Nigeria: Tales by Moonlight

Welcome to another wonderful episode of tales by moonlight from your favorite channel Nigeria, the giant of Africa.

I sat in the comfort of the four walls of my room and could not help but reminisce on the happenings in the country since our President left for urgent medical attention. I could not help but nod in utmost disbelief the caricature that is playing out. I was dumbfounded and confused to say the least. I dread been confused, especially as it concerns common sense issues of national interest. This mindset of mine, is occasioned by the great cover up and web of lies been propagated by the unelected aides and allies of the president as to what is actually wrong with our President, and how he is faring generally.
I guess we are complacent as a people, for allowing such illegality to thrive even in the face of the nation grinding to a halt. Now in fairness to humanity, I wish Mr. President speedy recovery and best of health, as Mr. President is only human and deserves our prayers in as much as his loyalists have done him a great disservice by shrouding everything about him in secrecy and thus insulting our patience.
Common sense demands that we as citizens of this country ought to be kept informed on the health of our President; this same common sense has become uncommon in the corridors of power in Nigeria. I stand to be corrected, a situation where unintelligent people, manifest in members of the inner or Kitchen cabinet, will deem it apposite to tell us barefaced lies about our President and they expect us to buy it hook line and sinker, is the height of absolute disregard for the Nigerian race .
Some days back I was amused when a text message found its way into my phone stating that our president had passed away! It didn’t stop there, as there was an accompanying link that referred me to the webpage of an American Newspaper named American chronicle or something that appears like that.
What I read there was not pleasant to say the least, and there was an instant rage in my spirit. What the hell is the meaning of this? I yelled out. For you reading this piece to have a feel of what I felt, I decided to replicate the exact words of the report “Nigerian President, His Excellency Umaru Yaradua is dead according to authoritative sources at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre.

He died on the 10th of December at 3.30pm at an Intensive Care Unit at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Jeddah Saudi-Arabia. Sources at the Hospital say that the First lady wants to keep the news secret for the next few days for personal reasons.
At the time of his death he was surrounded by his wife, Turai and a childhood friend, Nigerian Member of Parliament,
The president left Nigeria fifty days ago after complaining of Chest pains. Sources at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Jeddah say that the president suffered among many other things, kidney failure, stroke and massive brain damage. The President has been bedridden ever since. Nigerian officials had previously lied to the country that the president's health was getting better while his situation got worse. The president was conspicuously silent regarding the Christmas day bombing in which a 23-year-old Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to detonate a bomb on an aircraft that carried nearly 300 people. Source: American chronicle newspaper.
Then came another report that our President and not the British Prime Minister granted an interview to the British Broadcasting Corporation. I yelled out! What happened to NTA, AIT, and a host of other indigenous media outfits? It was even more embarrassing that all the man behind the voice said was, wishing our Super Eagles success at the ongoing nation’s cup. Is football our problem? The funny thing is that Madam Dora seems calm at the moment; well I blame her less as I guess she is as clueless as me and you.
Mum is the watch word now and the nation seems heavily pregnant of which everybody, including the outside world are waiting for delivery day.
Using Nigerian local parlance, “this is see finish” them don see us finish! What stops the president from addressing the nation from his sick bed to say the least? What stops the president from wishing us a prosperous new year, instead of granting an interview to a foreign media outfit?
This is day 52 of a country without a president and the truth is that we can hardly believe anything from these people anymore.
The American Chronicle report also stated that Nigerian government officials had previously lied and are still lying that the president is getting better, while systematically keeping the citizenry in complete darkness.
I can only wonder why government propagandist resorted to this mode of information dissemination in the first place. The implication is that the disenchantment for the Yar’adua administration has actually enveloped the personality of the president, now the anger is not directed at the ruling party but the person of Yar’adua. The president is calm and nice as a person, he actually meant well for the country and I repeat his greatest undoing is surrounding himself with the wrong set of people.
As it stands, God forbid that the inevitable happens; I see a larger chunk of the population, rejoice instead of mourn. Yes this is what his advisers and associates that are intellectually bankrupt have caused him. I strongly believe that these same set of people are equally hiding the true picture of events from him.
I am really tired of all of the lies and rumors making the rounds, I believe every sensible being ought to know that the citizens have an inalienable right to know the health status and location of the president at any point in time. We are not that bad as a people to wish the President dead, but we have been compelled to wait in anxiety, and this anxiety has actually developed into rage.
Bad communication strategy, is at heart of the disillusion been felt in the polity. Ordinarily, I expected a situation where the nation will be united in prayers for the president, but ironically the reverse is the case, and that is what it means to be united we stand and divided we fall.
Well as it stands, the tales by moonlight continues with our fingers crossed.