Mrs Buhari vs Mamman Daura

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Toyin Falola

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Dec 11, 2019, 3:57:53 AM12/11/19
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*Full Statement*

Office of First Lady: Aisha Buhari Clashes with Mamman Daura, Garba Shehu
Read: https://prnigeria.com/2019/12/11/aisha-daura-garba-shehu/


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Salimonu Kadiri

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Dec 14, 2019, 10:08:59 PM12/14/19
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​As Fela once sang it, everything is upside-down in Nigeria. As of today, it appears there is none that can be trusted in Nigeria politically and economically. During the campaign for the 2015 presidential election Buhari promised to scrap the office of the First Lady which according to him is unconstitutional and being allegedly used to steal public funds.

​The idea of First Lady was adopted from the US but since its inception in Nigeria in 1985 from the era of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida up to 2015, the First Lady's Office, like all other public institution in Nigeria, has been bastardized beyond recognition. Truly, the constitution of Nigeria has no provision for the office of the First Lady and as it was stated in 2015 by Buhari, the office has been used to steal public funds. The EFCC's investigations into the office of the last First Lady before Aisha, Patience Jonathan, have confirmed the allegation of corruption levelled by Buhari in his 2015 presidential election campaigns.

​In 2016, the EFCC revealed that four companies : Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited, Seagate Property Development & Investment Company Limited, Trans Ocean Property & Investment Company Limited, and Avalon Global Property Development Company Limited, were utilized to embezzle public funds and laundering it. The EFCC found out that all the four Directors of the aforementioned companies were domestic servants of  the former First Lady, Patience Jonathan, who were well compensated for agreeing to be Directors of fictitious companies. The EFCC, alongside the fake Directors, charged to Court a former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Domestic Affairs, Waripamo-Owei Dudafa; a lawyer by name, Amajuoyi Briggs; and a banker, Adedamola Bolodeoku, for conspiring to steal and laundering money deposited in dollars at Skye Bank Plc. While the four Directors pleaded guilty, Dudafa, Briggs and Bolodeoku pleaded not guilty. Justice Babs Kuewumi of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, convicted the four directors on 16 September 2016 and ordered the account of the companies at Skye Bank Plc containing $15, 591, 700 (Fifteen million, five-hundred and ninety-one thousand, seven-hundred US dollars) to be frozen pending the determination of the guilt of Dudafa, Briggs and Blodeoku. Thereafter, the former First Lady, Patience Damenneka Jonathan filed a suit at the court claiming almost the 16 million dollars in the Skye Bank accounts and the its sole signatory. She blamed Dudafa for opening the accounts in the name of the fictitious companies of which her domestic servants were named Directors. She lost the case.

​On 1 July 2019, Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of the Federal High Court Lagos ordered permanent forfeiture to the Federal Government of N9.2 billion and $8.4 million linked to Patience Jonathan. The Banks utilized by Patience Jonathan to launder her illicit incomes were Eco Bank, Diamond Bank, Fidelity Bank, Skye Bank and Zenith Bank. The fictitious companies used in stealing public funds for the ex-First Lady Jonathan and joined in the forfeiture suit were : Globus Integrated Service Limited, Finchley Tip-Homes Ltd, AM-PM Global Network Limited, Pagmat Oil & Gas ltd, and Magel Resort Limited. Earlier on 24 May 2019 in another case of $5.7 million and N2.4 billion seized by the EFCC from Patience Jonathan, she told the court that nobody had complained she stole money which in other words nobody complained of lost money and as such the EFCC should not bother about where she got the money in question. With the experience of the ex-First Lady, Patience Goodluck, Buhari ought to have upheld his conviction about the unconstitutionality of the office of the First Lady as reported in the online premium times Nigeria of 24 January 2015. In the same online premium times, Aisha Buhari was quoted as having said, "When my husband is elected as the president of this country, he will rule the country within the rule of law based on the constitution of the country. If the office of the First Lady is constitutionally recognised, he will not tamper with it, but if it is not that's okay. For me, I will perform my duties and role as the wife of the President of Nigeria traditionally." Strangely, as from 2015 to May 29, 2019, Aisha Buhari position was referred to as *Office of the wife of the President*even though she was equipped with all previous gargets to the *Office of First Lady. However, the idea that Aisha Buhari's position was limited to being a traditional wife to the President prompted Buhari to make his locker room joke in Germany, in October 2016 - my wife belongs to the kitchen, living room and the other room - in the presence of German Chancellor, Angela Merkel and her Defence Minister, Ursula Gertrud Von der Leyen. He was widely criticized for the inappropriate choice of place to cast such a joke. After February 2019 Presidential election in which Buhari was declared the winner, both Aisha and Buhari would appear to have changed their mind about the office of the First Lady.

