A DYING PRESIDENT?

The sickly weakling from Katsina State, Umaru Yar'Adua, who was imposed on Nigerians by the cabals led by disgraced Olusegun Obasanjo is dying! Will he be the first president to die in office in Nigeria? No, as the other munchkin, midget Sani Abacha also kicked the bucket while in office. But unlike the military succession that immediately produced Abdulsalm Abubarkar as successor to Sani Abacha, there will be crisis of no mean magnitude should Umaru Yar'Adua suddenly drops dead. First is that vice president Jonathan Goodluck will not be allowed by the north to succeed him, this ordinarily would have been the natural thing to do, but the Northerners will insist that they serve out their turn as president of Nigeria after Olusegun Obasanjo's Yoruba governance. Now the other problem will be whether Jonathan Goodluck will accept another pupillage under a new imposed president from the north?

And if a new president were to be produced, what will the process look like? Another imposition, an election or a national assembly-led intervention? But then what will the brand of Nigerian democracy be called for purposes of scholars and commentators? Will a power crisis between a down but not yet out Olusegun Obasanjo and the northern oligarchs ensue on who chaperons the succession and who will be at the receiving end of this fight of the titans - Nigerians of course!

Either way, there is no meaningful way out should the inevitability of Umaru Yar'Adua's demise happen now. This is what is wrong with Nigerians and the kind of leadership they have come to accept in that country. Were it to be a proper place where democracy is thriving, maybe a full disclosure-vetting of Umaru Yar'Adua's candidacy would have revealed that he is an unfit and improper person to even run for the presidency of Nigeria by reason of sickness. Better still Umaru Yar'Adua himself would have declined the offer to be appointed president of Nigeria and if appointed anyway, refused to serve! This shows the cross-roads of Nigeria and the reason there can never be any meaningful progression in that country. A mixed bag of very fickle and feeble leadership in a country with bountiful of men and women of gravitas who would have motivated and moved the country to greater heights. Olusegun Obasanjo mid-wived this imbroglio of Umaru Yar'Adua's failing health crisis and it was for a purpose; since he Obasanjo was fully aware of the debilitating health condition of Umaru and yet imposed him on Nigerians anyways.

Icheoku says, it shall not be well with you Olusegun Obasanjo and demands that Nigerians revisit and reconsider all the bonds yoking the different nationalities together with a view to granting some autonomies within the union and/or at least put in place a real working federation. This is in order to let the people who want to move be able to move forward to cart their destiny without undue encumbrance by an ailing man from far-away rustic Katsina State; who instead of marshaling out policies of state is busy fighting a battle for his life in various hospitals around the world, from Germany to Saudi Arabia! To Umaru Ya'Adua, Icheoku asks and demands that you come clean with a full disclosure of the nature of your ailment or quietly resign your office should you be too ashamed of Nigerians learning the nature of your sickness. There is nothing to hide about being sick because nobody inflicts sickness on himself. Finally whatever you do, you must not die in office as the ensuing crisis might destroy Nigeria as we know it!

For what other Nigerians are saying about their secretive dying imposed president Umaru Yar'Adua, click Disclose Your Ailment, Nigerians Tell Yar'Adua!