My dad would’ve made a great farmer – Hadiza Buhari

Weekly Trust: How has growing up been like as the child of a famous army general?Hadiza Buhari: I would say pretty normal. My dad would tell me and my siblings that in life we shouldn’t take things for granted. I have lots of friends from wealthy families and I wanted to be like them, buying […]

Weekly Trust: How has growing up been like as the child of a famous army general?
Hadiza Buhari: I would say pretty normal. My dad would tell me and my siblings that in life we shouldn’t take things for granted. I have lots of friends from wealthy families and I wanted to be like them, buying expensive things and all that, and he noticed it and called me one day and said ‘You know I sold my properties to raise money to send you to school?’ That was a wake-up call I’ve carried with me since. We lived a normal life, as we always visited the village and he would take us to the farm.
WT: What kind of father would you say he has been?
Buhari: He was been a very loving father and was always there for us to the extent that he helps with our homework. There are so many great memories and I remember a time, in 1990, during the rainy season when my younger sister and I wanted to watch a hailstorm, so he sneaked to the kitchen and got pieces of ice from the fridge and covertly threw it at us and we happily believed a real hailstorm was happening. It was so cool, even when we found out.
When my uncle (his brother) died in 1987, he decided to raise all his children, about seven of them. He also raised the children of late Emir of Nassarawa, Alhaji Abubakar. He’s very caring.
WT: What part of your childhood with him do you miss most?
Buhari: I miss eating with him. I have been married for over eleven years and I really miss that. When I was child I can’t remember not eating with him, whenever he is in town he would eat with us, up until the early 90s. From the time he came out of detention in the early 90’s, he never missed a meal with us.
I also miss him accompanying us out of the house to school. After our mum left, he took responsibility for everything. He became more of our mother than our father. He woke us up to prepare for school, listened to or watched the BBC or Voice of America as we ate breakfast. The part I miss most is when he sees us off and we’re all in the vehicle, because we were so many, he’d just say ‘Kabo Air a dawo lafiya’.
WT: What aspects of his parenting method would you say you’ve imbibed?
Buhari: He is always persistent about telling the truth no matter what, so I make sure that my children always tell the truth too. As kids, when we ask for five kobo to buy sweets, he’d give us fifty and if you didn’t return the change he’d ask, telling you that you’re supposed to return the change without being asked. He will tell you never to keep someone’s money or property and I’ve instilled that policy on my children.
I’ve also learned to keep up with my children’s school activities by making sure I’m around to help them with their homework. Back in the day, we used to queue so he could assist us with our homework. One after the other he would help us.  
WT: Which of his traits would you say you’ve inherited?
Buhari: My husband is a businessman, so what I used to do back then in my father’s house I still do. I always write down the list of things to buy and give it to him and he will be the one to sort out the money.
WT: Is there pressure to live up to your father’s name?
Buhari: Actually, there is none. To people outside they think that we’re not ordinary citizens. But when they get to meet us and relate with us they get to know that we are simple. We can move around without people noticing, except for recent times that we’ve become visible. It used to be that I could even go to the market without people knowing whose daughter I am. But it’s a different ball game now.  
WT: If your dad wasn’t a military officer or politician, what other job do you think he would have excelled at?
Buhari: I think he would have been a great farmer. He’d have been particularly good at rearing cattle. He used to have camels, also, but he doesn’t keep them anymore. He also has a piece of land on which there’s a mango orchard. So I think he would have been a great farmer.  
WT: Will you say he was a General at home, as well?
Buhari: While he’s much softer at home, he is still concerned with discipline, even though he finds time to play with us. Remember, we were many kids there was the need for him to tighten his belt and he didn’t want us out of control. He has this look he gives, that sometimes he doesn’t have to speak. Once he gives you that look, it means you need to behave better.  
WT: Can you recall a time you did something that made him upset at you?
Buhari: There was one time he was watching a documentary on CNN about ladies wearing high-heeled shoes – and back then I loved wearing them – and he told me about the effect of wearing them and that medically it wasn’t encouraged.  So one day I wore heels and as I was going out, he came out and he saw me at the corridor and looked at me and moved on. Whenever I remember that look, I feel bad because he warned me about it and that shows that he cared about my health. That was twelve years ago. I used to wear them regularly in the past, but now I just wear them for occasions.    
WT: What is your dad’s favourite food?
Buhari: I will say he loves wheat and miyar kuka. He used to like pounded yam, but because of fitness, he started dieting. He also loves fruits a lot.
WT: What book does he read?
Buhari: He loves reading, actually, books on history, politics and military strategy. He has a lot of them in his library.
WT: What is a side of your father’s that isn’t common knowledge?
Buhari: He’s seen as strict, but he’s got an amazing sense of humour. He laughs a lot. There was one time we went for a holiday in London and the house we stayed in was weird, as the bedrooms were downstairs and the living room was upstairs, so I was coming down the stairs and missed a step and slid, landing right in front of his room on my bum. He was praying and quickly came out thinking something fell and he just looked at me and burst out laughing and said ‘that will hurt until adulthood’.  
WT: What misconception about your dad would you like to correct?
Buhari: It’s amazing how some people have referred to him as a religious bigot. I would want to ask them to stop seeing him and referring to him as one. My dad and every member of our family relate with people of all religions perfectly well. He would have sent my sisters and I to Islamic countries to study but he didn’t. I wanted to study Arabic and French in Saudi Arabia or Egypt but he insisted that I went to London.