Spokesperson for Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, has jumped to the defense of his boss, saying he was only joking when he remarked that his wife belongs to the kitchen.
Mallam Garba Shehu in a tweet urged people to see it as a joke, adding that the President has promoted many women:
My friends, can’t a leader get a sense humour anymore? Mr. President laughed before that statement was made.
— Mallam Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) October 14, 2016
Mr. President respects the place of women in our society. He believes in the abilities of women.
— Mallam Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) October 14, 2016
Buhari has been intensely criticized on social media following his comments which was supposed to be a response to his wife, Aisha’s interview on the BBC where she questioned his leadership.
In an interview during a joint press briefing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the AP news agency quoted Buhari as saying “I don’t know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room.”
Aisha’s concerns
Muhammadu Buhari’s wife had warned him that she may not back him at the next election unless he shakes up his government.
She suggested the government had been hijacked, saying a “few people” were behind presidential appointments.
She said people who did not share the vision of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were now appointed to top posts because of the influence a “few people” wield.
“Some people are sitting down in their homes folding their arms only for them to be called to come and head an agency or a ministerial position.”
Asked to name those who had hijacked the government, she refused, saying: “You will know them if you watch television.”
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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana [with files from BBC]