The Daura family insists nobody
can separate President Muhammadu Buhari from his nephew, Mamman Daura, despite
the feud between Buhari’s wife, Aisha, and his close associate’s immediate
family.
Speaking during an interview with
PUNCH at the family house of the Dauras in Shaishakowa Quarters in Daura,
Katsina State, Mamman Daura’s younger brother, Usman Daura, said Buhari and
Mamman Daura had both come a long way.
He said, “Mallam Mamman Daura is
the eldest man in our family now. I am his younger brother. The gap between us
qualifies him to be my father, despite being my elder brother. But you know
Mallam Daura and President Muhammadu Buhari have come a long way right from
their youth. Even when President Buhari was the military Head of State in
Lagos, they were together. Nobody can separate them.
“If you go to the GRA (Government
Reserved Area), where Mallam Mamman has his house in Daura, you will see that
his building is next to that of President Buhari. That is how they have been
all along. He built his house at GRA even before our father’s death. Our father
died on October 3, 1993.”
A Daura-based legal practitioner,
who also spoke on condition of anonymity,
said, “Mallam Mamman Daura is from Daura, but he is better known in
Kaduna since that was where he was based before President Muhammadu Buhari
became President.
“Also, remember that during
President Buhari’s travails shortly after he was ousted from power as military
Head of State, Mallam Daura was there for him, playing the role expected of
true, concerned and responsible relation. He has never disowned President
Muhammadu Buhari.
“Although Daura may not like this
being said because he is a modest man, I need to let Nigerians know. Long before
President Buhari built his house in Kaduna, he was staying in Mallam Mamman
Daura’s house there (Kaduna). Unless you are very close to them, you would not
believe that they are not from the same mother, this is just to let you know
the extent of their closeness. Nobody can separate them.
“For his closeness to President
Buhari, Mallam Daura has suffered persecution, which he would not even make
public. And naturally in life, if someone has proved his loyalty to you and all
that are yours, you are bound to love him back. It is too late for anybody to
come between President Buhari and Mallam Daura.”
In his Kaduna residence along the
Inuwa Wada Road, a neighbour, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mamman
Daura seldom visited the house, but added that domestic workers and guards took
care of the expansive compound.
“He (Daura) rarely comes to his
Kaduna residence. Whenever he comes, he spends at least three days. Before he
comes back, it takes another seven or eight months. Nobody is staying in the
expansive compound except domestic workers and guards,” he said.
The feud
The feud between the President’s
wife and the Daura family became public following a video leaked online in
which Aisha was heard complaining about being locked out of a room and
demanding that some people should pack their belongings and leave the apartment.
The video was recorded by Mamman Daura’s daughter Fatima,
who accused the First Lady of attacking her at the Villa.
On return from her two-month
holiday in the United Kingdom on October 13, Aisha confirmed in a 25-second
voice clip on the BBC Hausa Service website that she was the person in the
video in question. She accused Fatima of recording the incident while the
security detail did nothing because the culprit was Mamman Daura’s daughter.
Although the wife of the
President on October 16 apologised to her children, family members and the
public for the embarrassment caused by the viral video, some legal practitioners have condemned Fatima’s action while some simply described
the issue as a family affair.
Security guards, family mount pressure on Fatima
There are indications that Fatima
has come under pressure by Aso Rock security and family members not to release
the second part of the video of her clash with Aisha.
A source, who is privy to what he
described as ‘‘ongoing efforts aimed at mending rough edges’’, told one of our
correspondents that there were moves to make sure that the “video is stopped
from being released at all costs.’’
He said Buhari and Daura families
were shocked when the first part of the video was released by Fatima.
The source said, “It is difficult
for the young lady to release the other part of the video. This is because the
first one she released has put the Federal Government and President Buhari in a
very bad light.
“Also, there are concerns within
the security circle, families and friends that she should not be allowed to
release the second or whatever part of the video.
“Therefore, she may not go
further (in releasing the video). Already, you can see that Aisha has
apologised for her action in the video. That
is an indication that elders in
the two families and government had successfully intervened in the feud.”
Villa face-off is a family affair — Security source
The altercation between Aisha and
Fatima is being treated by the security services as a domestic affair.
A senior government official who
insisted on anonymity accused the media of trying to “make a mountain out of a
molehill.”
He explained that it was normal
for members of a family including that of the President to have disagreements,
adding that there was nothing unusual about what transpired as was captured in
the video in question.
