President Muhammadu Buhari has insisted that his wife, Aisha, should stay out of politics though he is accepting of gender equality.
“I am sure you have a house. … You know where your kitchen is, you know where your living room is, and I believe your wife looks after all of that, even if she is working,” said Buhari in an interview with Deutsche Welle’s Phil Gayle.
Mrs Buhari claimed an interview with BBC Hausa’s Naziru Mikailu that she may not back her husband if he seeks reelection in 2019 because she felt the government has been hijacked from him.
Buhari commented saying:“I don’t know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room.”
The president, however, said he was not adverse to gender equality in spite of the controversies his comments have generated. Responding to the question on if he considered gender equality as a good thing, Buhari answered in affirmative.
“It is a good thing to the extent that it is accepted culturally throughout the country,” he said.
He said his government would be favourably disposed to signing the Gender Equality Bill if it is eventually passed into by the National Assembly.