L-R: Obi and Odok
Efio-Ita Nyok|15 October 2016
'He is yet to tell me, but I have decided as his wife that if things continue like this up to 2019, I will not go out and campaign again and ask any woman to vote like I did before. I will never do it again'.
—Mrs Aisha Buhari
Wife of President Muhammadu Buhari
BBC Hausa
14 October 2016.
'I don’t know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room.'
—President Muhammadu Buhari
Germany
14 October 2016.
The preceding arguments are credited accordingly to President Buhari and his wife, Aisha.
President Buhari’s statement alleging that his wife belongs to his kitchen, living room and the other room has been dismissed as demeaning against his wife, Aisha and by extension women generally. It also gives a peep into the type of mind that the President of a so-called progressive party carries. In Cross River State as in other parts of Nigeria there have been a plethora of reaction both for and against the president.
However, in this publication I intend to capture the contention which transpired between two university dons, to wit, Florence Banku Obi, who doubles as Professor of Psychology of Education and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics) of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) and Mr Joseph Odok a Doctoral candidate and lecturer in the Department of Philosophy of the same university.
Odok in throwing in his usual partisan support for President Muhammadu Buhari over the now in famous statement credited to him had this to say:
'PMB has told us that he loves his wife. Aisha says it's true she loves her husband and her position in the kitchen. She is boasting that she personally cooks for her husband.
'Me, I no get eye for people's private life, maybe na so them decide to play the game after a blissful moment on bed. PMB and Aisha are making love and Nigerians want to nose over their private affairs.
'Oya if e pain you, go build your home and make nothing to separate you from each other. I am falling in love with this couple.'
Below Odok's social media thread Prof. Obi countered strongly:
'Joe our President's remarks in Germany goes beyond his wife. Not when he left his country to visit another woman who is one of the world leaders. Know ye that he is a role model to many. He needs to be more sensitive to the feelings and interpretations of others', She initially observed.
'His love for his wife is not in contention here. After all, our fore fathers who died believing that a woman's place is in the kitchen loved their wives and daughters. Their believe led them to marrying off their daughters to have money for their sons' education', Prof. Obi further submitted.
As if to drum in the final ounce of truth into Odok, Prof. Obi pounded in no uncertain terms thus: 'For once go beyond party loyalty and support and condemn the sexist remarks of our beloved President about women. For sure if the first lady's place is in the kitchen…whose wife's place will be in governance, leadership or society in Nigeria. Come on don't make light of our sensitivity as women!'
Are the remarks between the Buharis merely a private, family issue? Or, is Buhari's statement not sexist as Pro. Obi alleges?
Efio-Ita Nyok
Is the Publisher & Editor of NegroidHaven.org
