President Buhari's Sister: "I Speak With My Brother Every Day"

Hajiya Rakiya, the only surviving elder sister of President Muhammad Buhari, has appealed to Nigerians to continue to pray for the well-being of the president, instead of spreading rumours about his health.

In an interview with NAN in Daura, Katsina state, the 84-year-old woman said her brother needs the prayers of every Nigerian for him to succeed in the task of addressing the problems facing the nation.

She said he as a human being, he is bound to fall ill or even die “at any time his Creator wishes’’.

Rakiya said since January when he departed to London, she has been speaking with the president every day, and that he is in high spirit.

“I just returned from the lesser Hajj, and even while in Saudi Arabia, I was communicating with him every day,” Rakiya popularly called Amadodo, told NAN.

She said in Saudi Arabia, she communicated with him “every ten hours”.

“We were 28 from our mother late Hajiya Zulaihatu who died in 1992, but Buhari was her last born,” she said.

A cross section of the people in the ancient city, who spoke with NAN, expressed displeasure over rumours about the president’s health.

Abdulman Daura, north-west organising secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), described the false reports as “baseless and unfounded”.

Daura said Buhari is in good health and is only conducting a routine medical checkup in the United Kingdom.

He advised the president’s opponent to be always constructive and avoid campaign of hate and calumny.

Similarly, Aminu Na-Dari, an ally of the president, said he has also been in constant touch with Buhari since his departure and their conversation did not in anyway indicate that he is having any health challenge.

A group of students from the School of Health Technology, Daura, described the rumour as unfortunate and asked the National Association of Nigerian Students to issue a statement condemning the rumour.

Aminu Mohammed, spokesperson of the students, called on Nigerians to always think and act positive, saying Buhari has started the reform of correcting the ills of the nation, and corruption had started fighting back.

He urged Nigerians to continue to pray for the nation and “safe return of Mr president”.