There are alligations rather has now become strange news that the health of the Nigerian president is in a critical state. He `s been having a medical consultation in Saudi Arabia followed by delay in return back to his position from the Saudi King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital in Riyald. Some news sources said there are likely evidences that the president will return to his home country very soon. Yet this story:

Yar’Adua Sees Doctors, As Gani Calls for Prayers

President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua will this morning continue his consultations with a team of doctors at the King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital, Saudi Arabia, to review results of the several tests he has had in the last few days, THISDAY has learnt.
Family sources told THISDAY last night that the outcome of the checks would now determine whether the President will return home immediately or stay back till the weekend to conclude his consultations. Alternatively, he may be asked to return at a later date for further examination should it be required.
“The President has concluded Umrah but he has an appointment with his doctors today to undergo some checks,” the family source said. “It is after the consultations that he can talk about coming home or awaiting further tests.”
The source added: “The President is very keen to return home in the light of the rumours making the rounds about his health. In fact, he was ready to fly in tomorrow (today) but the doctors said they had to hold consultations with him before he travels back to Nigeria.”
Being a first visitor to the hospital, the doctors are carrying out comprehensive tests on him to determine the status of his health.
There has been a huge controversy over the health of President Yar’Adua since he left the country for Saudi Arabia about two weeks ago.
While government officials insisted the President had gone to that country to perform the lesser hajj, media reports suggested that Yar’Adua had gone for medical treatment and even underwent a kidney transplant in a Saudi hospital – but THISDAY gathered that he had not undergone any surgery.
In a telephone chat with THISDAY on Sunday night, President Yar'Adua had said he was in the Holy Land and would start the Ramadan fast with the Saudis on Monday before returning to the country anytime from yesterday.
Meanwhile, as Nigerians continue to express worries over the management of the President’s health status, Lagos-based lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, who alleged that Yar'Adua is sick and unable to govern the country, has called for prayers for the President.
"He deserves the prayer of all Nigerians because he is our President and therefore I appeal to all Nigerians of all persuasions to pray for his survival and recovery," Fawehinmi, who was recently released from a London hospital where he was receiving treatment for lung cancer said.
Yesterday was the 12th day the President had left the country for Saudi Arabia.
In a two-paragraph press statement entitled "The Health of The President: Pray for His Survival and Recovery," Fawehinmi said: "For close to two weeks, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has not been governing the country, as it is now clear that he has been receiving medical treatment including surgery in Saudi Arabia for an undisclosed ailment. This is contrary to the official announcement that he went on lesser hajj pilgrimage.
"The fact is, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is sick and he is unable to govern the country because of his illness. Nevertheless, he deserves the prayers of all Nigerians because he is our President and therefore I appeal to all Nigerians of all religious persuasion to pray for his survival and recovery."

How much does this news affect Nigeria and Nigerians?

i dont care if he dies. may be evn good if he does

i dont care if he dies. may be evn good if he does

You shouldn't wish death on anyone, much less Yar'dua, he may not have a lot of ambition or be that great of president but he's not a bad person.

The Presidency is really not handling this well from a public relations standpoint. The country has a right to information about the health of its president and whether Mr. Jonathan (or someone else) is running the government.

Does anyone know anything about Jonathan? Impressions? His record?

God Bless Nigeria.

I don't know who's controlling the economy side of things, but apparently his brother in the army is keeping his authority in place.

This is no news...the only issue is the secrecy about it. We are all humans...anybody can fall sick and die at anytime. The President on his return should come open to Nigerians about his health because they have the right to know. Please be reminded that being a President does not make him a super-man

You shouldn't wish death on anyone, much less Yar'dua, he may not have a lot of ambition or be that great of president but he's not a bad person.

i didnt wish death on him, but if it came i would welcome it. he isnt a bad man but he is the best of the worse we have to offer.

Why Yar'adua Was Stuck in Saudi Arabia.


Author: Posted by Admin Sahara
SaharaReporters, New York

Sources in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where Umaru Yar'adua and his close family members have been in the last two weeks have described a web of deception regarding Mr. Yar’adua’s condition. Two highly connected sources told SaharaReporters that, contrary to publications in the local Nigerian media, Yar'adua was yet to undergo kidney transplant in Saudi Arabia. They added that barring a sharp decline in his condition, Yar’adua may return to Nigeria by mid-week.

The sources revealed that Yar'adua has been staying in a private house in Jeddah after his discharge from intensive care. At the residence, he is being attended by a Saudi-based Nigerian woman who is regarded as the most powerful foreign-born marabout in Saudi Arabia. At the same time, he has undergone a series of intensive tests conducted by nephrological specialists to determine a proper kidney donor for him.

SaharaReporters was first to report a series of events leading to the prolonged disappearance of Yar'adua from Nigeria. Officials of the federal government initially denied our reports, but later kept mute about Yar'adua's whereabouts even as governance ground to a halt in Abuja.

The sequence of events shows that there was a direct connection between changes in the top military hierarchy and Yar'adua’s two-week hiatus from Abuja that led to an embarrassing cancellation of a state visit to Brazil. Brazilian officials have confidentially told SaharaReporters that Yar'adua's visit is unlikely to be rescheduled anytime soon.

Yar'adua had travelled to Jeddah with his wife, Turai, one of his daughters, his aide de camp (ADC) and Chief Security Officer (CSO), two German doctors and two pilots from the presidential aviation pool.

