By ‘Dotun Akintomide
Wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari has given an insight which further confirms Nigerians’ fears as to the power play by a certain cabal at the Nigerian seat of power in the wake of a sickness that has kept her husband out of the country for over two months.
Recall, President Muhammadu Buhari had flown to London 63 days ago to resume medical treatment after an earlier round early this year.
The New Diplomat gathered through a Facebook post on Monday, where Mrs. Buhari took time to expose some elements around her ailing husband as “the hyenas” and “the jackals,” hoping that they would soon be sent out of “his Kingdom”.
Mrs. Buhari who is presently in the United Kingdom to see her ailing husband, made the post while responding to a proverbial Facebook post by the senator representing Kaduna Central District, Shehu Sani.
Mr. Sani’s post read: “Prayer for the absent Lion King has waned; until he’s back then they will fall over each other to be on the front row of the palace temple. Now the hyenas and the jackals are scheming and talking to each other in whispered; still doubting whether the Lion King will be back or not…
“It is the wish of the Hyenas and the Jackals that the Lion King never wakes up or come back so that they can be kings. It is the prayers of the weak animals that the Lion King comes back to save the kingdom from the Hyenas, the wolves and other predators.”
Responding to Mr. Sani’s comment also proverbially, Mrs. Buhari said: “God has answered the prayers of the weaker Animals. The Hyenas and the jackals will soon be sent out of the kingdom. We strongly believe in the prayers and support of the weaker animals”.
Mrs. Aisha’s comment attracted some comments from her followers on Facebook, wishing her husband quick recovery.
Mrs. Buhari had returned to the UK last week after an earlier trip last month after which Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, claimed she was not allowed to see the president by an alleged cabal around him.
Upon her return to Nigeria back then, the President’s wife had said her husband was recovering well and that he expressed appreciation to Nigerians praying for him.
But the Kaduna Central Senator in another Facebook post on Monday night, responding to Aisha Buhari’s post commended the “Lioness” for her courage, strength, tenacity and resilience.
He also referred to a tiger that was acting for the lion, in a contextual reference to Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who is the Acting President.
He however noted that the lion would always remain the lion and king of the kingdom.
Explaining the metaphors, he said, “The Lion is Buhari and the cabals are those I categorised as hyenas, wolves and jackals. She (Aisha) is the lioness. When I said ‘temple of kingdom’, I meant the Aso Rock mosque, where the jackals and the wolves usually stay at the front row. Osinbajo is the tiger, who is standing in for the President in his absence.
“In my second post, I said ‘the crocodiles are giving a quit notice to the fishes to leave the river.’ The crocodiles are the Arewa youths and the fishes are the Igbo in the North.
“When I said ‘the pythons were monopolising the forest’, I was making reference to the Biafra agitators, who are threatening secession. And those who are angling for restructuring are the ones I categorised as cheetahs, leopards, cougars, pumas and jaguars.”
In agreement with the President’s wife, he explained, “I am telling you that what she is implying is that the President, when he is back, is most likely to throw away some people out of his government. For her to say that when the lion is back, he is going to throw away the wolves and hyenas, it means that there is a likelihood of these cabals being thrown out of the government. She is giving a hint, using my categorisations.”
Sani, while giving an interpretation to the hyenas and the jackals “scheming and talking to each other in whispers” in Buhari’s absence, noted, “I was talking about the political, underground machinations going on against the President.”
“I made the reference that the lion is sleeping and they don’t know whether he is sleeping or he has passed out. It is about the intrigues of the power play that is going on among the political elite,” he said.
