President Muhammadu Buhari has been widely criticised for saying his
wife, Aisha, belongs in his kitchen and living room, in response to the
first lady’s public criticism of the president’s appointments.
In an interview with BBC, Aisha Buhari said the president had
abandoned those who worked to bring him to power, and suggested the
government had been hijacked by a few individuals who now wield sweeping
powers.
“He is yet to tell me —if he’ll seek re-election— but I have decided
as his wife, that if things continue like this up to 2019, I will not go
out and campaign again and ask any woman to vote like I did before,”
Mrs. Buhari warned. “I will never do it again.”
The president responded during a joint press conference with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, in Berlin on Friday, saying his wife should be taking care of his kitchen, living room and the “other room” —meaning his bedroom.
“I don’t know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my
kitchen and my living room and the other room,” Mr. Buhari was quoted by
the Associated Press as saying.
Mr. Buhari also said he had superior wisdom over his wife and other
people who oppose his policies because he had been able to win an
election after many years of trying.
“So I claim superior knowledge over her and the rest of the
opposition, because in the end I have succeeded,” Mr. Buhari said. “It’s
not easy to satisfy the whole Nigerian opposition parties or to
participate in the government.”
In her reaction, Abiodun Olujimi, a female senator from Ekiti State,
said President Buhari’s comment was in a “very bad taste” and even more
frightening that he said it while visiting Mrs. Merkel.
“The statement is in bad state. In a very bad state,” Ms. Olujimi
said. “Especially because he was saying it beside one of the most
powerful women in the world. That makes it very offensive and very
nasty.”
Ms. Olujimi, whose gender equality bill
is making progress in the Senate, said President Buhari had become
notorious for his embarrassing gaffes in foreign land, saying she and
other women groups were working on a response to the latest remarks.
“The president is the biggest diplomat a country can have. But we
have a president that cannot weigh word —especially outside— but instead
allowed emotions to becloud good thoughts. That is not in any way
acceptable.
“We won’t disparage the president. We won’t bring him down before the
world. But, of course, we would look inward and see how we can handle
the situation,” Ms. Olujimi said.
The social media has also been pounding Mr. Buhari for the comments,
with the attacks coming even more from his supporters than critics.
Kayode Ogundamisi, a social commentator and activist, said the president’s views were not compatible with modern ideas.
“The president should know that his distorted thinking that Nigerian
women or any woman for that matter belong in the bedroom or kitchen is
unacceptable,” Mr. Ogundamisi said in a statement.
“And if the president finds it funny, it is not the kind of joke that the President of any country should be engaged in.
“The president should know that the world has indeed moved on and that “Women play a very key role in our society.”
Mr. Ogundamisi, who backed Mr. Buhari during the 2015 election,
demanded an immediate apology from Mr. Buhari for his comments, which he
said constituted an embarrassment to Nigeria.
“The president should apologised to Nigerians especially as his
statement was made during an international engagement standing next to
the German Chancellor Angela Markel. The president’s view on women and
wife belongs to the cave era and not the modern world. As a supporter I
find it embarrassing that the best reply the Nigerian president can give
to criticism by his wife is to respond in such a sexist and misogynist
fashion,” he said.
Another Mr. Buhari’s supporter who criticised him for the controversial remarks was Japheth Omojuwa.
Some critics of the president unearthed past statements made by former first lady, Patience Jonathan, where she said women should no longer be confined to the kitchen.
“Nigerian women should no longer go back to the kitchen. It is not
our portion to go back to the kitchen,” Mrs. Jonathan said while
campaigning for her husband in Abia State ahead of the 2015 election.
“We have women that are capable. We can contribute our quota to the
development of Nigeria.”
A social media enthusiast, Abang Mercy, circulated Mrs. Jonathan’s
statement on Twitter and said Mr. Buhari’s comments marked the “height
of chauvinism from a president”.
“He just reinforced existing stereotypes especially in Northern Nigeria,” she said.
Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, downplayed the president’s “He was obviously throwing a banter”.
Some Nigerians agreed.
The president of National Association of Women Journalists, Ify
Omowole, said Mr. Buhari’s comments were jokes because he said so.
“The president has come out to say it was a joke. I accepted it as a
joke. The president has a right to joke and the fact that he’s a
president doesn’t mean he can’t crack jokes,” Ms. Omowole said.
Ms. Omowole said the culture had defined roles of women to include
going to the kitchen, but added that that would not limit them from
achieving their potentials.
“The culture has defined our role as going to the kitchen but that
doesn’t mean we’re not excelling in our roles,” Ms. Omowole said.
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PLEASE BE POLITE