President Buhari has revealed that he lost two of his children from his late first wife, Safinatu Buhari, to sickle cell anemia.
According to the President, he insisted his second wife must be an AA genotype so that his children will not inherit the S from his AS genotype.
Buhari revealed this in a documentary played at a private dinner organised by his family and close associates to mark his 80th birthday on Friday night at the State House Banquet Hall.
Safinatu was the First Lady of Nigeria from 1983 to 1985.
She was the first wife of Muhammadu Buhari. She met Muhammadu Buhari at the age of 14 and they married in 1971 when she was 18.
They had 5 children namely; Zulaihatu (deceased), Magajiya-Fatima, Hadizatu-Nana, Safinatu Lami and Musa (deceased).
When Muhammadu Buhari’s government was overthrown by Ibrahim Babangida, she relocated to Kaduna with her children. However, they divorced in 1988.
Meanwhile, President Buhari has said he will not miss Aso Rock much, because he is being harassed, noting that his efforts to make the country better is not good enough and appreciated by some people.
Asked what he will miss about the presidency when he leaves, Buhari said, “I wonder if I am going to miss much. I think I’m being harassed. I believe I’m trying my best but still my best is not good enough.
“Because there are people around that think that they can intimidate me to get what they want instead of going through certain systems to earn whatever they want to earn. And they are some people who want to be clever by half.”
