A pro-democracy and civil rights group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, on Tuesday, advised President Muhammadu Buhari to take a leave of absence to enable him resolve his family crisis.
HURIWA said Buhari should should consider taking leave of absence to resolve family crisis before returning back to duty to avoid undue distractions.
The rights group suggested that President Buhari should refer the intense disagreements between his wife, Aisha and Ms. Fatima the daughter of Mamman Daura, his nephew to the National Human Rights commission (NHRC) for swift resolution “so the altercation can abate.”
It stated this in a statement signed and sent to DAILY POST by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the national Media Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf.
HURIWA described as an avoidable political scandal, the “heated verbal exchanges between Aisha Buhari and Fatima, the daughter of one of the most powerful political forces behind president Buhari and his uncle Alhaji Mamman Daura.”
The Rights group warned that it will be unconstitutional if official time and resources are deployed by the presidency to escalate a family feud which may infringe on the sacred constitutional oath of office he swore before assuming duty as the president of Nigeria.
It reminded Buhari that “Nigeria is currently contending with massive societal, economic, security and environmental challenges requiring total attention and concentration of the President and his team which may not be properly attended to if family feuds wouldn’t let him focus on delivering the democracy dividends.”
The statement reads: “Mr. President must be aware that the nation sleep walked into the global poverty capital under his watch only last year overthrowing India which has a population of over a billion people just as Nigeria with a statistically fraudulent and disputed population of 200 million already has over 92 million citizens who are absolutely poor. Insecurity and instability are twin social evils that have threatened our existence and millions of Nigerians sleep with one eye open, Nigeria can’t afford to have a President whose attention is divided by unnecessary domestic squabbles of the Women members of the immediate and extended families.”
HURIWA said the entire scenarios of domestic squabbles now exported to the public space has graphically painted Nigeria as a vassal state even when it is clear that Nigeria is a constitutional democracy with principles of rule of law.
The Rights group said under the extant constitution, “it is unconstitutional for the holder of the office of President to let his domestic issues stay in the way of the qualitative and articulate pursuit and implementation of his job specifications just as these sets of constitutional duties of the President does not include using official time and resources to settle or escalate domestic misunderstanding which ordinarily should have been resolved internally without making it or enabling it to constitute a horrendous nuisance and global embarrassment to the Country.”
HURIWA affirmed that going by a news report by a media house bankrolled by the national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in which an official of the president’s office was anonymously quoted as playing a role in the squabbles between Mamman Daura’s daughter and the First Lady dovetailing in the official specifically backing the first lady, it is clear that the exchanges if not stopped forthwith could constitute a direct violation of the constitutional oath of office by president Muhammadu Buhari just as the Rights group said the president may consider taking few days break from office to sort out the domestic issues to check further conflict of interests.
“The Nation newspaper had authoritatively reported that a Presidency source on Monday faulted the recent release of a video by Mamman Daura’s daughter, Fatima.”
HURIWA citing the media report stated that we were told that the Presidency source spoke about the video, released in the wake of the rumor claiming President Muhammadu Buhari was going to take a second wife last Friday, had shown part of the First Lady, Aisha Buhari’s body while shouting on the need for the Dauras to leave an accommodation in the Villa.
The Rights group said the influential national newspaper owned by the National leader of All Progressives Congress had told Nigerians that a Presidency source, who does not want her name in prints, said that the video was shot over a year ago when the President’s son, Yusuf, had power bike accident in Abuja.
Citing the same report penned by a senior editor of the respected national newspaper, the Rights recalled that the newspaper quoted the Presidency source as stated that the accommodation which brought about the heated disagreements was needed for the then recuperating Yusuf, the eldest Son of President Muhammadu Buhari just as the Source said the order for the Dauras to vacate the Villa accommodation, she said, was approved by the President
She said: “By now the airwaves are awash with Fatima Mamman Daura’s daughter consenting to the fact that she indeed shot and leaked the now infamous video clip which showed the wife of the President in a very angry mood.”
HURIWA recalled the newspaper report as stating that: “The incident happened over a year ago when the wife of the President on the instructions of the President asked the Dauras to vacate their living quarters inside the villa for a sick Yussuf Buhari, who was recuperating after an accident.For this reason, the quarters were needed and the Dauras were asked to move to another part of the Villa. Long before the accident, Yusuf’s mother had requested in writing for the Dauras to vacate the place because the building is officially designated for the biological children of any serving President. The IG of police, DG DSS, NSA and the Vice President who was the acting President, were all notified of this request. Despite this, the Dauras deliberately refused to comply with the instructions of the security agencies.”
HURIWA said these statements are weighty and confirms that the “Nigerian Presidency is hobbled by seemingly disturbing and lingering supremacy battles between family members of the first family at the moment which does not augur well for the smooth running of government.”
HURIWA called for an immediate truce or a reference to the National Human Rights commission of Nigeria for a quick resolution or on the alternative Mr President takes few days off to resolve the domestic disputes himself as head of his family.
HURIWA reminded President Buhari about his binding oath of office which he swore as follows: “I, ………… do solemnly swear/affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I will discharge my duties to the best of my ability, faithfully and in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the law, and always in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, solidarity, well-being and prosperity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that I will strive to preserve the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy contained in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions; that I will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that I will abide by the Code of Conduct contained in the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that in all circumstances, I will do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will; that I will not directly or indirectly communication or reveal to any person any matter which shall be brought under my consideration or shall become known to me as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as President; and that I will devote myself to the service and well-being of the people of Nigeria.”