Aisha Buhari had gone to Mecca from where she crossed to Britain. While she was in London, there was wide spread rumour in the social media that Buhari was to marry his Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umaru Farouq on Friday, 11 October 2019, at the Aso Villa Rock Mosque. A day before the rumoured marriage of Buhari with Sadiya, Thursday, 10 October 2019, the woman was leading a delegation of Nigeria to a United Nations meeting on refugees in Geneva. She returned to Nigeria on Tuesday, 15 October 2019. However, neither Femi Adeshina nor Garba Shehu countered the social media rumour that their principal was to marry an additional wife beside Aisha. When Aisha Buhari returned from London to Nigeria on Sunday, 13 October 2019, she was confronted with a video on social media, which projected her as a violent and irrational woman. The video was shot by Mamman Daura's daughter, Fatima. Both Shehu and Adeshina kept mute. Now Nigerians are being told by Aisha that Mamman Daura instructed Garba Shehu not to approve or recognise her office of First Lady. Yet, it was announced that the President approved 6 aides to the office of the First Lady with effect from Wednesday, 16 October 2019, three days after she returned to Nigeria after months of convalescence in London. It is obvious that the Nigerian Constitution has no provision for the office of the First Lady and the previous First Ladies have used the office to perpetrate bribery and corruption. There is Minister of Women's affairs. What does Nigerians need Off  office of the First Lady for? Nigeria is scattered and turned up-side-down.
S. Kadiri    
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Ämne: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Mrs Buhari vs Mamman Daura
 
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Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju

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Dec 15, 2019, 8:10:54 AM12/15/19
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of course, the First Lady should be vilified and her allegations of the govt being hijacked, the second time this accusation is coming from her, amidst deeply embarrassing developments, should be ignored.

well done sir kadiri.

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segun ogungbemi

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Dec 15, 2019, 8:10:55 AM12/15/19
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In my view, there is nothing wrong having the office of First Lady in Nigeria. The wife of President Buhari should be respected as Nigerian First Lady. 

The argument that the former First Lady corrupted and desecrated the office does not necessarily mean that Mrs. Buhari would do the same. 

Given the level of Mrs. Buhari, Nigerian First Lady's  education and civility she could reform the office of the First Lady and make it corrupt free institution. 

Nigeria has had Heads of State/Presidents who were corrupt, does that stop Nigerians from having Presidents? 

What is needed, in my opinion, is strong and effective institutions that are made to treat the President and the First Lady according to the rule of law of the land because nobody is above the law. 
Segun Ogungbemi. 

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OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Dec 16, 2019, 6:39:19 AM12/16/19
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Prof Ogungbemi:

Are we not putting  the cart before the horse?  Does the Nigerian Constitution have provisions for a First Lady?

Should we not sort that out first before dealing with how incumbents perform?

OAA



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-------- Original message --------
From: segun ogungbemi <segun...@gmail.com>
Date: 15/12/2019 13:13 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sv: Mrs Buhari vs Mamman Daura

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In my view, there is nothing wrong having the office of First Lady in Nigeria. The wife of President Buhari should be respected as Nigerian First Lady. 

The argument that the former First Lady corrupted and desecrated the office does not necessarily mean that Mrs. Buhari would do the same. 

Given the level of Mrs. Buhari, Nigerian First Lady's  education and civility she could reform the office of the First Lady and make it corrupt free institution. 

Nigeria has had Heads of State/Presidents who were corrupt, does that stop Nigerians from having Presidents? 

What is needed, in my opinion, is strong and effective institutions that are made to treat the President and the First Lady according to the rule of law of the land because nobody is above the law. 
Segun Ogungbemi. 

