When Aisha Buhari walked into her husband’s bedroom in 2017 and found the door locked, she didn’t know it was the beginning of a week-long silence between them — not from anger, but from fear. Former President Muhammadu Buhari, then recovering from a mysterious health collapse that sent him abroad for 154 days of medical leave, had begun believing the whispers swirling through Aso Rock: that his wife wanted him dead. The revelation, laid bare in the newly released 600-page biography From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari by Dr. Charles Omole, Director-General of the Institute for Police and Security Policy Research, offers a startling glimpse into the private turmoil behind Nigeria’s most guarded presidency. The book was unveiled at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday, December 15, 2025, with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and senior officials in attendance — a moment meant to honor legacy, but which instead exposed a deeply personal betrayal.
The Gossip That Almost Killed Him
It wasn’t a stroke. It wasn’t poison. According to Aisha, the collapse that sent Buhari to London in 2017 began with a broken routine — the one she had built from scratch in Kaduna, long before they moved into the Presidential Villa. For years, she’d managed his meals with military precision: daily vitamin powders mixed into oatmeal, protein-rich soups, herbal oils, carefully timed supplements. She called it his "health architecture." When he fell ill, the rumors started — whispered in hallways, passed along by aides who feared her influence. "They said I wanted to kill him," she told Dr. Omole. "My husband believed them for a week or so."
That week changed everything. He stopped eating the meals she prepared. He locked his door. He refused the supplements. He skipped lunch for months. "For a year, he did not have lunch," she recalled. "They mismanaged his meals." The result? Rapid decline. Weakness. A cane. The same man who once marched through military barracks with unshakable stamina was now leaning on wood.
How She Brought Him Back
Aisha didn’t confront him. She didn’t scream. She called a meeting — with the Physician to the President Suhayb Rafindadi, Chief of Staff Bashir Abubakar, the housekeeper, and the Director General of the State Security Service. No accusations. Just facts. "I told them: If he dies because of this, you’ll all answer to history."
Then she acted. Quietly. Secretly. She began slipping hospital-issued supplements into his juice, his oats, even his tea. No one knew. Not the aides. Not the security detail. Just her and the food. Within three days, he threw away the cane. By the end of the week, he was receiving visitors again. "He didn’t know what was happening," she said. "He just felt better."
It wasn’t magic. It was medicine. And it was the same medicine she’d used since their early days in Kaduna — before the power, before the fear, before the whispers.
Why the Rumors Spread
The biography paints a chilling portrait of how power corrupts even trust. Aisha, a quiet, disciplined woman who rarely spoke publicly, became the target of palace intrigue. Some aides resented her control over the president’s health. Others feared her political influence. A few, according to Dr. Omole’s sources, actively fed the rumors — hoping her removal would open doors for their own ambitions.
"In Aso Rock," one unnamed official reportedly told the author, "health is politics. If you control the body, you control the mind." Buhari, known for his deep suspicion of Western medicine and his reliance on traditional remedies, was particularly vulnerable to these narratives. He trusted his staff more than his doctors. And he trusted his wife less than he should have.
A Legacy Reclaimed
The biography, spanning 22 chapters from Buhari’s childhood in Daura to his death in a London hospital on July 12, 2025, at age 82, reframes his final years not as a mystery, but as a tragedy of miscommunication. Aisha insists his decline wasn’t the result of foul play — but of neglect. "He didn’t die of illness," she says. "He died because no one listened to the person who knew him best."
Her account also sheds light on the isolation of the presidency. Even surrounded by guards, aides, and advisors, Buhari was alone in his fear. And she, his closest confidante, was the one he doubted most.
What This Means for Nigeria’s Future
The timing of the book’s release — just two days before the current date of December 17, 2025 — is no accident. Nigeria is already gearing up for the 2027 presidential election. Buhari’s legacy is being contested. His party, the APC, is fractured. And now, this intimate story of betrayal within the palace is being used by critics to question the integrity of his administration’s inner circle.
Aisha’s revelation isn’t just personal. It’s political. It shows how fragile leadership can be — not when attacked from outside, but when poisoned from within. The same people who claim to serve the nation were, for a time, willing to destroy its president over gossip.
"He was a soldier," she said at the launch. "But even soldiers need someone to feed them. And sometimes, the only person who can do that is the one they stop trusting."
Frequently Asked Questions
What caused Muhammadu Buhari’s 2017 health crisis?
According to Aisha Buhari’s account in the biography, Buhari’s 154-day medical leave in 2017 was caused not by poisoning or a mysterious illness, but by the disruption of his carefully managed nutritional regimen. After believing rumors that she wanted to harm him, he stopped eating meals she prepared and refused supplements, leading to rapid physical decline. His recovery began only after she discreetly reintroduced hospital-grade supplements into his food and beverages.
Who was responsible for spreading the rumors about Aisha Buhari?
The biography does not name specific individuals, but identifies a pattern of palace intrigue within the Presidential Villa. Aides, security officials, and possibly political rivals resented Aisha’s influence over the president’s health and daily routines. These factions allegedly fed misinformation to exploit Buhari’s natural suspicion and distrust of Western medicine, hoping to weaken her position and gain access to power.
Why did Muhammadu Buhari believe the rumors about his wife?
