Yar’Adua: Where Has Compassion Gone…?

Comfort Obi

It must be a surprise to many people, especially those who initiated the false rumour of the passage of the ailing Nigerian President, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, that he is still alive and kicking. In the group of the disappointed are those who, from the first day the ailment which afflicted Yar’Adua was made public, asked him to resign.
And who denied them of the realisation of their desires? That would be the president’s doctors at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Aside denying them a quick and expected funeral for the President, his doctors, kindly excuse this cliché, added insult to injury. They announced that President Yar’Adua may be back to Nigeria within the next few days. Reported The Nation Newspaper on Sunday, December 6 quoted a medical doctor at the Hospital who pleaded anonymity, and who told agency reporters that Yar’Adua has left the intensive care wing of the hospital – a department which has been his lot for weeks. His words: "He (Yar’Adua) is no longer in the intensive care wing of the Jeddah hospital, and is now undergoing routine medical tests.”
Now, this is good news, in the sense that if the President comes back alive, it would reduce the tension which has engulfed Nigerians and Nigeria since he was diagonised of Pericarditis. Especially, it would reduce the pressure on Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, the very loyal and unassuming deputy who has suddenly found himself at the centre of the politics of the President’s ailment. The most ridiculous statement I have read so far: “Vice President Jonathan should resign!” Question: For what? I will come back to this later.
Yar’Adua has put himself through that since he was sworn in as President, and especially, since this past couple of weeks. In his private moments, I wonder if he is not full of regrets that he accepted the offer from former President Olusegun Obasanjo to run for the presidency. I am dying to ask him one day if he does not honestly regret becoming the President. From the day Obasanjo forced other presidential aspirants to step down for Yar’Adua, using blackmail, nothing has been the same for him. Is he enjoying his Presidency, or is he full of regrets that it has exposed him to public scrutiny and ridicule?. His health challenges became public, and since then, he has realised that being the Governor of a semi arid state like Katsina, is completely different from being the President of Nigeria. It will not be an exaggeration to submit that inspite of the power and influence which go with the presidency, Yar’Adua has not really enjoyed it. He has not really had the feel of what it entails to be President.
In the first instance, he was never on the campaign field. Obasanjo never allowed him to. And, when he tried, he was so exhausted that he allegedly collapsed, prompting his being flown to Germany. The official story was that he was suffering from common cold. But that led to the first rumour which spread like wildfire, that he had passed on. Obasanjo was to make a joke of it by publicly phoning Yar’Adua in hospital bed, and asking: “ Umoru, are you dead?" The answer was, of course, negative, prompting Obasanjo to announce: “You see, he is not dead”. Since then, Yar’Adua has “died” three more times. The question I have always asked is: How many times will Yar’Adua die, and how many times will he rise from the dead? I have a word of advise here: He should contact the Guinness Book of Records for a slot. How does Yar’Adua feel each time he is rumoured to have died? Does he feel sober? Does he feel sad? Does he feel unloved? Does he have regrets? And does he feel comfortable being Nigeria’s President? Does he ever feel unwanted?
In his shoes, I probably would. These past few weeks must have been hell for him. It is like Nigerians have put him on death watch. Maybe they can’t wait for him to die. Or, do Nigerians think that he has become a burden for them, a burden they cannot wait to do away with. So, even when his doctors are giving hope of his early recovery, Nigerians are wondering why he should recover. Instead of wishing him full recovery, they are asking him to give way. So, you ask whatever happened to compassion. Whatever happened to human feelings? To put it mildly, I find it rather depressing that while the President is ill, there is no genuine sympathy for him from most quarters. Yet, nobody should blame Nigerians.
For 24 months and counting, they have been anxious over the President's health. Each time he travels out, even ordinarily, the guessing game returns. Is he okay or not?
What they are worried about is his mental and physical ability. And the general feeling that each time he is ill, the impression is that nobody is in charge. All of these worries have reduced the governance of Nigeria to one big rumour industry. In this particular instance, the rumour mill has been so active that nobody knows what to believe. And it has become dangerously personal to the extent of involving the name of the First Lady, Turai Yar’Adua, and the President’s mother. I don’t believe that anybody sincerely wishes Yar’Adua dead. What the problem is, I guess, is fear of the unknown. And sycophants have not made it easy for Nigeria. Isn’t it ridiculous that while the President is dangling between life and death, some empty brains talk of a second term? Isn’t it ridiculous that some people would reduce the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to an ethnic agenda. Isn’t it troubling that having survived a civil war, some idiots will be stoking the fire of disunity by talking so glibly? While there is a sitting Vice President, who the constitution empowers to take over from the President in case of any “eventuality”, some people are reducing it to North and South, and deliberately playing the ethnic card. Isn’t it embarrassing that the seat of the Federal Government has gradually moved to Jeddah? What is the purpose of the stream of visits by top government officials, including governors, to Saudi Arabia? Whose money are they spending? For most of the time Yar’Adua has spent in Jeddah, he was in intensive care! So, what were they going to do? Were they going to pledge their loyalty to him, or to gossip and play some mischievous games? Senate President, David Mark, submitted that all they are doing on such visits is to give the President the false impression that people are after his job. These people cannot be said to be helping the President. If anything, they are worsening his health and complicating issues for him. Which one will he think of: his health or his job? Or the well-being of Nigerians?