My Late Husband Never Wanted Presidential Office, Says Turai Yar’Adua

A former First Lady of Nigeria, Hajiya Turai, has said that her late husband, Umaru Yar’Adua, never wanted to be President nor was desperate about the position.

She added that her late husband never liked politics and only became the President of the country by destiny.

The late Yar’Adua served as the President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. He was declared the winner of the presidential election held on April 21, 2007, and was sworn in on May 29, 2007. He died on May 5, 2010.

Turai said this on Saturday while speaking to the BBC Hausa Service on the 13th-year anniversary of her husband’s death.

She said, “His life ambition was to be a teacher, come home from school, sit with his family and crack jokes till another day. He never wanted politics or governance but as Allah willed, he joined politics and became President

“Although he was a President, at that time, his lifestyle hadn’t changed. He never borrowed expensive life and remained simple and an easygoing person.”

Turai, who also spoke on how much she has missed him said, “I think about Yar’Adua every day, anniversary or no anniversary. I think about him and miss him every single day.

“But I am happy on such anniversary days because the country talks about him, and people across the country come together to say good things about him and pray for him. That truly gladdens my heart.”

She recounted the day the late President died saying, “I held his hands and told him I was stepping out for iftar and he nodded. A few minutes later, I was called back and I met him dead.

“I regretted that day. I blamed myself for going to iftar. I still think I should have stayed. But I thank the Almighty Allah for honouring me with Yar’Adua as a husband. It is the biggest privilege of my life and I am forever grateful to have spent a reasonable part of my life with him,” she said.