Former Nigerian first lady Hajiya Turai has revealed that her late husband Umaru Yar’adua never wanted to be president but wanted to be a teacher and spend time with his family.
She added that her late husband never liked politics and was simply destined to become the country’s president.
The late Yar’Adua served as President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. He won the presidential election held on April 21, 2007, was sworn in on May 29, 2007, and died on May 5, 2010.
Turai spoke on Saturday in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service on the 13th anniversary of her husband’s death.
She said, “His ambition in life was to be a teacher, come home from school, sit with his family and tell jokes until the new day. He never wanted politics or governance, but as God intended, he got into politics and became president
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“Although he was the president, his lifestyle did not change at that time. He never borrowed a luxurious life to be a simple and easy-going person.”
Turai also spoke about how much she misses him, saying, “I think about Yar’A’dua every day, whether it’s an anniversary or not. I think about him every day, miss him.
“But I’m happy on an anniversary like this because the country is talking about him and the country is coming together to say good things about him and pray for him. It just makes me happy.”
She recalled the day the late president died: “I held his hand and told him I was going out for Iftar and he nodded. I was called back a few minutes later and I saw him dead.
“I regretted that day. I blamed myself for breaking the fast. I still think I should have stayed. But I thank Allah Almighty for making me husband with Yar’Adua. It was the greatest honor in my life and I am eternally grateful to be with He spent a reasonable amount of time in my life together,” she said.
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