The official said, “I don’t see
the issue here. They had a normal face-off over some domestic issues. How does
that translate into a national emergency?
“Let me ask you, don’t members of
your family have disagreements from time to time? The first family are humans too, they can agree
and disagree on any issue just like normal families do.”
“Both men are very close. Mamman
Daura’s father, Alhaji Dauda Daura, was the President’s elder brother, and they are very close in
that family.”
The Chairman of Coalition of
Associations in Daura, Alhaji Muhammed Saleh, described Mallam Daura as a
disciplined gentleman who is modest and honest.
Saleh said, “Mallam Mamman Daura
is a very simple man. He and President Muhammadu Buhari have come a long way.
They are very close. Don’t forget, President Buhari is his nephew and their
family is very close. Nobody can come between the President and Mallam Mamman
Daura. They are like Siamese twins. They understand each other perfectly,
having been together for over 70 years.
“It is a known fact that Mallam
Mamman Daura has always been playing the role of a very loyal brother and
friend to President Muhammadu Buhari. Daura has also been the last man standing
even when others deserted the President. He is doing all these not because he
is expecting anything in return from the President. But you know, people say blood
is thicker than water. President Muhammadu Buhari is Mamman Daura and Mamman Daura is President Buhari. You cannot
separate them.”
Another Daura-based legal
practitioner and lecturer at the Federal University, Dutse in Jigawa State, Mr
Ado Lalu, also said the duo had a very tight relationship.
Besides being close relations,
Lalu said Mamman Daura had displayed
loyalty and honesty to President Buhari.
He said, “Mallam Daura has
demonstrated that in life, it is good to stand by whoever you believe in. He
has shown that he believes in President Muhammadu Buhari, no matter what people
say.
“Don’t forget that the two
gentlemen were together when they did not even know that they would be
popularly known personalities. They grew up together in the same family.
“Mallam Mamman Daura’s offence
may be that he has not allowed people to poison his mind against President
Muhammadu Buhari.
Lawyers divided over the matter
A human rights lawyer, Mr Ebunoluwa
Adegboruwa (SAN), said the scuffle between Aisha and Fatima was destroying the
President’s immunity and that it might cause a big distraction to him.
Adegboruwa said, “Aso Rock is the
official residence of the President and I think it should be restricted to
members of his (President) immediate family, but this may not be followed
strictly.
“In terms of what has happened
between the wife of the President and Fatima, daughter of Mamman Daura, it is
quite appalling and scandalous that such has been going on within the precinct
of the seat of power.
“First, there is no
constitutional provision for the Office of the Wife of the President and that
six aides were appointed for that office, it seems the President is the one
encouraging the power play that has been going on.
“Second, this is creating a
distraction for the President. The constitution envisages the President to be
executive in the true sense of it; the President whose mind is at alert and
that is why the immunity in Section 308 of the Constitution was created to give
the President focus. That immunity is being destroyed now by that domestic and
embarrassing scuffle between those close to the President
“I think the President should clear
the Villa and get out all those who are not supposed to be there – those who
were not voted into office by the people of Nigeria.”
But another Senior Advocate of
Nigeria, Mr Nathaniel Oke, said there was nothing wrong with the Dauras living
with the President in Aso Rock.
He said, “I don’t think Daura’s
family members living with the President have contravened any law. I believe
there are separate apartments where they live and the reality on the ground is
that they are being accommodated and nothing more than that. There is nothing
wrong with that.”
A professor of Law at the
University of Jos, Nnamdi Aduba, also said there was nothing wrong with members
of the President’s extended family living in Aso Villa.
“I believe the President, as a
public officer, is also entitled to some privileges just like some of us in the
university system. For example, I live in the professorial quarters and you
cannot determine who comes to live with me there. All you can say is that when
they come, they will be subjected to the rules here. They should know that they
cannot bring any kind of friends and there are things that they cannot do.
“In my view, the President has
the right to bring his relations to live with him there. We are in a
traditional African society, so we shouldn’t forget this. The only thing is
that when their relations visit or live with them in the official quarters,
they must behave themselves. They must put on the best behaviour.”
Also, the President of the
Nigerian Bar Association, Paul Usoro (SAN), said it was at the discretion of
the President to determine those who could reside in the Villa.
“That one (living in the
Presidential Villa) is not a legal thing. It is not in the constitution; no
stipulation states the number of people who can live there,” he said.
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