Sunday, September 27, 2009

PRESIDENT UMARU YAR'ADUA, A RELIGIOUS ZEALOT?

Reports reaching Icheoku.com confirmed that the sickly mallam from Katsina State and the man Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo used to punish Nigeria for aborting his third term bid; Nigeria's nemesis and unfortunate president, Umaru Yar'Adua has just sneaked back to Nigeria from his inexplicable visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Talk about priorities of a president? The Nigerian president would rather be cavorting amongst mullahs in Saudi Arabia, reading the Koran rather than be among the comity of nations, devising a way out of the present world's economic woods? He was too sick to fly to New York on behalf of Nigeria and thus, cost Nigeria the golden opportunity of 'shinning' before a tuned-in world audience and being heard; but hale enough to zoom into Jeddah to felicitate with a bunch of gown-wearing men with turbans on their heads? Icheoku asks President Umaru Yar'Adua, which one is a more important state function - Islamic allegiance visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or what should ordinarily have benefited Nigeria more and thus constituted a Nigeria's best interest at the United Nations and Pittsburgh, hanging out with the world's finest? His subterfuge for the trip was that he was going to the opening ceremony of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology? Icheoku says, tell that to a pack of hungry gullible hyenas?
Icheoku says, Nigerians should blame Olusegun Obasanjo for the nuisance of President Umaru Yar'Adua! An inconsequential former governor of very remote Katsina State and a teacher who never wanted any spotlight, but was forcibly conscripted by the devilish Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo and imposed on Nigerians? Now the man is using Nigeria's tax-payers money to propagate his allegiance to his Muslim faith by abandoning Nigeria's top priority and jetting on a frolic to just pledge allegiance to the custodian of the Muslim religion, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia? Should Nigeria treat this aberration with levity, Icheoku says, we do not think so and urge the National Legislature to caution such misplaced priorities of a sitting Nigerian president, irrespective of his illegality coming into office? At New York and Pittsburgh, at least he would have spoken to the world on behalf of Nigeria in NYC; and at the home of the Steelers, he would have emphasised the plight of African economies and ask for a bail-out! But none did he do, instead it was off to his holy-land to shake the hand of his "Almighty King Abdullah?
Icheoku asks, to who does this mallam owe allegiance - the Kingdom of Saud or the Nigerian people who he purports to represent? His shuttle to Saudi Arabia was a complete frolic which was uncalled for and could have been excused, assuming he was invited in the first place? Imagine, President Umaru Yar'Adua abandoning the 100 heads of states and governments who converged in New York for Saudi Arabia, to hurdle with a few 'yes-men' who do not necessary matter in political calculations in this world? Like the Igbo of South east Nigeria would say, "President Umaru Yar'Adua left where the 'ozo' (chief) title is being celebrated and instead went to where exorcism is being performed" and he is still president of Nigeria? What manner of people are Nigerians who are never moved or are incapable of ever being moved by the intransigence of their leaders?
This present miasma from this visit becomes more evident and thus deplorable, when one recalls that the same scarecrow President Umaru Yar'Adua, lamented Nigeria's non invitation to London's G20 Summit? A reasonable person in his position would have jumped at the second opportunity to participate, but now that Nigeria was invited, he chose to "snub" them back? What a "smart" man this Yar'Adua is? And this is despite the fact that Nigeria was formally invited to the summit and given a speaking slot, which many countries would die for; instead he chose to throw caution to the winds and escaped to Saudi Arabia. Since many pundits have failed to properly decode the sudden change of mind of President Umaru Yar'Adua with his scheduled appearance at the United Nations 66 summit as well as the G-20 at Pittsburgh, Icheoku has one theory - may be the president hates his sobriquet as an 'imposed president of Nigeria' who never won any election and hence still ashamed of how he got to the office and uncomfortable with the starring eyes of delegates to the conference? Just a theory! May be Umaru was simply too ashamed to mount the podium?
The irony of his Saudi trip is that whereas Umaru Yar'Adua's education-house is literally on fire, he was pursuing rat, attending the formal opening of Saudi Arabia's trumpeted citadel of learning? A shameless mallam and former university teacher who does not care if Nigerian students are not in school because of ASUU's unending strikes and work stoppages? According to one commentator, "if President Umaru Yar'Adua likes the hospitals in Saudi Arabia, he should try to replicate them in Nigeria? If he likes the magnificence of the newly opened King Abdullah University of Science and technology, he should transform the aging and dilapidated Nigerian universities to be their mirror-image? If he likes the ever present power supply in the Kingdom, why not import the expatriates to power Nigeria; after-all Saudi Arabia practically imports everything and every manpower they need?"
Now to the mother of all disappointments associated with this ill-advised trip to the Kingdom of Saud, Nigeria's President Umaru Yar'Adua got only 5 seconds of the King's attention in the form of a passive handshake? Icheoku says, so much for the Nigerian tax-payers' money wasted to fuel the presidential plane and pay the crew that whisked him, Turai, his two governor inlaws and staffers to and from Jeddah? Just 5 seconds was all that Nigeria's President Umaru Yar'Adua was worth to the King of Saudi Arabia? Nigeria's Umaru Yar'Adua was so low in the hierarchy of the King's important schedule that he sent only 'a governor to receive a president' at the airport? So much for reciprocity for and demand of protocol? So 'worthless' is Nigeria's president Umaru Yar'Adua to the Kingdom that his name was not even added to the scrolling text at the bottom of the simulcast, among names of "loyal" heads of states and government that came to pay homage and obeisance to the King; King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud!
However Icheoku briefly watched the opening ceremony of the university, and wish to congratulate the Arabian King, for such a magnificent edifice dedicated to learning!

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