Fears and rumours enveloped the nation yesterday as the state of President Umaru Yar’Adua’s health became a matter of concern amongst the populace.
Mr. Yar’Adua, who is undergoing medical treatment at a hospital in the western seaport city of Jeddah, was rumoured to have passed away, yesterday morning. He was flown out of the country late on Monday night and was reportedly admitted.
NEXT received myriad phone calls and comments on its website (234next.com) from readers across the world, who showed great concern, as they demanded to know the true state of the president’s health.
Majority of those who made comments wished Mr. Yar’Adua speedy recovery. The anxiety reached a crescendo in newsrooms across the nation with journalists and politicians exchanging calls in a bid to confirm what the situation was.
No cause for alarm
In the midst of the confusion surrounding the president’s health, the Federal Executive Council held its weekly meeting. After the meeting, which was chaired by the Vice President, Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Jonathan and the members of the council did not make any comment to allay the fears of the citizenry. In fact, no action from any of the members betrayed any emotion that anything untoward had happened, leading some to conclude that the rumours were untrue.
Mr. Yar’Adua’s special adviser on media, Olusegun Adeniyi in a statement on Monday informed the nation that the president will be calling on his personal physicians while on a visit to Jeddah for “follow-up medical checks.” The President, who has long been known to suffer from a kidney ailment, was admitted in a Jeddah hospital last year when he left to perform the lesser hajj.
Rumour of Mr YarAdua’s demise were also rife weeks into his presidential campaign in 2007 when he was in Germany receiving treatment. It took a phone call from former President Olusegun Obasanjo to him, at a campaign rally to confirm that he is alive.
This is the third trip the president is making in four months, to treat an ailment that has not been fully disclosed to the nation.
On August 14th, he made a two-week trip to Germany, and about five weeks later, on September 22, he made another trip to Saudi Arabia. The presidency officially claimed that he had gone to witness the opening of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, during which he would also receive medical attention for an asthmatic condition. He was billed to attend the United Nations’ General Assembly meeting in New York at the same time, but he was represented at the meeting by the minister of foreign affairs, Ojo Maduekwe..
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