Gen Buhari Loses Eldest Daughter To Childbirth

At least 2,000 people attended the funeral prayer for Hajiya Zulai Buhari, the eldest daughter of the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the 2011 elections, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), in Kaduna last night.

The deceased, who was popularly known as Magajiya, died during childbirth at a private hospital in Kaduna around 8pm.

According to a source, she was rushed to the hospital on Wednesday where a Caesarean section was carried out on her. She was said to be recovering but suddenly took ill around 6pm yesterday.

Zulai, a sickle cell patient, died about two hours later, leaving behind her newly born baby girl.

She is survived by her two daughters, her father Gen. Buhari and her husband, Captain Junaidu Abdullahi, a pilot with Aero Contractors.

A graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Zulai Buhari was until her demise working in the Administration Department of the National Steel Raw Materials Research Agency in Kaduna.

She had been married first to Captain Bashir Wada, a pilot, and after they divorced she got married to another pilot, Junaid Abdullahi, with whom she got two daughters, including the one born last night.

Zulai was buried around 11:45pm at the Unguwar Rimi cemetery after a funeral prayer at the Yahaya Road Juma’at Mosque.

Our correspondent, who was at the funeral, reported that Gen. Buhari attended both the funeral prayer and the burial.

Several of Zulai Buhari’s friends mourned her on Facebook last night.

She had 682 friends on the social networking web site.

One of them, Victoria Ohaji, wrote on Zulai’s Facebook wall: “RIP, Zulai, you were truly beautiful in and out.”

A shocked Hauwa M. Abbas said, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un. Magajiya, u have been a friend, a sister, a room mate, a partner in crime, ever smiling, always happy and a super nice woman. There has never been a dull moment with u. Allah ya jikan ki da rahama, Zulai (Magajiya), Ameen. And may Allah give us ability to look after ur 2 daughters, ameen.

Another friend of hers, Halimatu Sa’adiya Shehu, prayed: “May Allah reward u with aljanna dearest Magajiya, amin,” while Madina Sanusi commented, “Zulai may Allah grant you Aljannat Firdausi! May he gives your family the fortitude to bear your loss! Hmmm! Duniya kenan! Mutuwa mai raba kowa da masoyi! It’s a necessary debt we all owe d Almighty!”