Aisha Buhari Reveals She Resisted Attempts to Evict Her from Aso Villa

Former First Lady, Dr. Aisha Buhari, revealed that she resisted concerted efforts by a powerful cabal of relatives and associates living in Aso Villa, along with their wives and grandchildren, to force her and her children out of the presidential residence.

According to her, some influential individuals exploited former President Muhammadu Buhari’s fondness for his extended family and old friends to manipulate him, undermining the goals of his administration.

These revelations appear in the biography From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, authored by Dr. Charles Omole, which was launched at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja, with President Bola Tinubu and his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, in attendance.

The book highlights Aisha Buhari’s critique of a key weakness in her husband’s administration: the failure to remove underperforming officials. She reportedly warned President Tinubu not to repeat the same mistake.

The biography states: “If the 2017 crisis began in a kitchen, its broader stage was the house where that kitchen was situated. Aso Villa is not merely a home, but an ecosystem. In Aisha’s account, the house quickly filled with relatives and their wives and grandchildren, as well as courtiers and staff who learned the shortcuts and shadows. They tried to push everybody out, including me.”

She emphasized her firm stance: “‘This is my house. You can live wherever you like, but you cannot be in charge of my husband’s office and then also be in charge of me, his wife, inside my house.’”

The book explains that with most of her children abroad during Buhari’s first term, extended family members occupied multiple houses across the Villa. This created vulnerabilities, as individuals close to the president exploited his attachments to relatives and old friends, to the detriment of policy goals.

Aisha Buhari also recounted attempts by the president’s relatives with no official roles to influence Villa access. Meanwhile, long-time associates were reportedly “locked out” and their names recorded by security personnel.

“When she privately raised these concerns and saw no change, she spoke publicly,” the biography noted.

She criticized Buhari’s hesitancy to enforce performance standards, attributing it partly to age, fear of public perception, and emotional manipulation by aides. “As you age, performance changes,” she quoted him. Buhari’s reluctance, she said, stemmed from a fear of being labeled a dictator, which ultimately shielded underperforming officials from accountability.

Aisha outlined her approach to governance: if an official delivers at least 50 percent of expectations, tolerate them; if they deliver nothing, remove them. She said the family acknowledged that Buhari’s refusal to act decisively, combined with advisers’ flattery and delay tactics, created a structural flaw in the administration.

She also recounted an incident where security officials suggested she temporarily leave Abuja for Daura to allow investigations into close associates. She refused. Shortly after, she said, Buhari reportedly withdrew emotionally, eating and speaking less.

Even after leaving office, she claimed Buhari asked President Tinubu not to investigate certain relatives, highlighting the risks of emotional dependence at the top of power.

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