Yar’adua’s health and political gimmicks

We respect material wealth than legacy and knowledge.  How then do we expect to have upright leaders?  It is not a matter of leadership alone, but also of followership.  Coming back to the brouhaha that emanated from Yar’adua’s ill-health, as for me, it is not a big deal, simply because he is not the first […]

We respect material wealth than legacy and knowledge.  How then do we expect to have upright leaders?  It is not a matter of leadership alone, but also of followership.  Coming back to the brouhaha that emanated from Yar’adua’s ill-health, as for me, it is not a big deal, simply because he is not the first President to have fallen sick while in power across the world. The problem is his information machinery.  When the Late Palestinian Leader, Yasser Arafat was sick and hospitalized in France, it was televised until the end. Why is Yar’adua’s case an exception?  Is he greater than Yasser Arafat?

The comments of some disgruntled and undesirable elements who called for the vice-President’s resignation in case of Yar’adua’s death are misguided, mischievous and unpatriotic.

Whose north are they defending?  Of what relevance is Godwin Daboh and his co-travelers in the North?  They cannot speak for the entire north.  The leadership of Nigeria is not a matter of geo-political zone, tribe, class or religion, but a constitutional matter.  What right do they have as citizens to change what the constitution says.  I want to put it straight to them that Nigeria has moved from a nation to a country, where Chinedu, Bola or Ahmadu can be voted to rule Nigeria by any tribe or religious group.  It is a shame to publicly display their act of prematurity.  And for the few groups that called for the immediate resignation of the President, it is laughable and ill-conceived.  Even if Yar’adua resigns now, it is still the PDP in power.  It is high time we put the interest of the nation first, because Nigeria is greater than anyone of us. We all have sacrifices to make in order to move the country forward.  The damage has been done, and there is no way we can correct it within a day.  Coming to the issue of Obasanjo anointing Lamido Sule of Jigawa State as Vice-President to Jonathan Goodluck, in case of the eventual demise of Yar’adua is also a rumour that can create chaos and anarchy.

The Nigerian media, whether print or broadcast have a lot of role to play in safeguarding the interest of the nation. they should please report positively about our dear country. Agreed that criticisms, sometimes, help to correct wrong doings but not unjustified ones.  Salihu Dantata Mahmud, [email protected].