The case of the missing president

For the past two months, I've been following this debate from the sidelines: Where is President Yar' Adua? Not knowing much about Nigerian politics also meant I was not too involved with the whole process. This morning however, I had the chance to view an interview at the UN headquarters in New York, during a press conference convened by the current Foreign Minister, Mr Ojo Maduekwe and it was an eye opener! A journalist for Sahara Reporter asked the Foreign Minister a question, and instead of answering the question, he went on a tirade. He called the man foolish, he called him miserable, told him to come to Nigeria and see what he will do to him, and eventually said 'I'm not answering your question, it does not deserve an answer' A non Nigerian journalist rephrased the question, and Mr Minister proceeded to answer in a manner not foreign to public officials: he waffled and babbled and used so many 'big words' and etraordinarily long sentences, he lost me after 30seconds. I still can't make head or tail of his answer. This incident reminded me of something that happened not too long ago. After it became all to embarassing for all, that the President had been gone for over a month with not even a hint of a message for the Nigerian people, a phone call was made to the BBC claiming he was alive and recuperating. Now, why could that call not have been placed to the Nigerian media, and why was it a phone call as opposed to a video call, or a press conference? How can anyone be sure it was in fact the President on the other end of that line.

In the absence of the president, the Foreign Minister is gallivanting around the world 'representing' the people, and cannot in clear words say WHERE he got his mandate from? Under what authority he is spending public money accruing airmiles, and responding to questioning at a press conference he called by spewing bile at Nigerian reporters? What exactly is going on? Where IS the president anyway? It just makes me sad that the president had nothing to say to his own people, or homegrown media, but felt the need to speak to the BBC. It also makes me sad that the Foreign minister insulted a Nigerian journalist when he asked him a legitimate question, but when the same question was rephrased and put in a condescending manner by a foreign journalist who went as far as asking him if he could 'read the president's ming' being that he had been absent for 6o days, or how else could he have gotten his mandate, he was more than happy to answer. To think we recently celebrated 49 years of independence. I beg to differ that we are truly independent, as many of our people, and most especially those in public service are still in mental slavery and will dance to any and every tune played by the western world. It is the same reason why we prefer Uncle Ben's rice to Ofada, the reason why we prefer Big Treat to Mama Put. We don't trust our own people or products, our markets are flooded with cheap plastic toys made in China, our streets are filled with Okadas imported from India and our TVs are tuned to BBC World or CNN. We have no idea what is happening down the road from us, but we know how many votes Obama got in the election. Funny, isn't it?

In the midst of all the current commotion, where is the President? Does he not owe the nation at the very least an apology for being MIA for 2 months? What is going on with him and why is the nation not being told the truth? i wonder...