On Sunday, President Muhammadu Buhari released an audio message to Nigerian Muslims during the Eid Al-Fitr celebration. This will be the first time Buhari will be speaking to Nigerians since he departed on medical vacation to the United Kingdom for the second time.

Many Nigerians received the news of the president’s audio message with elation – but Buhari and his team had other plans – the message was for a select few (only those who understood the Hausa language).

This decision has received a lot of backlash from Nigerians, but that’s not what this piece is about. In page 512 of Audacity on the Bound: a Diplomatic Odyssey, the author, Ambassador Olu Sanu narrated an experience he had with then Major General Buhari, who was the Minister of Petroleum at that time.

Sanu recounted how Buhari did not speak to him throughout the trip to West Germany, now Germany. He added that on arrival in the European country, Buhari spoke entirely in Hausa throughout to the Ambassador-in-post.

This begs to question whether this is a one-off experience or does the president have a penchant for using language to sideline others?

Editor