion in the bedroom is a disgrace. It is a shame and he has given us a very bad name.
“German papers and papers outside Germany condemned his statement. He did Nigeria a mighty disservice. I am really very uncomfortable with those statements. And I think every woman in this country must be hurt by the president’s remark.”
Muhammed said the president’s wife was being very tactful by refusing to name the people who had hijacked her husband’s government, stressing that the people are well known to those close to the administration.
He continued: “The issues she raised are issues that bother her and bother other patriotic Nigerians, and they are issues that should bother all of us. Even though she didn’t mention the names of Mamman Daura, Abba Kyari and others, she was referring to them.
“We did not elect any one of them, we elected Buhari. And if they are not accountable to us, he is accountable to us.
“This woman said out of the 50 appointments he made, 45 of them he didn’t know. Now this should concern us because it means the president is being manipulated by the likes of Mamman Daura and others and today Nigeria is in very bad shape.
“So the question to ask is who is in charge? Who is accountable to us? Because when things are going well, anybody can take the credit but when things are in a mess, we’ll have to ask ourselves who is doing what?
“And for him to be talking about women that way is a disgrace even to the women serving in his government. So let us not deceive ourselves, this man has goofed and he should be told in no uncertain terms that he has goofed.”
Out of 36 ministers appointed by President Buhari, only six are women. They are: Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance; Aisha Alhassan, minister of women affairs; Amina Muhammed,minister of environment; Aisha Abubakar, minister of state for trade and industry; Zainab Ahmed, minister of state for budget and national planning and Khadija Ibrahim, minister of state for foreign affairs.
So you want them to resign in protest, so that the positions will finally be offered to men? If it is the plan, it wont work! Try something else, please. For example, all the men in the cabinet should offer to resign their seats or better still the President should resign as a way of apologizing to her and us by extension.
As much as Nigerian women may consider it an insult being that it is coming from a president; it is applicable to him and his wife. A whole lot of us have men who cherish and love us like themselves. They prefer having us beside them as they succeed and not just like an item in their kitchen or the other room; which may even be the toilet.