Aisha Buhari, widow of late former President Muhammadu Buhari, has revealed that her husband began locking his room after rumours circulated within the Aso Rock environment that she was plotting to kill him.
According to her, the former president briefly believed the gossip, which led him to change some of his daily habits — a development she says later affected his health.
Aisha shared the revelation in a newly released 600-page biography titled From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, authored by Charles Omole, director-general of the Institute for Police and Security Policy Research. The book was launched at the Presidential Villa in Abuja and was attended by several dignitaries, including President Bola Tinubu.
In the biography, Aisha dismissed long-standing speculations that Buhari’s 2017 health crisis was caused by poisoning or a mysterious illness. She explained that the challenge began when his carefully managed feeding routine and nutritional plan were disrupted after they moved into Aso Rock.
She noted that she had personally overseen Buhari’s meals and supplements for years, ensuring they were taken at specific times to maintain his health and stability.
“According to Aisha Buhari, her husband’s 2017 health crisis did not originate as a mysterious ailment or a covert plot. It started, she says, with the loss of a routine; ‘my nutrition,’ she describes it, a pattern of meals and supplements she had long overseen in Kaduna before they moved into Aso Villa,” the book states.
Aisha recounted that upon relocating to the Presidential Villa, she held a meeting with key aides — including the president’s physician, Suhayb Rafindadi; his chief security officer, Bashir Abubakar; the housekeeper; and the Director-General of the DSS — to outline Buhari’s feeding and supplement plan.
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“When the Presidency’s machinery took over our private lives, I explained the plan: daily, at specific hours, cups and bowls with tailored vitamin powders and oil, a touch of protein here, a change to cereals there. Elderly bodies require gentle, consistent support,” she was quoted as saying.
However, she said the arrangement was later abandoned after rumours began circulating.
“Then came the gossip and the fearmongering. They said I wanted to kill him. My husband believed them for a week or so,” Aisha said.
She added that Buhari began locking his room and altering small routines, which eventually led to missed meals and discontinued supplements. “Meals were delayed or missed; the supplements were stopped,” she said.
“For a year, he did not have lunch. They mismanaged his meals,” Aisha added.
The former first lady firmly denied claims that there was any attempt to poison Buhari, insisting that his health decline was linked to the breakdown of his established nutritional routine. “Loss of a routine, ‘my nutrition,’ was the genesis of the crisis,” she stated.
Buhari returned to Nigeria on August 19, 2017, after spending 103 days in London receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness. That year, he spent over 150 days in the United Kingdom for medical care, sparking widespread public debate about his fitness for office.
The former president passed away at a London clinic on July 13, 2025.