Aisha Buhari: “He Began Locking His Room”

Former First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has revealed that late former President Muhammadu Buhari once believed rumours circulating within Aso Rock that she wanted to kill him, a situation she says significantly disrupted his health management.

Aisha Buhari made the disclosure in From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, a biography authored by Dr. Charles Omole and launched on Monday at the State House.

According to her account in the book, the former president’s health challenges were not caused by poisoning or any mysterious illness, but by the prolonged mismanagement of his meals, medications, and supplements after gossip created fear and suspicion.

Mrs Buhari explained that she had personally supervised her husband’s diet and supplement intake for years, ensuring strict timing and consistency — a routine she said helped sustain him despite a long history of malnutrition-related symptoms.

“Elderly bodies require gentle, consistent support. He didn’t have a chronic illness. He only needed to stay on schedule,” she said.

However, she disclosed that the routine collapsed after rumours spread within the presidential villa.

“Then came the gossip and the fearmongering. They said I wanted to kill him. My husband believed them for a week or so,” she revealed.

She added that during that period, the president began locking his room and altering his daily habits, with serious consequences for his health.

“He began locking his room, changed small habits, and crucially, meals were delayed or missed; the supplements were stopped,” she said.

Aisha Buhari further disclosed that for an entire year, Buhari did not take lunch, a development she blamed on poor coordination and fear-driven decisions by those around him.

“For a year, he did not have lunch. They mismanaged his meals,” she stated.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari died in July 2025 at the London Clinic and was later buried in Daura, Katsina State. The revelations in the biography offer a rare personal insight into the former leader’s final years and the internal dynamics surrounding his health while in office.