| The Daily Crucible | Wednesday, October 5, 2022
By Jane Okafor, Abuja
Nigerian First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has disclosed that some politicians who lost out in the last Presidential primary elections are battling with traumatic situations.
Aisha Buhari said some of them have remained incommunicado since.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) concluded its presidential early June this with former governor Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, emerging winner of the primary and the party's presidential ticket.
Over a dozen of them, including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, President of Nigerian Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan and Transport Minister; Rotimi Amaechi, vied for the APC ticket but they were all trounced by Tinubu with a good number of them yet to face the reality of what hit them at the National Stadium, Eagle Square, Abuja in June.
But speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony for the Armed Forces Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Centre, a project of the Mrs Lucky Irabor-led Defence and Police Officers’ Wives Association, on Wednesday, Aisha while recounting how devastating it was for her husband, President Muhammadu Buhari, when he was defeated three different times at the nation’s presidential polls, observed that losers of the last Presidential Primary were mourning the loss.
Aisha explained how she had tried to reach out to those who lost out at the primary polls but hit brick walls, adding that they had been living in traumatic condition and remained incommunicado.
She wondered why politicians who lost bids to clinch their political parties’ presidential tickets should render themselves almost inconsolable and even switch off their phones till date for people not to reach them.
“Failing election for three times was a big blow to every contestant but those that have contested for just yesterday, a simple primary election, they are still living in a traumatic condition. I tried to console them, I tried to talk to them, some of them have switched off their phones up till today, just because of a primary election,” she said.
She also revealed that her husband, President Muhammadu Buhari experienced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which weighed heavily on her as she nursed him for years over the condition.
She said Buhari's encounter with PTSD followed several years of active participation in Nigeria’s civil war without rehabilitation, adding that the toppling of her husband as a military head of state, and subsequent detention for 40 months without trial, also compounded the situation.
She said, “So, at the age of 19, I had to figure out how to tell somebody of his calibre that he was wrong or right and that was the beginning of my offence in his house, and contesting elections in 2003 and failed, 2007, failed and 2011, the same thing – all without rehabilitation – I became a physiotherapist.
“It is a reality that soldiers and military families have to live with, despite its negative consequences. Being a soldier’s wife or a retired soldier’s wife and a wellness expert, I understand the challenges associated with PTSD and its impact on military families and the nation.
“My husband served the Nigerian Army for 27 years before he was overthrown in a coup d’état. He fought the civil war for 30 months without rehabilitation; he ruled Nigeria for 20 months and was detained for 40 months without disclosing the nature of his offence,” the first lady noted.
“Failing election for three times was a big blow to every contestant but those that have contested for just yesterday, a simple primary election, they are still living in a traumatic condition, I tried to console them, I tried to talk to them, some of them have switched off their phones up till today, just because of a primary election.
“You can imagine me at 19 years, handling somebody that went to war, suffered coup d’état, then lost several elections, and, finally, getting to the Villa in 2015. Also, for a woman to tell them that this is wrong or right in Nigeria and Africa is a problem.”
She lauded DEPOWA for its support in trying to cater for soldiers facing PTSD.
“I thank DEPOWA for this initiative and the military establishment for supporting them. I call on them to ensure that this centre provides quality and sustained care for soldiers that suffer from PTSD,” Aisha said.
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