Safinatu Buhari (née Yusuf) (11 December 1952 – 14 January 2006) was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

teacher and

First Lady of Nigeria The first lady of Nigeria is an informal, but accepted title, held by the wife of the president of Nigeria. The current First Lady, first lady is Oluremi Tinubu who has held the title since 29 May 2023. The Constitution of Nigeria does not creat ...

from 1983 to 1985. She was the first wife of

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

Early life and education

Safinatu Yusuf was born on 11 December 1952 to Alhaji Yusufu Mani and Hajia Hadizatu Mani in

Jos Jos is a city in the North-Central region of Nigeria. The city has a population of about 900,000 residents based on the 2006 census. Popularly called "J-Town", it is the administrative capital and largest city of Plateau State. The city is situ ...

Plateau State Plateau is a northern states of Nigeria, Nigerian state. It is located in the north-central geopolitical zone of Nigeria and includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and Tourism". Th ...

. She was of the Fulani tribe of Northern Nigeria and hailed from Mani Local Government in

Katsina State Katsina State ( ; 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤢𞥁𞤭𞤲𞤢) is a state in the northwestern geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered to the west by Zamfara State, to the east by Kano and Jigawa states, and to the south by Kaduna St ...

. She attended Tudun Wada primary school. Her family relocated to Lagos State when the then commissioner for Lagos affairs, Musa Yar'Adua appointed her father as his private secretary. She enrolled at the Women Teacher's Training College in Katsina and received a Grade 2 Teachers Certificate in 1971. She was versed in Islamic education and was lettered in both English and Arabic.

Personal life

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 Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August 1941) is a Nigerian statesman and military dictator who ruled as military president of Nigeria from 1985 when he orchestrated a coup d'état against his military and political arch-rival Muhammadu ...

, she relocated to Kaduna with her children. Following the military coup that removed Muhammadu Buhari as president on August 27,1985, when he was released from prison, he divorced Safinatu shortly after; the reason for Buhari's divorce from his first wife has remained unknown. However, it is rumored that Safinatu was accused of receiving financial assistance from Babangida while her husband was imprisoned despite her husband's warning. Safinatu Buhari was diagnosed with diabetes in 1998 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Her style was both traditional and minimal. It portrayed her ethnic origin. They divorced in 1988.

First Lady of Nigeria

Safinatu was the seventh First Lady of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 August 1985. She was largely unknown by Nigerians as she did not have her own office or personal staff in

Dodan Barracks Dodan Barracks is a military barrack located in Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria. The barrack was the Supreme Military Headquarters during the Nigerian Civil War and from Supreme Military Council of Nigeria (1966–1979), 1966 to 1979 and Supreme Military Cou ...

. She stayed out of the public eye but took up responsibility hosting visiting First Ladies.

Death

Safinatu Buhari died 14 January 2006 as a result of

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

-related complications at the age of 53.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buhari, Safinatu Nigerian educators Nigerian women educators 2006 deaths 1952 births First ladies of Nigeria Diabetes-related deaths