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| Hajia Safinatu |
Introduction,
Background and Education
Hajiya Safinatu was born on
11th of December, 1952 in Jos, Plateau state into the family of Late
Alhaji Yusuf Mani. She’s a Fulani woman, an indigene of Mani Local government
in Katsina state. Late Safinatu started her primary school in Tudan Wada Kaduna
(1959-1960) but was later transferred to Nasarawa Primary School now Dikko
Memorial Primary School in Katsina when her father Late Alh. Yusuf Mani was
transferred to Lagos to work as Private Secretary to Late Alh Musa Yar’adua who
was Commissioner for Lagos Affairs in the Federal Cabinet of the First
Republic. After her Primary School, Late Hajiya Safinatu proceed to Women
Teachers College Katsina where she obtained her Grade II Teachers Certificate
in 1971. She was well-educated and was so literate that she could read and
write in Arabic, being well-grounded in Islamic education.
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| Safinatu and Buhari |
Her Marriage
Late Hajiya Safinatu got
married to her husband Gen. Muhammadu Buhari two days after her graduation from
Women Teachers College Katsina at the age of 18.
An interesting thing about
Buhari’s relationship with Safinatu was that shortly after the two met, the
Nigerian Civil War started in 1967 and Buhari was deployed to the battlefields.
This was one of the most tense periods in the life of Safinatu and she would
later reveal that she was always worried during the war about the welfare of
her lover and would ceaselessly pray for him. In 1971, with the war over, the
two lovebirds decided to seal it and they got married. Thus, all through the
war, while Buhari was on the battlefield combating Biafran rebels, his heart
was not only burning with the love of Nigeria, it was also burning for a young
beautiful Fulani girl named Safinatu. She was 18 when they got married.
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| Buhari and Safinatu |
She became the first Lady when Buhari became the Head of
State
Late Hajiya Safinatu Buhari
became First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the 19th of January,
1984, after her husband Major General Muhammadu Buhari assumed the mantle of
leadership as Head of State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
As first lady, her daily
routine starts with prayers, reading newspapers and doing domestic works at
home. At official level, she was involved with hosting official guest
particularly when visiting heads of states come with their wives.
One memorable moment for
Late Hajiya Safinatu was hosting the Gambian First Lady in the ancient city of
Kano where they visited the city wall and one of the markets in company of wife
of the then military administrator of Kano State, Mrs Halima Hamza
At her leisure in the State
House, Late Hajiya Safinatu spent time collecting and compiling traditional
Hausa and Fulani recipes which she later published after leaving state house
for future generation. The title of her book is (“Our Delicious Menus” Recipes,
Seasonings, and Culinary Ethics) published in 1999 by Nigerian Defence Academy
Press, Kaduna.
She was heavily influenced
by social, religious and cultural factors and this was seen in her conduct and
behaviour as the First Lady. She was always quietly by her husband’s side but
she concentrated almost all her energy on her children and making the home very
comfortable and peaceful for the general. She started her daily routine by
reading the newspapers. Thereafter, if she had no engagements for the day, she
would receive guests.
The head of state usually
received visitors till about midnight after which he would then retire to his
study to work till the early hours of the morning. A dutiful wife, Safinatu
never left her husband to study alone; she would stay with him, keeping his
company until he was ready to sleep. Safinatu never interfered with her
husband’s official work and did not discuss national matters with him. She
seemed to have devoted all her energies into ensuring that the home was as
peaceful and as comfortable for the Head of State as possible. She avoided
publicity unless it was absolutely necessary. For this reason, many Nigerians
did not know much about her. I hope this piece will shed more light on her
person. She’s good to everyone
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mp3 download
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| Safinatu, Buhari and Children in the 90s |
Family and Children
As at the time her husband was
overthrown, she had given birth to four children: Zulaihatu (now late),
Magajiya-Fatima, Hadizatu-Nana and Safinatu Lami, Musa (now late). Following
the overthrow of her husband, she left for Kaduna with her children
The Divorce:
The couple went separate ways
in the mid of 1980s. She was reportedly accused of receiving financial assistance
from Babangida while her husband (Buhari) was in detention following the
overthrow of his government. After all, Buhari got married to Aisha in February
1989.
Safinatu’s Death
Safinatu became ill and was
diagnosed to be suffering from diabetes mellitus in Saudi Arabia. She battled
the disease for eight year and gave up in ghost on the 14th of
January, 2006. She died at the age of 53
Reference
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