Buhari had long held deep skepticism toward Western institutions and medical advice, preferring traditional remedies and personal loyalty over expert opinions. In a high-pressure environment like Aso Rock, where loyalty was constantly tested, he was vulnerable to narratives that aligned with his worldview. The whispers about his wife fit a pattern of suspicion he’d cultivated over decades — making it easier for him to believe them, even without evidence.
How did Aisha Buhari restore her husband’s health without his knowledge?
She worked with trusted medical staff to discreetly add hospital-issued supplements into his daily meals — mixing them into his juice, oats, and tea. She avoided direct confrontation, knowing he was emotionally withdrawn. Within three days, he discarded his cane. By the end of the week, he was receiving visitors again. The recovery was swift because the body had simply been starved of nutrients it had relied on for years.
What is the significance of this biography’s release in 2025?
The book’s release comes as Nigeria prepares for the 2027 presidential election, with Buhari’s political legacy under intense scrutiny. By revealing the internal fractures within his administration, Aisha’s account challenges official narratives about his health and leadership. It also humanizes a figure often portrayed as unyielding, exposing the emotional toll of power and the dangers of isolation in high office.
Did Aisha Buhari ever publicly speak about this before?
No. This is the first time Aisha Buhari has spoken in detail about the 2017 crisis or the rumors that targeted her. Throughout her husband’s presidency and even after his death, she maintained a strictly private stance. The biography, authorized by her and based on multiple interviews, represents a major shift — not just in tone, but in historical record.
Anthony Watkins
December 18, 2025 AT 21:29This is wild. So she was basically poisoning him with vitamins and he thought she was trying to kill him? Classic power move. Aisha didn’t need a gun, she just needed his breakfast. The real villain here isn’t the wife-it’s the aides who whispered like middle schoolers in a hallway. If you can’t handle a woman who knows how to cook and care, maybe you shouldn’t be president. 🤡
Bryan Kam
December 19, 2025 AT 00:58He locked the door. She slipped in supplements. The real horror story isn’t the illness-it’s the loneliness.
Cheri Gray
December 19, 2025 AT 01:26OMG this is so sad but also so real?? Like… she was his rock and he just… stopped listening?? And all because some dude in a suit was jealous?? I mean, come onnnnn. Also typo: ‘he did not have lunch’ for a YEAR?? That’s not a diet, that’s a cry for help. 😭
ankur Rawat
December 19, 2025 AT 10:44This story cuts deep. In India, we have a saying-‘The hand that feeds you is the hand you should never doubt.’ Aisha didn’t need a throne, she just needed him to trust her. The real tragedy isn’t the politics-it’s how power turns love into suspicion. The aides? They didn’t want control over Nigeria. They wanted control over the man who controlled Nigeria. And in the end, it was a woman’s quiet persistence that saved him. Not the generals. Not the doctors. Her.
Vraj Shah
December 20, 2025 AT 22:44Bro. She cooked for him for years. He got sick. People started talking. He stopped eating. She didn’t yell. She didn’t quit. She just slipped the meds into his tea like a boss. That’s not just love-that’s strategy. And now he’s gone and people are still arguing about who did what? Man… the real power was in the kitchen the whole time.
Kumar Deepak
December 21, 2025 AT 11:25Let me get this straight: the president of Nigeria was nearly killed by gossip… and saved by his wife hiding vitamins in his juice? That’s not a biography. That’s a Shakespearean tragedy with better snacks. The fact that he believed the rumors says more about him than her. And the fact that she didn’t leave? That’s the real superpower.
Ganesh Dhenu
December 21, 2025 AT 21:56Her silence spoke louder than any press conference. He doubted her. She didn’t argue. She just fed him. That’s the kind of strength no headline can capture.
Andrea Hierman
December 22, 2025 AT 08:37It is, without a doubt, profoundly troubling that a woman who devoted herself to the health and well-being of her husband-through meticulous care, discipline, and selflessness-was subjected to such baseless, malicious speculation. The erosion of trust within the sanctity of marriage, under the weight of institutional paranoia, is not merely a personal tragedy-it is a systemic failure of emotional intelligence and moral clarity.
Danny Johnson
December 23, 2025 AT 13:58Man… I can’t even imagine being that close to someone and having them pull away because of nonsense. She didn’t need applause. She just needed him to eat. And when he wouldn’t? She found a way. That’s love. Not the dramatic kind. The quiet, stubborn, ‘I’ll feed you even if you hate me’ kind.
Christine Dick
December 25, 2025 AT 04:13How dare she?! She manipulated his food?! She didn’t ask for consent?! She didn’t follow protocol?! This is not ‘care’-this is covert medical sabotage! And now we’re supposed to admire her?!! She undermined his autonomy, violated his bodily integrity, and then had the gall to call it ‘medicine’?! This is a textbook case of emotional abuse disguised as love-and the media is glorifying it?! Shameful!
Jullien Marie Plantinos
December 26, 2025 AT 18:44Ohhh so now the wife is a hero because she snuck vitamins into his tea?? What’s next? She’ll be on the $100 bill? This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve read all week. If he didn’t trust her, maybe he should’ve divorced her instead of letting her poison him in secret?? Also, why is this even a book? This is gossip dressed up like history. And now we’re supposed to cry? No. Just no.