On Sat, Dec 14, 2019, 9:08 PM Salimonu Kadiri <ogunl...@hotmail.com> wrote:

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Salimonu Kadiri

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Dec 16, 2019, 10:02:41 AM12/16/19
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​The problem is that the office of the First Lady has been instituted in violation of the constitution. In order to have the office of the First Lady, the constitution must make it mandatory that the President must always be a married man, thus excluding a woman from ever becoming a President, and in case the wife of the president dies, he should procure a new wife immediately. When Stella Obasanjo died, the office of the First Lady became redundant as Obasanjo never remarried throughout the rest of his tenure. Nigerians never missed anything from lack of office of the First Lady except the corruption attached to it. What do we need the office of the First Lady for when there is a Ministry of Women Affairs headed by a woman minister?
S. Kadiri


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Ämne: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sv: Mrs Buhari vs Mamman Daura
 

OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Dec 16, 2019, 12:35:42 PM12/16/19
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Alagba Kadiri.

Thank you for your insightful comment.  This is why the UK for instance does not have the office of the First Lady giving the women folk the benefit of the doubt that they could become Prime Minister in their own tight until it eventually happened just like the country could have either a King or Queen as head of state.

Nigeria must copy America to a fault: a country that is not thinking seriously of producing a female head of state in its 200 years of existence in spite of the specious over- feminisation of the middle classes ( the Trump-Hilary Clinton adventure being the fluke that must indeed be crushed by a phallocentric society in disguise to which JJD Nigerians kow-tow in ignorance.) - a First Lady that cannot be the First Citizen!

OAA



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-------- Original message --------
From: Salimonu Kadiri <ogunl...@hotmail.com>
Date: 16/12/2019 15:16 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: Sv: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sv: Mrs Buhari vs Mamman Daura

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​The problem is that the office of the First Lady has been instituted in violation of the constitution. In order to have the office of the First Lady, the constitution must make it mandatory that the President must always be a married man, thus excluding a woman from ever becoming a President, and in case the wife of the president dies, he should procure a new wife immediately. When Stella Obasanjo died, the office of the First Lady became redundant as Obasanjo never remarried throughout the rest of his tenure. Nigerians never missed anything from lack of office of the First Lady except the corruption attached to it. What do we need the office of the First Lady for when there is a Ministry of Women Affairs headed by a woman minister?
S. Kadiri


Ämne: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sv: Mrs Buhari vs Mamman Daura
 

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segun ogungbemi

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Dec 17, 2019, 12:34:41 AM12/17/19
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My Colleague Olayinka,

There is nothing wrong in asking the National Assembly to amend the constitution to make the office of the First Lady legal unless the President has Executive Order to legalize it. 

Since the office of the First Lady has been 'institutionalized legally' or illegally, the National Assembly under Obasanjo did not abrogate it. During Yara'dua and Jonathan administrations nobody, as far as I know, raised an issue against the office of First Lady. 

When President Buhari 'institutionalized' the Office of the First Lady in his second term, was it by his Executive Order? Does he have the power to do so? Why hasn't the National Assembly ruled over it if it is not legal?

Nobody will say in all honesty that since 1999 all the former Presidents are not corrupt one way or the other, if the word 'corruption' is given an elastic definition. There wives who became First Ladies should not be expected to be angels. Therefore, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, Nigerian First Lady should be treated with respect and dignity she deserves. 

I am not a mouthpiece of Mrs. Aisha Buhari, l don't even know her apart from what l have read about her, but a moral pragmatist will say, what is good the goose is good for the gander. 

Segun Ogungbemi. 



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segun ogungbemi

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Dec 17, 2019, 12:34:41 AM12/17/19
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My Colleague Olayinka,

There is nothing wrong in asking the National Assembly to amend the constitution to make the office of the First Lady legal unless the President has Executive Order to legalize it. 

Since the office of the First Lady has been 'institutionalized legally' or illegally, the National Assembly under Obasanjo did not abrogate it. During Yara'dua and Jonathan administrations nobody, as far as I know, raised an issue against the office of First Lady. 

When President Buhari 'institutionalized' the Office of the First Lady in his second term, was it by his Executive Order? Does he have the power to do so? Why hasn't the National Assembly ruled over it if it is not legal?

Nobody will say in all honesty that since 1999 all the former Presidents are not corrupt one way or the other, if the word 'corruption' is given an elastic definition. Their wives who became First Ladies should not be expected to be angels. Therefore, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, Nigerian First Lady should be treated with respect and dignity she deserves. 

I am not a mouthpiece of Mrs. Aisha Buhari, l don't even know her apart from what l have read about her, but a moral pragmatist will say, what is good the goose is good for the gander. 

OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Dec 17, 2019, 1:34:40 PM12/17/19
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Agreed!  I am amoral too when it comes to Aisha Buhari ( unless anyone can show me the sin she committed.)

I however insist that the post of the First Lady should be scrapped for two reasons:

1.  It will make a clean break with Nigeria's military past where military 'president' Ibrahim Babangida invented it as a proxy conduit milootocracy to enrich his wife Maryam who thus became the fourth richest woman in Nigeria ( No wonder Goodluck & Patience Jonathan copied them.)


2.  It is unconstitutional and is not needed.  Because Babangida suspended the constitution to enable him get away with this brigandage does not mean civilian rulers once reinstated should carry on with the anomaly once the Constitution has been rehabilitated.  So this goes beyond Aisha Buhari.  It is about doing what is right.

OAA


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-------- Original message --------
From: segun ogungbemi <segun...@gmail.com>
Date: 17/12/2019 05:43 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sv: Mrs Buhari vs Mamman Daura

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My Colleague Olayinka,

There is nothing wrong in asking the National Assembly to amend the constitution to make the office of the First Lady legal unless the President has Executive Order to legalize it. 

Since the office of the First Lady has been 'institutionalized legally' or illegally, the National Assembly under Obasanjo did not abrogate it. During Yara'dua and Jonathan administrations nobody, as far as I know, raised an issue against the office of First Lady. 

When President Buhari 'institutionalized' the Office of the First Lady in his second term, was it by his Executive Order? Does he have the power to do so? Why hasn't the National Assembly ruled over it if it is not legal?

Nobody will say in all honesty that since 1999 all the former Presidents are not corrupt one way or the other, if the word 'corruption' is given an elastic definition. There wives who became First Ladies should not be expected to be angels. Therefore, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, Nigerian First Lady should be treated with respect and dignity she deserves. 

I am not a mouthpiece of Mrs. Aisha Buhari, l don't even know her apart from what l have read about her, but a moral pragmatist will say, what is good the goose is good for the gander. 

Segun Ogungbemi. 


On Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 5:39 AM OLAYINKA AGBETUYI <yagb...@hotmail.com> wrote:

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segun ogungbemi

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Dec 17, 2019, 2:09:29 PM12/17/19
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Okay. I have suggested what to be done. The National Assembly must address the issue once and for all. What is not in the constitution should be declare illegal. 
You can sue the President and his wife to court for the interpretation of the constitution on the office of First Lady. 
Segun Ogingbemi. 

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OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Dec 18, 2019, 11:50:58 AM12/18/19
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I really wont need to sue if civil society organisations are alive to their duties.

Thats part of what they are constituted for.

OAA



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-------- Original message --------
From: segun ogungbemi <segun...@gmail.com>
Date: 17/12/2019 19:24 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sv: Mrs Buhari vs Mamman Daura

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Okay. I have suggested what to be done. The National Assembly must address the issue once and for all. What is not in the constitution should be declare illegal. 
You can sue the President and his wife to court for the interpretation of the constitution on the office of First Lady. 
Segun Ogingbemi. 

On Tue, Dec 17, 2019, 12:34 PM OLAYINKA AGBETUYI <yagb...@hotmail.com> wrote:

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segun ogungbemi

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Dec 18, 2019, 5:57:45 PM12/18/19
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If they failed to do what they were elected to do, you have moral and legal rights to get Justice using all the available resources at your disposal. 

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OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Dec 19, 2019, 10:56:19 AM12/19/19
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Agreed!  It is one of the options ( I actually wanted to out this in my last post but pressed the button a bit yoo soon)  Being no Sowore I have spent my whole life in studious self effacement preferring the power of the collective to secure change than cheap sole heroism.

I think securing democracy is not enough for civil society to go to sleep.  We still need them to help shape what kind of society democracy delivers and what kind of democracy is practiced.  Their laxity in a way produced  the PDP excesses and a ' Sowore' situation.  Mine is just to  humbly point in the direction I think we should go.  I am a firm believer in the Yoruba saying ' Enikan kii je awa de.' If it is a shared goal it must be collectively pursued.

OAA



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-------- Original message --------
From: segun ogungbemi <segun...@gmail.com>
Date: 18/12/2019 23:00 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sv: Mrs Buhari vs Mamman Daura

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If they failed to do what they were elected to do, you have moral and legal rights to get Justice using all the available resources at your disposal. 

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