The sachet water was part of larger donation packages
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on July 1, 2020 at 15:15
- 4 min read
- By Segun OLAKOYENIKAN, AFP Nigeria
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“Aisha Bala Mohammed empowers women with 10 bags of pure water each,” reads the caption on a Facebook post shared nearly 400 times since June 25, 2020.
Many comments on posts sharing the claim criticise the donation, as a bag of 20 sachets of water typically costs less than 200 naira (50 cents) in Nigeria. "And this is supposed to be news worthy. She should have just respected herself and stayed quietly in her room (sic)," one comment reads.
Aisha Mohammed is well-known in northern Nigeria for her charity work. Her Almuhibbah Foundation was registered in 2011 -- about eight years before her husband Bala Mohammed was elected Bauchi governor.
The claims have been shared hundreds of times on Facebook and also on Twitter and Instagram. Nigerian news site Sahara Reporters also reported on the donation, prompting debate from Nigerians in the comments section on its Facebook and Twitter.
While Mohammed did give packs of water to rural women, the donation was part of a wider Al-Muhibbah Foundation empowerment programme that included other items as well as monetary donations.
Start-up support
AFP Fact Check ran a keyword search on Google and found a Facebook page called “Dr Aisha Bala Mohammad First Lady Bauchi State”.
A post from June 24, 2020 features various photos, including the one of Mohammad standing at a lectern which is also included in misleading posts circulating online. According to the caption, the photos show an “empowerment program of over 250 women in Futuk Gwana district of Alkaleri local government area”.
We found similar photos of the water donation in another Facebook post from June 25, 2020.
Items such as water sachets but also spaghetti-making machines, antiseptics and medical equipment are visible in the photos.
A Google reverse image search for the Facebook images led to the official website of Mohammed’s charity, the Al-Muhibbah Foundation. The foundation said in a statement published on June 27, 2020, that it “empowered 250 rural women” with cash and materials to start businesses.
According to the statement, the items were distributed to beneficiaries who had expressed interest in starting a business. It says 150 small scale entrepreneurs received 5,000 naira ($12) each, while materials including 50 spaghetti-making machines and 1,000 bags of water were distributed to support their businesses.
“Presentation of emwerpoment (sic) support to over two hundred and fifty youth and women in Futuk village of Gwana District in Alkaleri local government under her Foundation Al'muhinbbah (sic),” the caption on the Instagram post reads.
Mohammed’s spokeswoman Murjanatu Musa Maidawa has dismissed claims that the water “was all that the First Lady presented to the beneficiaries of her empowerment program in Futuk Community'.
She said that Mohammed trained 250 women and young people “in various economic skills” and “empowered them with starter packages”.
“In the past 13 years, Her Excellency through her pet project Almuhibbah Foundation, has never at a point conducted any training or donated any kind of empowerment package to any set of beneficiaries without consulting them on their needs in line with the particular skill(s) they acquire,” a statement released on June 26, 2020, reads.
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