“I don’t miss anything about Aso Villa” ― Former first lady, Maryam Abacha

Nigeria’s former first lady, Maryam Abacha and wife of the late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, has revealed that ever since she left the Aso Villa, she has not missed anything about the place.

GistReel reports that Abacha died in 1998 while in active service as Nigeria’s Military Head of State and was buried on the same day according to Muslim tradition after which his family moved out of the Aso Villa and General Abdulsalami Abubakar became Nigeria’s head of state.

Abacha served as Chief of Army Staff from 1985 to 1990, as Chief of Defence Staff from 1990 to 1993, and as Minister of Defence.

Abacha is noted for having been the first Nigerian Army officer to attain the rank of a full military general without skipping a single rank.

However, in a recent interview with BBC Hausa, the former first lady says she has never missed the Presidential Villa after moving out of there following her husband’s demise.

She said, “I don’t miss anything about the Villa. Because, you know, as a wife of a military man, we had been in different places. My dad was a career civil servant. So even before marrying Abacha, I had been used to staying in different parts of Nigeria. So even while with Abacha, we were always relocating to different places. So for me being at the Villa was just part of my usual life experience. Of course, there was the prestige that comes with being a wife of the head of state, but there were also challenges.

“You know, despite that the military aren’t politicians in the real sense, being in the Villa was part of politics. So, there were challenges we faced, just like every other government. But actually, I’ve never missed the Villa.”

On the negative comments about her late husband by some Nigerians, Maryam said she’s used to it and doesn’t find them offensive.

She said, “I am used to all the negative things Nigerians have been saying about my husband, and that is a normal thing with politicians. We are human beings, people will always say different things. Good and bad. Look at what’s happening in Kano, and even at the national level. So people will always talk. But when we were ruling, nobody was saying anything. Nobody talked. So that’s governance. Every government comes with its own pecks.” she said