|
|
|
Last Updated: Sep 5, 2008 - 10:55:50 AM |
Just as speculations run riot in Abuja and the local press about
Yar’adua’s medical fate, Saharareporters was told by sources in Saudi
Arabia that Yar'adua has concluded plans to end his "kidney challenge"
by seeking and receiving kidney transplant before returning to Nigeria.
But his handlers are insisting that he return to Nigeria first, latest
by Saturday, speak to the Nigerian people about his condition, and then
take off abroad—most likely to Germany—to seek a more permanent
solution to his kidney crisis.
In the last three days, members of Yar’adua’s kitchen cabinet had
farmed out misleading leads to several Nigerian newspapers to the
effect that the ailing president would return as early as Tuesday and
that he would chair this week’s meeting of the federal executive
council.
But news that he would not be coming back filtered into Abuja at 12
noon when his plane failed to file an arrival notice to the
presidential villa as expected. A source close to him had told
Saharareporters that he was arriving midweek to Nigeria for a few days
as soon as final tests were concluded to determine the compatibility of
persons to donate a kidney to him.
He was expected to make a brief return to Abuja, address the nation,
and then leave for Germany to explore the possibility of undergoing
kidney transplant.
The plan felt apart, however, when his doctors in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
scheduled further tests to determine whether to attempt renal
transplant before he departs for Nigeria. If the decision is made to go
ahead with the procedure, then Yar’adua’s stay abroad could be
prolonged for another eight weeks, according to a source close to his
medical team.
Back in Nigeria, Yar’adua’s ministers put up a show in Abuja by
attending the weekly federal executive council meeting, the second
since Yar'adua departed Abuja, announcing that he was off to the
"lesser hajj" or Ummra in Saudi Arabia. Information Minister John Odey,
accompanied by three other ministers, maintained that Yar'adua was
still on the lesser hajj in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They also
announced the award of contracts of various sums.
Despite the ministerial exhibition, a source in the presidency told
Saharareporters that governance has finally come to a virtual stop in
Abuja since Yar’adua’s unceremonious exit to the city of Jeddah, Saudi
Arabia, two weeks ago.
Among the casualties of Yar’adua’s absence are plans to declare a state
of emergency in the power sector, and the planned announcement of a
committee on “land reforms” to be headed by Professor Akin Mabogunje.
Also in jeopardy are arrangements for the annual pilgrimage to New York
City for the United Nations General Assembly.
A source close to “Vice President” Goodluck Jonathan told
Saharareporters that Jonathan has been quietly chafing at the fact that
he has been kept in the dark, along with the rest of Nigerians. “I can
tell you that the president continues to give limited information
through his wife to his aides and government officials. Vice President
Jonathan has not been getting the kind of frequent briefing about the
president’s status that he feels entitled to,” said the source.
Two ministers in the government told Saharareporters that most members
of the cabinet were jittery about the repercussions of Yar’adua’s
absence and the continued decision to lie to Nigerians that the man is
on lesser hajj.
“There is palpable apprehension among some of us that President
Yar'adua is showing little regard for governance and for the Nigerian
people,” said one of the ministers. The two ministers told
Saharareporters that they are all completely in the dark about
Yar'adua's whereabouts, even though snippets of information have come
in from Saudi Arabia to the effect that the man just had a slight
sickness.
They said the danger is that Nigerians no longer believe anything from
Yar'adua and his handlers. The ministers said some of them were putting
subtle pressure to ask that Yar’adua return to Nigeria first to tell
the people what is wrong with him and then depart to engage in
corrective medical intervention, including the transplant option.
While Nigerians grew more worried about Yar'adua's absense member of
his kitchen cabinet led by James Ibori have shifted their base to Dubai
where they maintained a strong hold on Yar'adua telling him not to
worry about Nigerians, a source told SaharaReporters that former Vice
President Atiku Abubakar may have joined the group. The group will be
sending the governor of Kwara State, Bukola Saraki (currently in
Europe) to visit Yar'adua and tell him what to do next.
Source:Ocnus.net 2008
Top of Page
|
|
|
|