Nigeria lives in an age long gone

Were anyone who lived in Byzantium during the Middle Ages to resurrect today, Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, would make a perfect residence.

Linguistically, Byzantium evolved into Constantinople and finally settled on Istanbul, a Turkish town. It was the capital of the Byzantine Empire. The empire bequeathed the world many things byzantine, including governing modes characterised by intrigue, scheming, and deviousness. These are abounding in Abuja.

Abuja doesn’t monopolise Byzantine’s undesirables. Nonetheless, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s illness has made them the big game in town.

Mr Yar’Adua role in the three-month play remains unclear. Possibly, handlers, including wife Mrs Turai Yar’Adua, have orchestrated everything.

However, unless the president slipped into a coma, it’s implausible at the start he laid like a baby awaiting a diaper change.

Procedures required Mr Yar’Adua informs the National Assembly of pending hospitalisation and appoint Vice President Goodluck Jonathan acting president. He skipped that and was off to Saudi Arabia in November.

Mr Jonathan’s hands remained tied. By early February, it became obvious the ship of state swayed.

The National Assembly appointed Mr Jonathan acting president. He now could sign legislation, chair Cabinet meetings, reshuffle ministers, and release oil funds.

As a rule, few African heads of state get sick. Unfortunately, Mr Yar’Adua couldn’t even camouflage his poor health. His doctors had to say something, an inflammation of the sack around the heart, not so lethal. However, Mr Yar’Adua close aides or wife could and did keep his condition secret. Oh! He did, through the BBC say he was recovering and planned to return home and govern.

Aides and wife denied three delegations access to the president. Tellingly, a fourth carrying Mr Jonathan’s letter to the Saudi monarch crossed paths with Mr Yar’Adua’s flight to Abuja 12 days ago.

Nigerian media reported troops cordoned the airport as Mr Yar’Adua was bundled into an ambulance. This, although earlier Nigeria’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia had said doctors would discharge Mr Yar’Adua only when fit to work.

Reportedly, Mr Jonathan had no clue about the goings-on. A presidency statement said Mr Jonathan continued to run the affairs of state. It didn’t acknowledge him as acting president.

It took Information Minister Dora Akunyili to let the cat out of the bag. Mr Yar’Adua’s top aides—some say, Mrs Yar’Adua—were on “It’s the president’s wish that you…” Talk of a “ghost” president.

The Byzantine games aim at preventing Mr Jonathan from possibly boosting his stature and presumably succeed Mr Yar’Adua, just in case.

Mr Yar’Adua was never a good health model. Now, his mentor, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has said, “maybe the kidney transplant is failing, if it hasn’t failed.”

The presidency is a fulltime job. As Mr Obasanjo put it.

More important for Nigeria is assigning responsibility for their presidents’ health. Logic points at a state organ, not a Byzantine labyrinth of spouse, aides, and political cronies. Byzantine games didn’t solely lead to the Byzantine Empire’s collapse. They contributed a great deal though.

(cmbitiru@hotmail.com)