“Late president Yar’Adua had no love for politics”

Hajiya Turai, a former First Lady of Nigeria, has revealed that her late husband, Umaru Yar’Adua, had no aspirations to become President and was not power-hungry.

POLITICS NIGERIA reports that in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service on the 13th anniversary of her husband’s death, Turai shared that Yar’Adua did not have a passion for politics and believed that he only became the President of Nigeria through destiny.

She said, “His life ambition was to be a teacher, come home from school, sit with his family and crack jokes till another day. He never wanted politics or governance, but as Allah willed, he joined politics and became President.”

“Although he was a President, at that time, his lifestyle hadn’t changed. He never borrowed expensive life and remained simple and an easygoing person.”

On how much she has missed him, Turai said, “I think about Yar’Adua every day, anniversary or no anniversary. I think about him and miss him every single day.

“But I am happy on such anniversary days because the country talks about him, and people across the country come together to say good things about him and pray for him. That truly gladdens my heart.”

She recounted the day the late President died, saying, “I held his hands and told him I was stepping out for iftar and he nodded. A few minutes later, I was called back and I met him dead.

“I regretted that day. I blamed myself for going to iftar. I still think I should have stayed. But I thank the Almighty Allah for honouring me with Yar’Adua as a husband. It is the biggest privilege of my life and I am forever grateful to have spent a reasonable part of my life with him,” she said.

Yar’Adua held the presidential seat from 2007 until his death in 2010. He won the presidential election in April 2007 and was inaugurated on May 29.