Nigerians
were surprised when President Muhammadu Buhari announced that he would
be on vacation longer than expected to treat himself. Mike Ebonugwo
explains what this connotes for Nigeria.
Muhammadu Buhari and Umaru Musa Yar'Adua
Against the backdrop of intense speculations surrounding the 10-day
vacation of President Muhammadu Buhari to the United Kingdom and the
repeated assurances by presidential aides and other government officials
that all was well with the President, it is not surprising that
Nigerians would engage in a long and anxious wait for his return to the
country to resume work today as slated.
Soon after the President left the country on January 18, 2017, the
rumour mill went into overdrive with speculations over his state or
condition of health, with suggestions in many quarters that there was
more to the trip than the Presidency was prepared to tell Nigerians.
Indeed, the Presidential spokespersons had their hands full in
dealing with these speculations and quelling growing public concern
about the President’s health status.
This they did by repeatedly, assuring that in line with the letter
the President sent to the National Assembly about his vacation and
informing that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo would act in his absence, he
(Buhari) would certainly resume work today.
But just when Nigerians were already coming to terms with these
assurances and looking forward to seeing and hearing from their
President today, they were told, yesterday, of a letter he had sent to
the National Assembly informing the national lawmakers that he was
extending his vacation, which also entails being away from the country
longer than expected.
More mystifying is the fact that the duration of the extension was
not specified. The development has almost immediately given rise to more
speculations and uncertainty, with some individuals already pointing at
an uncanny parallel between it and the leadership drama that
characterised the days of the late Umaru Yar’Ádua presidency.
It will be recalled that the late President Yar’Adua left Nigeria
on November 23, 2009 for Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. After much speculations
with some claiming that the president was battling with a chronic
allergic disorder and had intermittent kidney failure, Nigerians were
later informed that he was being treated in a Saudi Arabia clinic for a
heart condition identified as pericaditis, which some medical
authorities claim was a mere complication of what is known as Churg
Strauss syndrome.
His ill-health induced absence from the country and three months
stay away from the levers of power created a lot of room for
speculation, with anxiety and tension hitting the roof over the
resulting power vacuum since he did not officially hand over power to
the then Vice President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan.
Even his return to the country in February did not allay the
tension but rather fuelled it, especially as he was kept away from the
public by some power elements, who elected to rule on his behalf. It
took the intervention of the National Assembly which invoked the now
popular Doctrine of Necessity to declare Jonathan acting President.
This unprecedented move by the National Assembly, the Senate to be
specific, somehow reduced the prevailing tension in the country,
bringing respite to many who were afraid that the country was on the
verge of imploding. Given this scenario, Nigerians may have every reason
to worry. But observers feel justified in insisting that there exists a
world of difference between what happened during the Yar’Ádua era and
what is happening now.
They base their argument on the fact that President Buhari
officially handed the reins of office to his vice before embarking on
his vacation, which was not the case with the late President Yar’Ádua.
******
Written by Mike Ebonugwo
No comments:
Post a Comment