There
are fears that President Buhari's failing health might alter the
political power formation in Nigeria as the Nigerian leader continues
his stay in London indefinitely.
President Muhammadu Buhari
The protracted absence on medical grounds of Nigeria’s President
Muhammadu Buhari has stoked fears of a full-blown political crisis at
the heart of Africa’s most populous nation.
The 74-year-old former army general left Abuja for London on
January 19, leaving Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo in charge while he took
time off. But on the eve of his return earlier this month, it was
announced that he was prolonging his stay to enable him to collect the
results of unspecified medical tests.
Speculation, inevitably, went into over-drive that he may no longer
be fit for the top job, and despite multiple claims he is well, the
government has struggled to seize back the initiative.
For many, the situation revives memories of the situation seven
years ago, when president Umaru Yar’Adua fell ill and later died while
receiving treatment abroad.
It also once again lays bare the fragile divide between the
majority Muslim north and the predominantly Christian south that
characterises Nigeria and underpins political and daily life.
Succession to power at the federal level is seen as a balancing
force between the two regions. In 2010, it was the southern Christian
former university lecturer, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who deputised for
the northern Muslim Yar’Adua: now it is Osinbajo for Buhari.
When Yar’Adua died, his supporters prevented Jonathan from taking
over. The argument ran that the north would be short-changed if a
southerner was allowed to complete Yar’Adua’s term of office. It took a
deft move by parliament to get Jonathan to assume power and prevent a
major political melt-down.
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