Aisha Buhari has revealed that her late husband, President Muhammadu Buhari, once believed that she was planning to kill him.
She stated this in a new biography titled From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, authored by Dr. Charles Omole.
The book launched at the State House, Abuja, on Monday, in the presence of President Bola Tinubu, among other dignitaries.
She described the rumors at the Presidential Villa as toxic gossip which circulated within the Aso Rock, adding that it led to fear and mistrust that disrupted Buhari’s personal routines and directly contributed to the health crisis that kept him away from office for 154 days in 2017.
The 600-page, 22-chapter biography highlights Buhari’s journey from his childhood in Daura, Katsina State, through his military and political career, and up to his final days in a London hospital in July 2025.
Mrs. Buhari dismissed speculation that her husband’s illness was caused by poisoning or a mysterious ailment, saying Buhari’s health crisis was due to the breakdown in his carefully managed nutrition and feeding routine.
She said before Buhari became President, she personally was responsible for his meals and supplements, a system she said was critical to maintaining the health of a “slender man with a long history of malnutrition symptoms.”
“He doesn’t have a chronic illness. Keep him on schedule,” Mrs. Buhari revealed, adding that elderly bodies require consistency and careful nutritional management.
She said she had set up a strict routine involving timed meals, vitamin powders, oils, cereals and protein supplements, which she said kept Buhari stable and energetic, adding that all these collapsed after they moved into the Presidential Villa.
“When the machinery of the Presidency took over our private lives, I explained the plan to everyone,” Mrs. Buhari said, adding that that she meet with the President’s physician, Dr. Suhayb Rafindadi; the Chief Security Officer, Bashir Abubakar; the housekeeper; and the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS).
She said “then came the gossip and the fearmongering. They said I wanted to kill him,” adding that Buhari believed the rumours for about a week, during which he began locking his room, altered his daily habits, and distanced himself from her. Crucially, his meals and supplements were either delayed or stopped entirely.
She revealed further: “For a year, he did not have lunch. They mismanaged his meals.”
This led to the deterioration in his health which eventually led to two extended medical trips to the United Kingdom in 2017. At this period, he handed over presidential authority to the former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Upon his return, Buhari said he had never been so ill in his life and that he had received blood transfusions during treatment.
His prolonged absences caused widespread speculation, conspiracy theories and political tension in the country, including that Buhari had died and been replaced by a body popularly known as “Jibril of Sudan.”
Mrs. Buhari said the claims were “absurd,” blaming poor strategic communication by the government for allowing simple issues to spiral into national paranoia.
In London, doctors prescribed an even more rigorous nutritional and supplement regimen. Initially frightened, Buhari was reluctant to take the supplements, but Mrs. Buhari said she quietly assume control, mixing hospital-issued supplements into his juice and meals.
“The recovery was swift. After just three days, he threw away the walking stick. After a week, he was receiving visitors,” the former First lady recalled, saying the intervention was both the beginning and the reversal of his illness.
The biography also torched on an atmosphere of mistrust within the Presidency.
Mrs. Buhari revealed that the President’s office was bugged and private conversations were replayed, fueling the anxiety and stress that worsened his condition.
Dr Omole said while critics saw Buhari’s reliance on foreign medical care as a failure of Nigeria’s health system, a more compassionate view recognised the limitations caused by decades of underinvestment in healthcare and the specialised needs of an ageing leader.
He said Buhari’s consistent decision to formally hand over power during medical absences was evidence in his respect for institutional order and constitutional propriety.
