Yar’Adua, Please Talk to Us
By Dele Momodu
I have no intention of joining those who would gloat over the failing health of our president, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Only God can give, and only God can take. No man knows the appointed time he would leave this cruel life and join his creator. That is why we must all crave to do good deeds while on earth. It is not how long we live, but how well. The failing health of President Yar’Adua was always a major cause for concern even before he became president.
During the presidential campaigns in 2007, rumour was rife that he had kicked the bucket somewhere in Germany. I was in Accra when the news came. As typical of such ugly news, someone actually claimed to have received the report from an insider in the presidential villa. Meanwhile, Umaru’s rambunctious mentor, President Olusegun Aremu Okikiolakan Obasanjo was visiting Ghana when Nigerians went to town with the story of Yar’Adua’s sudden death. I remember calling the then Nigeria High Commissioner to Ghana, Dr Isola Kolapo, who debunked the wicked rumour.
That was what led President Obasanjo to make his hilarious telephone call during which he asked, “Umoru, is it true that you are dead?” or some funny thing like that. Of course, our dear “Umoru” survived that first alarm, and even boasted that he was fit enough to play many rounds of squash. But jokes apart, that was enough ominous sign to a nation that was, and remains, virtually in a state of emergency.
Like most things Nigerian, we merely shrugged our shoulders, and moved on with the usual attitude of incurable fatalists. We should have known that soon or later, Nigeria would have to pay the heavy price of putting a sick man in our presidential villa, while studiously ignoring the fact that our own very condition as a nation required the urgent services of a man fitter than a fiddle. But the selfishness of a few people won the day.
There is no doubt that Yar’Adua is a likeable character. My first close encounter with him was his first visit as president-elect to Ghana and I was asked by Dr Tunji Kolapo to welcome him on behalf of the Nigerian professionals. I was impressed by his response to my speech, as he encapsulated the meat of it and offered his assurances on issues raised by me. But ruling a nation requires more than being nice and brilliant. It is a cumulative package. Leadership in modern times, and even in ancient history, required some special attributes and qualifications.
The first is charisma. It helps a leader to command instant respect at home and abroad. There are examples of such political leaders, and iconoclasts, the world over: Madiba Nelson Mandela, Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah, Jerry John Rawlings, Muamar Ghadaffi, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Owelle Nnamdi Azikiwe, Asiwaju Obafemi Awolowo, Aare Ona Kakanfo Samuel Ladoke Akintola, Bashorun Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, Sekou Toure, Nwalimu Julius Nyerere, Napoleon Bonaparte, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Sir Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, Wole Soyinka, Barack Hussein Obama, and many other great personalities of all times.
The second is principle. The citizens must know the antecedents of their leader and be able to form an informed opinion of his state of mind. A leader must be clearly known for his ideas and ideology. Even when misunderstood, his principle must stand the test of time. He must pursue his vision relentlessly, and that vision must ultimately lead to the common good of his followers. Such examples include Ghanaian leaders who were clearly misunderstood in their days in power, but obviously laid a solid foundation for what Ghana has become today: Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah and Jerry John Rawlings who enjoyed the acronyms of Junior Jesus and Junior Judas at different times.
Another of such awesome characters was Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the leader of Nigeria’s most vocal ethnic group, the Yoruba, who became deified like the great progenitor, Oduduwa, and built the old Western Region of Nigeria into the most cosmopolitan community in West Africa. He was certainly a misunderstood leader in his days. He wore the tag of a tribalist for showing unconditional love for the general wellbeing of his people. Just imagine if he had been allowed to lead Nigeria at the national level. Nigeria would probably have been way ahead of Dubai and Singapore today.
The third is courage. A leader must be prepared to tackle the parasites who always work behind-the-scene to slow down the wheels of progress. We’ve had two good examples in Nigeria. The first was General Murtala Mohammed who came with a singleness of purpose to tackle the hydra-headed monster of corruption head-on. He was slain in no time, but his name will always remain in the history books as a brave leader who led by example even if he could not complete his mission.
The nearest leader who got to his record is still very much around and still fighting to attain power again. He’s no other than General Mohammadu Buhari who exploded like a thunder on our firmament at the end of 1983, and with his second-in-command General Tunde Idiagbon scared the living daylight out of our incorrigible politicians. Just like Murtala Mohammed, they were soon booted out in a palace coup, but not before they had shown enough courage in tackling the general malaise of indiscipline even if they suffered the lapses of double standards.
