Date Published: 08/15/09

Sir,

So Yar'Adua's Aides are now wiser?

On Friday August 14, 2009 President Yar’Adua leaves for Saudi Arabia on medical checkup, not lesser Hajj this time. It would be recalled that this happened last year when his medical checkup to the same place was shrouded in secrecy and kept the head of Nigerian government away from office for weeks.  This drew lots of condemning guesses and comments.

As a matter of fact this time around sincerity of his mission to Saudi has thrown up another area where the present administration remains deficient. Just like how Mrs. Clinton had said that Nigeria with crude oil deposits and still imports the finished petroleum means it has bad leadership. But this leadership has remained with this country before now but since government is continuum, the situation is getting worse by the day.    

Yar’Adua visit to Saudi Arabia for medical checkup has shown that Nigeria is greatly lacking in healthcare delivery. I do not see why the President could not import those specialists he thinks his country lacks concerning his health since he does not know how to remedy the bad healthcare delivery under him. Or does it mean that his health problem is so severe and delicate that he must rush out of the country each time he plans ‘medical checkup’. I am always full of pity (for him) watching him on TV stations rendering speeches; his speech nowadays are punctuated with intermittent agonizing cough hiccups. Even in the last NEC meeting last Tuesday (a day we were expecting Mrs.. Hilary Clinton), he was absent; it was chaired by Vice President Goodluck Jonathan where far-reaching decisions which included sharing of US$2billion out of the excess crude oil account.

Let us pray for our President.

Yinka Aderemi, 3 Fasheun Close, Molete, Ibadan, Oyo State