By John Ikani
Nigerians have expressed anger after footage emerged of a group of Nigerian governors’ wives presenting a birthday cake to Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari in Dubai.
Mrs Buhari’s birthday was on February 17, when she turned 51, but the video has only just emerged. It is not clear when it was filmed.
A group of women, who local media say are wives of local politicians, could be seen carrying a large box and flowers, while singing ‘Happy Birthday To You’. There was also a cameraman in the background.
Some people have questioned how the attendees paid for their travel to Dubai.
“How many of them would have embarked on this trip with their personal funds?” one critical tweeter questioned.
Others felt it was tone-deaf for the women to travel to celebrate the first lady’s birthday when the country is facing so many problems.
“So much insensitivity truly sad”, one person wrote.
“No fuel in Nigeria for the common man but Aisha and her husband can enjoy life outside of Nigeria while citizens suffer!” the journalist Jackson Ude wrote.
The footage does not show if President Muhammadu Buhari himself was present.
See the footage below.
https://twitter.com/jacksonpbn/status/1498718628350504963
Governor’s wives react
Reacting to the outrage that greeted the footage, The Nigeria Governors’ Wives Forum issued a statement stressing that they didn’t travel to Dubai to only present birthday cake to the First Lady.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Chairman of the Forum and wife of Ekiti State Governor, Bisi Fayemi, said those who presented the cake to Mrs Buhari when she clocked 51 in February did not fly to Dubai for that sole purpose, adding that they were part of her entourage for an official trip.
“For the avoidance of doubt and in the interest of the public, the Nigerian Governors Wives were on the entourage of the First Lady of Nigeria who was on an official trip to the UAE,” the statement said.
“The trip included visits to Dubai Expo 2020, and tours of the Dubai e-learning center, Dubai Youth Hub and meetings with foundations and agencies in UAE who are interested in investing in education, health and technology in Africa, with priority given to women and young people.
“The trip coincided with the birthday of HE Aisha Buhari. On the morning of her birthday, which was February 17th, the delegation of Governors’ Wives paid a private visit to present a cake and flowers. After the brief presentation, we proceeded to attend the scheduled meetings for the day.
“We were therefore dismayed to see footage of the visit interpreted to mean Governors’ Wives left Nigeria for the sole purpose of celebrating HE’s birthday,” she said.
The statement added that the key learnings from the visit to the various agencies in Dubai points to the need for Nigeria to increase investments in education, science and technology and provide more opportunities for the youths.
