heard the coughing and saw the blotches.
Buhari, they said, was dying. Their sources,
they would always talk about their sources who
tell them things. They were sure he was at
best a vegetable.
They would mock your
doubts. They dismissed all evidences to the
contrary as forged. Everyday, they spent useful
energy renovating their tales. Some said they
could diagnose terminal illnesses from afar. He
was too lean, too weak, to live. They ridiculed
the announcement of his proposed return. They
said Yaradua played that trick. Then, he came
back. They were not fazed. They let out an all-
knowing guffaw, and pointed towards Governor
Suntai. They are relentless and insatiable. The
president has become an albatross, they
insinuated. Then he missed three executive
council meetings in a row, and they are back to
where they started. He is incapacitated, they
chorused.
But they shouldn’t be allowed to wonder and
wander. They are wasting creative energies.
They shouldn’t be left to the mercy of even
sadistic imaginings. The government owes the
public, wailers included, a duty to rescue it
from the clutches of exhausting rumours.
Rumours will always fill gaps left by defective
or absent public communication. And when
rumours create tension and brew divisiveness,
they become national security concerns. Then,
they must be rooted out. The only effective
way to contain damaging rumours is through
effective, honest, communication and
transparency in government processes.
Every worker owes his employer some duties.
His primary duty is to keep his part of the
bargain, contractual obligations. The employee
owes the employer a duty to promptly notify
her of any circumstances that may prevent him
from meeting those obligations. The employer
must be informed of any significant health
challenges. The notification is ineffective if the
true nature and extent of the infirmity is not
stated. A worker who conceals an ailment that
denies his employer due benefit cannot be
counted as a conscientious and diligent worker.
A worker who cannot meet full demands of his
work must tell his employer, not just that he is
sick but, the nature and extent of his
predicament, to allow her make proper
evaluations and adjustments.
It is true politics is not factory work. It has
come to involve subterfuges and crass
opportunism. No one therefore comes to
politics with naïve forthrightness. So a
politician may want to shield his health issues
from his opponents so that he is not exploited.
But there must be a deliberate effort to see
public office as a call to service. Patriotism
must recognize that self interest must be yield
to national interest at all times. Many American
presidents have in the past concealed grave
illnesses from the public and retained their
fame. But no research has shown that the
outcome of illnesses, amongst presidents, is
improved by concealment. It is foreseeable that
an informed public could be more lenient with
an ill but honest president. If it is country first,
then a president answerable to the people
cannot conceal the nature of his illness from
the people.
President Buhari has a great reputation. A
reputation of simplicity, forthrightness and
brutal frankness. That is why he treats real
politics with condescension, and mixes with
politicians with reluctance. President Buhari
may have vied for the position four times but
he, evidently, doesn’t regard himself as
indispensable. Nothing attests to this more
than the effortlessness with which he
relinquishes power to his deputy whenever he
embarks on a vacation. So it is a little
incongruous that president Buhari has allowed
his health status become such a controversial
secret.
President Buhari was elected for his rectitude.
It is no exaggeration to say that he was
brought in to reset standards. President
Yaradua had kept his health status secret. He
refused the public any knowledge of his
ailment. His aides crafted tales of fig leaves
for him. None of these helped Yaradua. The
impression created was that of a desperate
man who was ready to see the country slide
into chaos while he clutched selfishly to power,
from his death bed. Before then, Yaradua had a
reputation of selflessness and simplicity. They
destroyed it. Yaradua’s drama helped no one.
The country was racked by rumours, suspicions
and uncertainty. A group of power hungry
politicians, close to the sick president, exploited
his illness , abused power and brought the
country close to the brink.
The Nigerian public is apprehensive again.
Buhari’s supporters believe he isn’t too ill to
govern. They do not believe he is critically ill
but they also want to know, from the
president, his true health status. President
Buhari has to set standards.
Integrity is matching words with action. When
Yaradua was ill, President Buhari and the
opposition were loud in demanding a
publication of the president’s health status.
They had firmly insisted that the president
should resign if he was incapable of meeting
the demands of his Job. President Buhari has
integrity. He owes the nation a duty to make
public his health status. President Buhari
abhors hypocrisy. He should meet the demands
he made on President Yaradua.
Transparency will soothe uncertainty. An
economy pulling out of recession needs no
uncertainty. A president whose illness is
concealed from the public by a few officials is
vulnerable to blackmail by these officials.
President Buhari is however, particularly,
fortunate. He has a knowledgeable , efficient
and loyal deputy. The public and international
community have found satisfaction in his
deputy. The progress of the state is unlikely to
be affected negatively by an extended medical
leave. He can attend to his health, retain
power, and retain public confidence. Age comes
with wear and tear. He is 74, and strong.
President Buhari, just let them know.
Source: Vanguard
Health Is like money we never have a true idea of its value until we lose it. Health Tips
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