Aisha Buhari versus the ‘cabal’: Why Nigerians love the ‘suicide bomber from Yola’
Editor’s note: In this poignant piece, the writer, Buchi Obichie, uses metaphors to extol the virtues of the president’s wife. Weaving her story, she describes Aisha Buhari as a fearless woman who speaks out despite the voices of opposition (cabal) against her. She notes that Nigerians love Mrs. Buhari because she says what so many of them are thinking, and is not afraid to challenge the powers that be.
On the day the man was crowned, the woman stood proudly beside him as the land cheered for their warrior who was thrice before beaten in the race to the top.
As the people celebrated the beautiful new faces of the royal family, they also wondered what the new Queen would be like.
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Would she be like that one, twice before her, who silently pulled the strings and held the land to ransom, refusing to make public the news that the former King was already on the journey to the land of the spirits?
Or would she be like the one just before her, who became the kingdom’s chief jester, as her words were often the source of entertainment for the long-suffering people?
The land wondered?
You see, not much was known about this new Queen.
Many of the citizens assumed that she would be quiet and ‘know her place’, since the man had lived most of his life previously on the battlefield.
As the wife of a man who formerly lived by the sword, she ought to conform to the requisite rules and regulations…so they thought. But they did not know the woman…yet!
As the jackals and hyenas sat in the cabal, ready to feast on a meal they did not help prepare, the woman began to sing. She sang so loud, and the kingdom heard.
She sang that the man did not know these people; yet they had been given the choicest positions in the land.
Who were these creatures of convenience, dancing around the man, and turning him into an enemy of the people?, she continued singing.
If he did not do something fast, she vowed as she sang, not to speak to the people on his behalf, when the season of the next coronation arrived.
The people were stunned!
She speaks against the cabal? She goes head-to-head with these powerful forces? Wawu!
The jackals and hyenas were outraged! Who does she think she is, they thundered! How could this lower vessel whose place was in the other room, speak up like this?
But the people were happy. You see, it was a good feeling to have someone in the uppermost realms of the palace speak the words that so many were already thinking. The people had eyes. They could see what was going on.
They saw how sycophants swarmed around the man like bees, stinging and inflicting smelly sores all around.
The people had hope. Surely, the man would heed the words of the woman. Maybe…just maybe, her words would make him take another look at his council of chiefs and inner circle.
But the jackals and hyenas were not going to allow the woman put asunder between them and the man.
As the workers of iniquity poisoned the palace’s water supply, the man drank, and his health faltered. The land was tense.
The ones who had previously occupied the palace screamed aloud: “It is time to crown a new King”.
In the midst of the madness, news filtered from the palace that the woman had been sidelined. They said the jackals and hyenas even prevented her from seeing the man! But thankfully, he was eventually healed…or so they said.
As the man returned, the woman breathed a sigh of relief and said prayers to the one who sits in the skies- "Allah na’gode"!
The jackals and hyenas watched; but like a ‘fixed breakfast’, the woman was here to stay!
As the man recuperated in the palace, the two men conversed together. Speaking in codes, they called the woman, “the suicide bomber from Yola”.
They lamented that no one could speak sense to her. In reality, they were angry that she refused to keep quiet!
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But how can she keep quiet and watch these jackals and hyenas muddy the image of the man she loves? The man…the father of her children. The man…her protector and covering!
She would not sit calmly while this cabal runs amok and eventually turns the heart of the land against the man. No, she would speak!
And the people are comforted by her presence in the palace. Because they know that as long as she remains with the man in the other room or anywhere else, there would at least be a voice of truth speaking into his ears…warning him always, about the jackals and hyenas.
But would the King listen to his Queen? We shall find out before the story ends!
This opinion piece was written by Buchi Obichie.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial policy of Legit.ng
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