The fourth is stamina. A nation as important as Nigeria where most things don’t work, and practically all the infrastructure has collapsed, needs the services of a leader with the agility of a horse. The leader must possess a sound mind and a physical alertness that can propel us to greatness. We cannot afford a brain-box that packs up every now and then. If a sick private man cannot function well, how can a sick president run a nation? When a car begins to spend more time with the mechanic than the owner it is certainly time to take a serious decision. I’m not being cynical but that’s just the reality of life. What Yar’Adua and his acolytes are doing is to short-change Nigerians by not providing full services as demanded by the high office. The presidency is not a personal property. If the president is as sick, as he obviously appears to be, he should be charitable enough to spare Nigerians this ordeal of his too frequent shuttles to Saudi Arabia. He should speak to us directly, because nothing is moving. Nigeria urgently needs a Chairman Mao who would lead us on the road to prosperity, and not a figurine. Nigeria itself is almost terminally sick and desperately requires the best surgeons in the world.
The fifth and very important attribute of a leader is the power of oratory. He must be able to raise the dead with his voice, and wake up a narcoleptic nation from its deep slumber. Unfortunately, Yar’Adua’s taciturn nature could make the Guinness Books of Records. Our president disappeared from radar for nearly three weeks last year, and he never thought we deserved an explanation. The only action he took on his return was to sack his Secretary, Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe, and we all just moved on as if nothing happened – we did not deserve any explanation from our president.
As I was rounding off this piece, I saw a news report from the presidential spokesman, my dear brother, Segun Adeniyi, who disclosed what was wrong with our president. While this is a radical departure from the past, it is not enough. If a bank MD was as sick as our president, I’m sure he would have been long blown off by Hurricane Sanusi Lamido Lamido. The only way to allay our fears is for President Yar’Adua to talk to us as regularly as possible. He must dissociate himself from the political prostitutes who are already campaigning for a second term for a man who we are all praying to God to restore his health by whatever miracle.
Abike Dabiri-Erewa on the Cross
I ran into one of Nigeria’s most visible lawmakers, Honourable Mrs Kafayat Abike Dabiri-Erewa at the office of Honourable Dimeji Bankole, Speaker of the House of Representatives, last week. For the first time since I knew this energetic broadcaster some 30 years ago, I found her in an unpleasant mood. She was obviously irritated by the rash of negative comments on a bill she’s championing at the hallowed chambers of the House of Representatives. The bill, according to those opposed to it, is tantamount to censoring the press. But our sister believes nothing could be farther from the truth.
What makes it more painful to her is the fact that the attack is coming from her very close friends whom she believes were at liberty to point out the contentious sections of the proposed bill and reach an amicable resolution. She’s further miffed by the fact that some of the commentators seemed to have based their submissions on mere hearsay. In fact, she stated categorically that one of the critical intentions of the bill is to protect the general welfare of media workers who more often than not, end with the short end of the stick. The personal attacks on her therefore appeared to have been premeditated.
I really do not see what the whole controversy is about. The bill is about the need for self-regulation by journalists. At the moment, a complete illiterate can call himself a journalist without even paying any attention to the tenets of journalism. The bill itself is in a formative stage of public hearing. A technical committee headed by our big boss, Chief Tony Momoh, has been set up to fine-tune the salient details of the bill. Inputs are expected from distinguished representatives of Guild of Editors, NUJ, NPAN, NAN, BON, and others.
Why can’t we conduct a healthy debate instead of seeking to destroy the hard-earned reputation of a lady who is one of us? Here was the same lady who stuck out her neck for the Freedom of Information Bill. She was in the vanguard of those who shot down the third term delusion of the last administration. Even if some of our colleagues are not convinced that she means well with the new bill in the works, it is not enough to forget her past contributions. We must jealously protect the few good people we have in politics.
November 28, 2009
Tags: Abike Dabiri-Erewa, BON, Freedom of Information Bill., health, journalism, Leadership, legislation, NAN, Nigeria, NPAN, NUJ, press, Yaradua, Yar’Adua Posted in: Dele Momodu
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