By Josephine Agbonkhese & Anino Aganbi

Whether  lexicographers have marked this phrase for input in the next edition of their dictionaries or not, a fact remains that “the other room” is the newest addition to the English lexicon.

Since it was used by President Muhammadu Buhari, this phrase has generated so much controversy and spread like wildfire globally, with the Presidency battling to have it regarded as mere banter while Mr President himself keeps insisting his wife belongs to his kitchen, his living room and the other room in his house.

Buhari had said this at a joint press briefing in Germany, right in front of the world’s most powerful women, Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, in response to a recent interview his wife, Aisha, granted the BBC Hausa, in which she heavily criticised his leadership style.

Aisha’s frustration

While some quarters are strongly in support of Aisha however, some are of the opinion that the first lady is apparently frustrated about not being able to exert undue control over appointed officials, as previous First Ladies have done.

Like one analyst puts it, “Aisha’s outburst has made my love for the president to increase. Prior to the election of March 2015, GMB, as he was known then, made unambiguous statement on several occasions that “there won’t be an Office of the First Lady” if he became president. Majority of Nigerians applauded the statement on the strength of what past First Ladies had caused the country.

“We know of First Ladies who practically ordered appointed ministers around. We saw a First Lady embarrass a sitting governor. We saw many First Ladies having their own multitude of staff. The past First Ladies used to have budgets drawn out for their office even though the Constitution of Nigeria has no recognition for such.

“These are only a few of many anomalies that were perpetrated in the name of Office of the First Lady. So, when PMB made the statement then, he clearly wanted to depart from that culture of impunity and Nigerians loved him for it. “In the said interview, Aisha clearly expressed frustrations at not having undue influence on the man appointed by Nigerians to do a job. She obviously is not having enough say on how ministers, DGs and other top government officials are appointed and this has disappointment her a great deal,” he said.

‘No, she’s a moral crusader’

Some others like the Former Chairman, Labour Party, Comrade Dan Nwanyanwu, however feel Mrs Buhari did the right thing.

Nwanyanwu said Aisha’s honest expression was meant to  galvanise President Buhari  into retracing his steps.

“These are some of the  advantages of education.  It gives you opportunity to  be enlightened and you will  speak your mind without  undue timidity. She has  conscience and felt that  those who struggled with  her during the campaign are  not near the villa.

“She is a moral crusader  in the sense that she may not be in the position to talk  to the same people again or  some other people to join her in 2019, should the president  elect to run again,” the  former Labour Party Chairman  stated.

Beyond politics: Beyond politics however, a greater percentage of the population feels the President’s response clearly explains his view of women. Coming at an age and time when there has been a lot of media focus on male entitlement and the treatment of women. This, no doubt, leaves many with so much to worry about.

Beyond the joke, the issue of a woman’s place in contemporary society hardly seems like comedy material for any president. But in reality, Mr President’s statement accurately reflects widely held beliefs in a perversely patriarchal society such as Nigeria.

‘Nigeria is 9th worst country to be a girl’

UNICEF statistics reveal Nigeria is home to the largest number of child brides in Africa, with 23 million girls and women having been married in childhood. In fact, throw-back to last week’s Woman’s Own cover story, Nigeria emerged 9th on the list of worst countries to be a girl, according to a study by Save the Children.

Daniel Bekele, Director, Human Rights Watch, Africa division, therefore feels President Muhammadu Buhari should apologize to women over his “sexist and offensive” remark.

“A strong response is urgently needed from Africa and beyond to condemn President Buhari’s statement objectifying women. He should urgently apologise for his words and act in a manner that demonstrates his apology is genuine,” he said.