“They Said I Wanted To Kill Him”: Aisha Buhari Explodes, Reveals How Aso Rock Rumours Nearly Killed The President
By Passman Akpos
Fresh revelations from the inner sanctum of Nigeria’s Presidency have ignited shockwaves across the nation as former First Lady, Aisha Buhari, opened up on the chilling rumours, mistrust and mismanagement that plunged her late husband, President Muhammadu Buhari, into his worst health crisis.
In a newly released 600-page biography, From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, authored by Dr Charles Omole and launched at the State House on Monday, Aisha Buhari disclosed that poisonous rumours within Aso Rock once convinced the President that his own wife was plotting to kill him. According to her, the whispers were so intense that Buhari began locking his room, altering his habits, and — fatally — abandoning the strict feeding and supplement routine that had kept him stable for years.
She revealed that Buhari’s 154-day medical absence in 2017 was not caused by poisoning, a secret illness or a dark conspiracy, but by something far more unsettling: disrupted nutrition and neglected elderly care. “They said I wanted to kill him,” the book quotes her as saying. “My husband believed them for a week or so.” During that period, meals were skipped, supplements stopped, and for nearly a year, Buhari reportedly did not eat lunch.
The biography traces Buhari’s life from Daura, Katsina State, to his final days in a London hospital in mid-July 2025, painting a portrait of a “slender man with a long history of malnutrition symptoms” whose health depended heavily on discipline and routine. Aisha Buhari said she had long overseen his meals and supplements, stressing that “elderly bodies require gentle, consistent support,” and insisting at the time, “He doesn’t have a chronic illness. Keep him on schedule.”
But inside Aso Villa, that routine collapsed amid fear, gossip and suspicion. The former First Lady said she convened emergency meetings with top aides, security chiefs and medical personnel to outline a precise nutrition plan — tailored vitamins, oils, proteins and cereals at fixed hours — only for the system to break down. “They mismanaged his meals,” she lamented.
The consequences were dire. Buhari was forced into two prolonged medical stays in the United Kingdom in 2017, during which he handed over power to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Upon his return, Buhari admitted he had “never been so ill” and confirmed receiving blood transfusions, fuelling nationwide speculation and conspiracy theories.
In London, the book reveals, doctors prescribed an even stronger regimen. Initially fearful and weak, Buhari allegedly resisted the supplements until Aisha Buhari took personal charge, discreetly mixing hospital-issued nutrients into his juice and oats. The turnaround, she said, was dramatic. “After just three days, he threw away the stick he was walking with. After a week, he was receiving relatives.”
Dr Omole writes that while critics mocked Buhari’s dependence on foreign hospitals, a more compassionate view recognises the reality of ageing and Nigeria’s long-neglected healthcare system. He also praised Buhari’s habit of transferring power during his absences as proof of institutional discipline, even in moments of personal crisis.
Beyond health, the book exposes a presidency steeped in mistrust. Aisha Buhari alleged that the President’s office was bugged, private conversations replayed, and fear allowed to fester — a climate she claimed “contributed to taking his life.” She also dismissed the infamous “Jibril of Sudan” body-double rumour as absurd, blaming weak government communication for allowing harmless gaps to explode into dangerous conspiracies.
In the end, the biography presents a haunting conclusion: Muhammadu Buhari was not undone by poison or plots, but by fear, broken routines and the silent power of gossip at the very heart of power.
