Safinatu Buhari The Legacy Of A Silenced First Lady
In the shadows of power, behind Nigeria’s most stoic leader, lies the silenced story of a woman history nearly erased and that is Hajiya Safinatu Buhari. Once the elegant First Lady by Muhammadu Buhari’s side, her life journey is one of love, sacrifice, betrayal, and dignity even till the very last moment. She met Buhari as a teenager, married him at 18, and became his anchor as he rose through military ranks to become Nigeria’s Head of State. Through political chaos, coups, and detentions, Safinatu never abandoned her husband even when he was imprisoned by his own government.
While Buhari spent 18 months behind bars after being overthrown by General Ibrahim Babangida in 1985, Safinatu visited him repeatedly, often with her children, enduring military scrutiny and public ridicule. She was really genuine. But when Buhari returned, instead of a homecoming, came heartbreak he divorced her. The reasons remain clouded in speculation. Some say she maintained contact with the Babangida regime to seek help or survive. Others believe she tried to broker peace to free her husband. To Buhari, however, it was an unforgivable betrayal.
Forced to leave the Government House, Safinatu lived modestly in Kaduna, farmed to feed her family, and raised her children with resilience. She was robbed of livestock, privacy, and position but never her poise. She focused on preserving Hausa and Fulani culture, finishing a traditional cookbook that now stands as one of her legacies in which not too many persons are aware of. In 1998, she was diagnosed with diabetes while on pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. After eight years of battling illness in silence, she passed away in 2006 at just 53 years uncelebrated, nearly forgotten.
Meanwhile, Buhari remarried. His second wife, Aisha Buhari, bore him the son he never had with Safinatu. Buhari returned to politics losing elections in 2003, 2007, and 2011 before finally winning the presidency in 2015. He became a democratic symbol of endurance. Yet, the woman who once stood by him through the fire was rarely mentioned. Her name, her image, and her story faded from public memory… until now and that’s why I’m chronicling her life.
Safinatu Buhari was not just a First Lady she was a mother, educator, cultural archivist, and a silent witness to Nigeria’s turbulent history. Her story speaks to the quiet strength of countless women whose loyalty is overlooked in the corridors of power. Was her fate the price of love or a casualty of politics?
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