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The return of President Muhammadu Buhari to the country last Saturday, after having stayed in London for 103 days on health grounds, has thrown up many controversies, chief of which is that the fitness of the Number One citizen is suspect.
Although the President is back on duty, there are indications that Nigeria’s Number 1 citizen should still be given ample room to recover better rather than being drafted into strenuous official duties.
The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Alhaji Garba Shehu, had disclosed that Buhari would be working from home as rodents had invaded his office, tampering with the air-conditioners and destroying furniture items. But informed commentators have dismissed this stand as a decoy to justify the President’s absence in the office.
AMBULANCES IN THE VILLA
Inside sources at Aso Villa observed that in the last three months that the President had been away, there were no frequent movements of ambulances in the Villa as was often witnessed, an indication that there was no patient to attend to.
They, however, said since Buhari arrived, the ambulances had returned.
“At the office of the President, an ambulance that had been missing from the place in the last three months has resurfaced. It is now being stationed at the office premises,” a reliable Villa source said.
EXPATRIATE DOCTORS
There are indications that medical personnel of Arabian origin are now frequent visitors to the home of the President, following keen observation by our correspondent. This, analysts said, could reinforce speculations that President Buhari had been seeking medical attention from Saudi Arabian experts while in London.
Reacting to this, however, a consultant physician, Dr. Ade Adegbuyi, said it should be expected that the President of a country like Nigeria should have access to the best medical services.
“The fact that the President has recovered as we have all seen from the pictures on TV does not mean that medical attention should stop. He needs close monitoring but that does not stop him from performing his duties. He has the right to be with trusted doctors. I know he is committed to cleaning the health sector. But he has to be alive first to do so,” he said.
ASO ROCK MOSQUE
Another source at the Villa said one major topic of discussion now is whether the President would be at the Aso Rock mosque on Friday (today).
This, he said, was quite significant given that the President is a devout Muslim.
“If he fails to show up, at least for thanksgiving, after spending 103 days in London, then there is more to his home-coming,” he said.
OTHER INDICATIONS
There have also been other events that indicate poignantly that the President may not yet be fit to work, after all.
For instance, there has reportedly been a gale of brevity in meetings that should be considerably long, and even, outright cancellation of key meetings.
The first Federal Executive Council meeting after the President’s arrival was cancelled amid speculations of the President’s alleged inability to stay for more than 10 minutes in a meeting.
An insider, who spoke with our correspondent on the condition of anonymity said, “The last meeting with service chiefs was purely a photo opportunity. The President took his leave after about 15 minutes. Abba Kyari, the Chief of Staff to the President, and his National Security Adviser, General Babagana Monguno, continued the meeting.”
GROWING DISQUIET AMONG MINISTERS
Our correspondent, however, gathered that there was growing unease among ministers, some of whom have started indicating plans to leave the cabinet.
This is just as some members of the National Assembly were said to be mapping out plans to push for the invocation of the incapacitation clause in the impeachment section of the Constitution. This speculation has been rife and was touted by some insiders as reason the FEC meeting was cancelled.
WHAT TROUBLES THE PRESIDENT?
A prominent medical doctor, who claimed to be close to some medical experts who attended to the President in London, said the President had suffered from a serious health challenge known to most medics in the country but which is being closely guarded.
The medical practitioner, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said, “The President is suffering from a serious ailment that I would not like to disclose. That he publicly said that he took three pints of blood is to admit that he was near death.
“That he stayed away for 103 days means that he went through surgery and he had to recover. Any such ailment treated for three or four months without reprieve will not give reprieve. This is not the kind of ailment that reacts within six months. It means that it has been under treatment for sometimes. He will certainly go back to London for treatment very soon.”
Signs of the ailment, the source informed, include swelling in the affected areas, pains and the loss of weight. Others include difficulty in taking any kind of stressful activity, including sitting down, shaking people’s hands and even moving about.
“If he forces himself to take part in stressful activities, his health will deteriorate,” the source warned.
