President Muhammadu Buhari suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for a long time, according to Aisha Buhari, the First Lady.
At the Abuja ground-breaking ceremony for the Armed Forces Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Centre (AFPTSDC), on Tuesday, she disclosed this information.
According to Naija News, the event that was put on by the Defence and Police Officers’ Wives Association (DEPOWA) featured Mrs. Buhari as the Special Guest of Honour.
Mrs. Buhari claimed that her husband was depressed as a result of his involvement in the civil war without receiving any rehabilitation, his overthrow as the head of the military, and his subsequent illegal detention for forty months.
The First Lady claims that the fact that President Buhari lost three elections in a row made her depression even worse and made her family’s life unbearable.
Mrs. Buhari claimed that she was the unintended physiotherapist for his recovery because she had suffered the effects of depression at an early stage in her marriage.
She stated, “Before he was overthrown in a coup d’état, my husband served in the Nigerian Army for 27 years.”He served in the civil war for thirty months without ever recovering;He ruled Nigeria for twenty months before being imprisoned for forty months without revealing the nature of his crime.
“I clocked 19 years in his house as his wife, legitimately, one year after he came out of detention.The first mistake you will make when dealing with someone who was a former Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria’s Armed Forces is to tell him that he is wrong, and I suffered the effects of PTSD because I had gone through all of this at the age of 19.
“So, at the age of 19, I had to figure out how to tell someone of his caliber whether they were right or wrong. That was the beginning of my offense in his house. I then tried to run for office in 2003, but failed, and tried again in 2007, but failed, and tried again in 2011, all without being rehabilitated, and I ended up becoming a physiotherapist.
Finally, the entire nation rose up against bad governance and power abuse.He was only successful when it developed into a movement, and today we are here.He has ruled Nigeria previously, and he is currently doing so for the final time.
“I tried to console them, I tried to talk to them, and some of them have switched off their phones up until today, just because of a primary election. Failing election for three times was a big blow to every contestant, but those who contested for just yesterday, a simple primary election, are still living in a traumatic condition.
“You can imagine me handling someone who went to war, had a coup d’état, lost several elections, and finally got to the Villa in 2015 when I was 19 years old.Also, it’s a problem for a woman to tell them that this is right or wrong in Nigeria and Africa.
The First Lady expressed her gratitude to the group for setting up the PTSD Centre for Nigerian soldiers, noting that medical conditions can have negative effects.
She stated,I would like to express my gratitude to DEPOWA for having the foresight to envision establishing a PTSD treatment center for our soldiers.Indeed, terrifying events can lead to PTSD, a mental health condition.
Despite its negative effects, it is a reality that soldiers and their families must accept.I am a wellness expert and a wife of a soldier or a retired soldier, so I know what PTSD is like and how it affects military families and the nation.