Aisha Buhari says the ‘other room’ remark was a joke told on the wrong stage, according to a new Buhari biography
Former First Lady Aisha Buhari has said she found the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s “other room” remark funny, but wrongly delivered.
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The disclosure appears in a new biography by Dr Charles Omole titled From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, launched on Monday at the State House, Abuja.
According to the book, Aisha Buhari said the comment was an internal joke between the couple, but admitted it was made on the wrong stage.
“We joked about it,” she said, while conceding that the setting made the remark inappropriate.
The 22-chapter, 600-page work chronicles Buhari’s life from Daura, Katsina State, to his final hours in a London hospital in mid-July 2025.
Buhari sparked global controversy in October 2016 during a joint press conference in Berlin, Germany, with then Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Responding to questions about his wife’s public criticism of his administration, Buhari said he did not know her party, adding that she belonged to his kitchen, living room, and “the other room”.
The statement went viral, drawing fierce backlash and reigniting debates on gender roles and leadership tone.
Omole wrote that the line “lived a thousand lives” after being delivered beside one of the world’s most powerful women.
The author noted that Aisha Buhari treated the episode with gallows humour, shaped by familiarity with her husband’s military background.
However, the book added that irony “travels badly in the global square”, forcing Aisha Buhari to clarify the comment to international peers.
“She knows where she stands, and so does he,” the biography stated, describing disagreements over governance, not her place in power.
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The account portrays a resilient First Lady who asserted her presence in spaces where decisions were made.
