A new biography of Nigeria’s late President Muhammadu Buhari has revealed intimate details about his final years, including private family tensions and the nutritional mismanagement that contributed to his health decline.
In From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, a 600-page book launched at the State House on Monday, former First Lady Aisha Buhari disclosed that her husband began locking his bedroom door following rumors in Aso Rock that she intended to poison him.
She also clarified that the health crisis which led to Buhari’s 154-day medical leave in 2017 was not due to poisoning or a mysterious ailment, but began with a broken feeding routine and poor nutritional management.
Authored by Dr. Charles Omole, the 22-chapter biography traces Buhari’s life from his early years in Daura, Katsina State, to his passing in a London hospital in mid-July 2025.
According to Mrs. Buhari, she had long overseen the president’s strict meal and supplement schedule, a regimen she said was crucial for a “slender man with a long history of malnutrition symptoms.”
“Elderly bodies require gentle, consistent support,” she recalled telling aides. “He doesn’t have a chronic illness. Keep him on schedule.”
