President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed that two of his children passed away from sickle cell disease.
At a special dinner held by his family and close friends to celebrate his 80th birthday on Friday night at the State House Banquet Hall, Buhari made this clear in a video that was shown.
Speaking about his personal life, the president disclosed that two of the kids he had with his late wife, Safinatu, died of sickle cell anemia.
This explains why, when he married Aisha Buhari, the first lady, he stipulated that his second wife must have the AA genotype in order to prevent his children from inheriting the S from his AS genotype.
Some Nigerians who thought Buhari had been dead for a long time and had been replaced by a body double named “Jibril of Sudan” also said that he was “not a funny joke.”
The president claimed that the untrue rumor was the product of some troublemakers who enjoy creating confusion.
When asked about the rumor in the documentary interview, Buhari said, “Yes! People have claimed that I am from Sudan. I didn’t give the name any thought. Nigerians like to explain themselves in sneaky ways.
When asked if he thought these allusions were amusing, he responded, “No. Because the people who made those statements were only trying to be cheeky, it is not funny. They seek to deflect attention away from the crucial matter. The infrastructure must be built, and people must be made aware that they must work hard to live well. Without winning the respect of their community or anything else, they simply want to enjoy life.
