First Lady Aisha Buhari has been going on and on about the evil perpetrated by this alleged cabal, for as long as anyone can remember.

The First Lady recently accused the president’s spokesperson, Garba Shehu, of taking orders from this cabal. 

In a chat with The Interview magazine, Buhari pushed back on rumours that he’s being held hostage by a cabal. 

“I addressed this matter before. I was the one who went round the country on campaigns, and I was the one voted into office as president twice. No one else did, and no one else took the oath of office, and can exercise the powers of a president,” Buhari said. 

In December 2019, one of Nigeria’s leading newspapers, Punch, resolved to begin addressing Buhari by his military title and to refer to his administration as a ‘regime’, on the back of a slew of alleged human rights violations.

The newspaper wrote in a stinging editorial: “As a symbolic demonstration of our protest against autocracy and military-style repression, PUNCH (all our print newspapers, The PUNCH, Saturday PUNCH, Sunday PUNCH, PUNCH Sports Extra, and digital platforms, most especially Punchng.com) will henceforth prefix Buhari’s name with his rank as a military dictator in the 80s, Major General, and refer to his “administration as a regime, until they purge themselves of their insufferable contempt for the rule of law.” 

Asked if this bothers him a wee bit, Buhari said: “Am I not a retired Major General of the Nigerian Army? I didn’t just pick the rank in the streets, I earned it.”

Asked if critics are right to describe him as a military dictator even though he’s told everyone who cares to listen that he’s a ‘reformed democrat,’ President Buhari said: “You called them critics. If they are critics, you would hardly expect them to garland me. Rather, they would look for things to try and de-market me. But I am glad that as they do that, millions of Nigerians know who their president truly is, and they have made it clear in 2015 and 2019 presidential elections. All countries, including the old democracies must maintain law and order. If you look around the world, our policing operations are as restrained as any.”

On his relationship which Vice President Yemi Osinbajo--which was rumoured to have reached a nadir as 2019 drew to a close--Buhari said his relationship with his deputy is “perfect. Or has he complained to you? Thank you very much.”