Aisha, Buhari were divorced before his demise – Farooq Kperogi claims

Public affairs analyst, Professor Farooq Kperogi, has claimed that Nigeria’s former First Lady, Aisha Buhari, was no longer married to the late President Muhammadu Buhari before his death.

Kperogi made the assertion in a Facebook post on Wednesday while reacting to reports that Aisha Buhari had said her late husband asked her to seek forgiveness from Nigerians on his behalf.

While acknowledging that he could not verify the authenticity of the alleged apology statement, Kperogi insisted that Buhari and Aisha had been divorced prior to his demise and that the former First Lady had reverted to her maiden name, Aisha Halilu.

“I can’t verify the authenticity of that statement, but what I do know is that before Buhari’s death, he and Aisha were no longer married. They had divorced, and she resumed using her maiden name, Aisha Halilu,” he wrote.

Providing further context, Kperogi noted: “If you paid attention, you’d notice Aisha didn’t accompany Buhari to Daura after he left office. He was alone when he later moved to Kaduna. Even when he fell ill and there were suggestions that Aisha travel to London to care for him, she reportedly hesitated because they were no longer married. She only went in his final days after much persuasion. Now, during this mourning period, she seems understandably uncertain about her role.”

Kperogi also questioned the credibility of the statement attributed to Aisha Buhari. “I’m genuinely curious, when and where did Buhari supposedly tell her to apologise to Nigerians? Where did she even say this?” he queried.