“My Husband Believed Aso Villa Gossips That I Wanted to Kill Him,” Aisha Buhari Says, Reveals Cause of Late President’s 2017 Health Decline

Former First Lady Aisha Buhari has revealed that late President Muhammadu Buhari became suspicious of her following rumors circulating within Aso Rock suggesting she intended to harm him. Her account, detailed in a new 600-page biography, From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, authored by Dr. Charles Omole, sheds light on the circumstances surrounding the President’s extended medical leave in 2017.

According to the book, Mrs. Buhari had long overseen her husband’s meals and supplements, carefully managing his nutrition to help him maintain strength despite a slender frame and a history of malnutrition. She explained that this routine was critical: “Elderly bodies require gentle, consistent support. He doesn’t have a chronic illness. Keep him on schedule,” she said.

The crisis, she recounted, began when the Presidency’s official machinery disrupted their carefully organized feeding regimen. “Then came the gossip and the fearmongering. They said I wanted to kill him,” she said. “My husband believed them for a week or so.” During this period, Buhari reportedly began locking his room, altered small habits, and crucially, missed meals and supplements. “For a year, he did not have lunch. They mismanaged his meals,” Mrs. Buhari added.

The disruption in routine escalated into extended medical trips to the United Kingdom, totaling 154 days, during which Vice President Yemi Osinbajo assumed authority. Upon his return, Buhari reportedly admitted he had “never been so ill” and had received blood transfusions. In London, doctors prescribed a stricter regimen of supplements, which Mrs. Buhari carefully administered: “Initially, he was frightened and not taking them as prescribed. So I took charge of his welfare, slipping hospital-issued supplements into his juice and oats,” she said. She recalled the rapid recovery, noting, “After just three days, he threw away the stick he was walking with. After a week, he was receiving relatives. That was the genesis, and also the reversal of his sickness.”

The biography also highlights a climate of mistrust in the Presidency, with Mrs. Buhari alleging surveillance and the bugging of the President’s office. She dismissed long-standing rumors about a body double, popularly called “Jibril of Sudan,” calling them absurd and a result of poor strategic communication in government.

Dr. Omole, in the biography, noted that critics viewed Buhari’s reliance on UK medical care as evidence of the failure of Nigeria’s health system. However, he argued that “a man in his 70s may require specialised care not readily available in Nigeria after decades of underinvestment.” He also praised Buhari’s practice of temporarily delegating power to his deputy during absences, ensuring continuity and institutional propriety despite personal health crises.

Mrs. Buhari emphasized that the 2017 health crisis did not stem from any covert plot or mysterious illness. “Loss of a routine, ‘my nutrition,’ was the genesis of the crisis,” she stated, underscoring that her husband’s recovery was directly linked to restoring his carefully managed meals and supplement schedule.

The biography, launched at the State House, chronicles Buhari’s life from his early years in Daura, Katsina State, to his final days in a London hospital in mid-July 2025, offering an intimate look at the former President’s personal and political life.