The Yar’Adua Game!
It has been a trying time for this country. President Umaru Yar’adua returned to the country after spending 93 days in Saudi Arabia for medical treatment. He returned not because he had gotten better, but obviously because it was ‘expedient’ for him to come. Nothing as painful as the uncertainty and the cultic secrecy with which the state of his health has been handled. Those that should know are also asking questions.
The return of Yar’Adua has been accorded mixed feelings. Nobody was sure he could have come. The initial reaction of his immediate constituency was relief from tension and uncertainty. Some zealots in the corridors of power heaved a sigh of relief when like a bolt from the blue President Umaru Yar’Adua surfaced in the country at about 1. 46 am on 24 February 2010.
He came in the manner he left the country - under the cover of the dark. He left in the wee hours of November 23, 2009, and returned at the wee hours of February 24 the following year. When journalists got wind of his impending arrival they kept vigil despite the fact that they were chased away umpteen times by Abuja airport security.
Innocent passengers who were ready to make international journeys were reportedly chased away, while the tarmac lights went out as soon as the air ambulance that conveyed the president and the presidential jet conveying his wife Turai taxied to a stop. He arrived under the cover of the dark and driven away in the dark.
It should be noted that when the president left the country, he did so in a presidential jet. After 93 days, he returned in an air ambulance. He was driven to Aso Rock in one of the newly acquired ambulances at the presidency. From one ambulance to another! It suggests that the sickness has not gotten better.
Nigerians are yet to have the full grasp of the import of the present hide and seek ‘Yar’Adua game.’ We cannot really say why the president Nigerians have been praying for should sneak into the country at 1.46 am and still remain unavailable to top government officials, including the Acting President, Ministers and state governors. It was generally said that the Acting President Goodluck Jonathan was equally shocked when he learnt that his boss had returned.
The indication that Dr. Jonathan was not aware of his boss’ return emerged when he was absent at the airport on the night of his arrival.
President Yar’Adua could be somebody’s husband, father, uncle or brother, but it should be told that he lost his individuality or privacy the day he became the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He is the symbol of everything this country stands for. He is the standard bearer or the personification of the ideals of the country.
Why did we need the large deployment of security agents, even from the armed forces to man the airport or Abuja city gate? Did anybody misinform Yar’Adua that his life is in danger? Who mobilized the armed forces? Is it Yar’Adua or the Acting President? For now, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is Jonathan. If he did not order the soldiers to take vantage positions, who did it? These are some questions that will agitate the minds of Nigerians as the sneaking in of Yar’Adua is bound to cause systemic confusion. It further raises the question of the oneness of the presidency.
President Yar’Adua is a property of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That is why in his trying time he is enjoying the privilege of been treated with state funds not family funds. This accounts for why the ‘public’ should be given a small measure of what is happening to him. President Yar’Adua’s case is more than what his immediate family can handle.
If he is not fit to rule almost immediately, he should choose somewhere outside the Presidential Villa for recuperation. His presence while the acting president holds sway is capable of causing distraction. There is a shadow of his presence that can affect decisions of the presidency. It can affect the official mood of the presidency.
If I were Yar’Adua’s son I would have advised that he got well properly before flying back him to the country. I would not have allowed my father to return to the country in ambulance and driven home in an ambulance. If my father Yar’Adua should be brought to the country at all, he should have been in the National Hospital or recuperating at Obudu Ranch in Cross River State, for a well-deserved rest.
As Yar’Adua’s son, I would have preferred to have my father healthy first, before coming to the seat of power. As long as Yar’Adua is recuperating in the presidency it will weigh down the activities of the Acting President. He needs perfect comfort devoid of stress. Even if he is healthy today I will advise my father to take rest from governance.
I will prefer the healing to be complete before thinking of ruling this complex hypertensive country. This country can drive the healthiest president mad. I will not advise anybody that is half-healthy to rule this country.
With Yar’Adua still largely inaccessible, should Aso Rock be the right place to recuperate? Can Yar’Adua after recuperation still face the daunting task of ruling this country? Can he still summon the energy to rule the country that in itself needs healing?
If Turai or his family realises how the rigours of presidency can shorten the lives of those that occupy it, they would have wished to have their husband/father alive somewhere, while the illness is been managed.
This country needs more prayers not only for Yar’Adua to recover, but for the survival of the wobbling democracy. It is not about Yar’Adua or Goodluck Jonathan.
Nigerians hope that the return of the president to the country in an aircraft ambulance is not an attempt to create unnecessary tension. More questions are been asked concerning the shadow of presence created by the arrival of the president.
The Presidential Spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi referred to the acting president “Vice President,” suggesting that the acting capacity of the president has ceased. He also said that President Yar’Adua had directed that Goodluck should continue to act. He has also denied that the presidency is disunited.
This is an anxious time for this country. The newspapers are smiling to the banks over the speculations about the ‘Yar’Adua game.’ Nobody knows what to believe.
In spite of all the explanations concerning the unity of the presidency, and the supposed role played by Jonathan in the treatment of the president, in Saudi Arabia, Nigerians still believe that Acting President is an outsiders as far as the health of his boss is concerned.
The president can douse the tension and the rumours if he appears in public or addresses the nation in a media broadcast. The president’s health can be treated officially, instead of the present method whereby the family is totally in control. The acting President should be seen to be involved more actively.

                                Yar’Adua

 

                     P-o-s-t-s-c-r-i-p-t

Step up, Super Eagles!
There is no denying the fact that Super Eagles players individually are not doing very well in their clubs. The last couple of years have not witnessed the rise of any super Eagle player to stardom. Some of our players are not playing at top levels in their clubs. Many are not commanding first shirt. It is the sum total of the quality of our players.
In the last four years, no Nigerian player has been nominated for African Footballer of the Year Award. How many Nigerian players are in first divisions in the countries of their clubs? How many of them play in the lucrative UEFA Champions League.
How prepared are the Super Eagles for the next African Nations Cup? The team needs to blend properly before taking on other African nations.
The players need to step up their play.