Much Ado About the ‘No Chemistry’ Between President Buhari & His Wife Aishah Buhari

So, we woke up to a press release from the office of Aishah Buhari – with pictures of her visit to London, to see her husband, Mr. President. All was well with the pictures and the usual commentary online, until murmurs arose of the apparent disconnect between Nigeria’s First Couple.

Not long after, Sahara Reporters posted the tweet below:

“No Chemistry”…

I have been reading all the comments and it occurred to me that perhaps… just perhaps, we’re being a little too extra,  with our complaints of ‘no chemistry.’ I am going to play Devil’s Advocate here. So walk with me.

These are older generation Nigerians. Do we really expect them to display affection publicly? I mean, how many of our parents, older than 60 years, do we see holding hands and nuzzling each other? Come on, guys! How much of our different cultural factors allows for this ‘chemistry’ y’all expect to see between the Buharis?

Gist time… Gulma kei nan!

I know we have Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & Snapchat, and it’s not letting us remember that these are Naija parents we’re talking about. See, the average Nigerian parent of President Buhari’s age cannot say the word “sex”; isn’t it a little unfair to expect that they start touching each other romantically for a photo?

Secondly, there’s the issue of religion. Our President and his wife are Muslims. Islam is a religion that encourages and promotes modesty. Show me an apparently devout moslem that goes about holding hands and doing kissey faces? Even Hindis in Indian movies don’t kiss! What are we really expecting from two practicing moslems?

First Lady, Aishah is not President Buhari’s first First Lady. So, this is not his first rodeo, guys. What are we expecting really? This is not Sweet Valley High where they’re gazing into each other’s eyes and all that shebang.

I know we are all coming from the high of the lovely pictures of the Barack and Michelle Obama. Those images made us feel the love oozing from the White House.

I know, y’all wanna see all that mushiness… but Nigeria is NOT that country yet. We don’t have light, good roads, running water… heck, we don’t even have good hospitals. Why, oh why are we majoring on the minor of ‘no chemistry’ between our great president and his wife?

Got any tips for chemistry in pictures with my husband, Michelle?

In any case, pictures are merely a reflection of what the photographer wants us to see. Who says these people are not goofy, fun and exciting within the confines of their bedroom? I mean, look at Mummy Aishah on her daughter’s wedding day.

Playful Mama! Chemistry is NOT in doubt…

Look at Daddy Muhammed at his daughter’s graduation…

There’s a smile lurking in there… somewhere behind that half grimace.

Finally, why is there such a fuss about this absence of chemistry in photos? Just take a look at past photos and you’ll see that nothing seems different. This is how they take their photos. Let’s cut these people a little slack! In fact, let’s cut them a whole yard of slack…

Anyway, as we start this week, let us say the following prayers: May we have enough diesel to power our generators this week. May our telecoms companies not steal our money, and supply us with fast data. Finally, may one random Okada man not break your side mirror as you’re innocently going on your merry way.

Oh, and if your Nigerian parents are in their 60s and 70s, please tell us whether they display affection of the Barack and Michelle type. We want to read and be envious!