Our sources said that, once in Saudi Arabia, Yar’adua began consulting the female marabout who had visited Kano two months ago. Our sources said that Yar'adua had met secretly with the Saudi-based spiritualist during her visit to Kano.

Our sources disclosed that Yar'adua believes that he could be miraculously cured of his Churg Strauss Syndrome having received a similar "healing" in 2000 after his German doctors had recommended kidney transplant for him. They said Yar’adua, once out of a seven-day stay in intensive care, has been “going through bouts of spiritual healing presided over by the spiritualist.”

Our sources indicated that, as Yar'adua prepared to travel to Saudi Arabia to meet with the marabout, he collapsed several times in Abuja. In panic, his family and inner circle decided to invite two German doctors to manage his condition until he could be flown to Germany. However, his closest aides advised against returning him to Germany, citing security reasons. They feared that Yar’adua’s third trip to Germany on health related grounds could trigger serious security alarm and create widespread anxiety about his ability to continue to govern Nigeria.

His closest aides decided that he should use the lesser hajj or ummra as a ruse to fly to Saudi Arabia to visit nephrologists at the Saudi German Hospital in Jeddah, where a kidney said to match his type 90% was made ready.

When Yar'adua arrived Saudi Arabia, he was advised to seek a second opinion from the top nephrologists in Saudi Arabia and Germany working in a Jeddah-based Saudi government owned hospital. After running a battery of tests, the team of doctors concluded that the kidney meant for the replacement was likely to suffer tissue rejection from him. They advised that tests be conducted on his close relatives to find alternative donors. His wife and daughter were tested, and his wife proved compatible, according to our sources. She was, however, unwilling to donate an organ in Saudi Arabia; she instead opted for it to be done in Germany. Her condition would mean that Yar'adua would spend a prolonged period of time in Germany to recuperate. To avoid that politically risky gamble, it was decided that his blood brother, a certain Major Audu Yar'adua of the Nigerian Army, be flown in for organ compatibility test.

Orders were issued to release a Gulfstream G-V aircraft to fly Major Audu Yar'adua to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. SaharaReporters cannot confirm the report that Major Yar’adua underwent a series of tests conducted today (Monday September 1, 2008) in the Saudi German Hospital at Jeddah.

Yar'adua's current sojourn in Saudi Arabia has revealed some disturbing trends in his regime. A minister in his government told Saharareporters that cabinet members as well as “Vice President” Goodluck Jonathan are sidelined in the government. “The power show is run by Yar'adua and his close-knit political and familial associates mostly from his home state of Katsina,” said the minister.

Also revealed is the critical role his younger brother in the military, Major Audu Yar'adua, has played in giving Yar'adua unusual confidence to ride roughshod on the people in Nigeria with regard to governance and a prolonged absence from his seat without any serious effort to tell the Nigerian people about his health condition.

Sources within the military said Yar’adua’s younger brother was the architect of the recent overhaul of military chiefs announced prior to Yar’adua’s departure to Saudi Arabia. Our sources said Major Yar’adua handpicked the commander of the brigade of guards at the Aso Rock villa and Yar'adua's Chief Security officer (CSO) Tilde, the Aide De Camp, Colonel Abdul as well as the current chief of army staff, Major General Dambauzu. “He single-handledly reshuffled the service chiefs, trust me,” said one source. “Audu is Nigeria’s new Mustapha,” he added, referring to the late General Abacha's once powerful and brash chief security officer known for ordering around senior military officers during the dictator's reign of terror.

Another striking similarity between Yar'adua and Abacha is their shared belief in the power of marabouts and spiritualized practices. In Yar'adua's case, his associates who spoke to SaharaReporters said his troubled life of prolonged mental and physical illness pushed him into the hands of marabouts.

One source who knew Yar'adua from his secondary school days said he once drank excessively and smoked weed (marijuana) during his youthful years. He still secretly smokes cigarettes.

A family photo of him published by SaharaReporters where he was holding his daughter at his wife’s graduation tells a bit of his mental state, according to one of his childhood friends. He told SaharaReporters that “it is unusual for a normal core Northerner to wear a T-shirt to his wife’s graduation in the 70's.”

The friend said Yar'adua once broke down mentally but sought help and found cure from one Alhaji Momodu Maijara, a marabout from Niger Republic, who cured him with a combination of horse whips, prayers and herbs.

One source told SaharaReporters that Alhaji Maijara frequently occupies Houses “5” and “7” in the Aso Rock Villa. Another marabout—one of several—also lives in House "8" at the villa. Another group of marabout imams live in the Defense House. The Defence House has a reputation for housing the “addictions” of Aso Rock occupants.

During the Obasanjo presidency, the "Defense House" housed a mobile harem of females who serviced Obasanjo’s legendary sexual appetite with Otunba Oyewole Fasawe coordinating the women until he and Obasanjo fell apart over former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Our sources revealed that Shehu Inuwa Imam, a member of the House of Representatives representing Faskari/Kankara Sabuwa constituency, now coordinates the marabouts on behalf of Yar'adua. Shehu Imam was formerly the chairman of Faskari Local government area of Katsina State and later the chairman of the Katsina State Universal Basic Education Board. Some of the marabouts are kept in secret houses all over Abuja. Our sources said Mr. Imam, Mrs. Turai Yar’adua and her husband would drive out to see them at night. Another group of marabouts is maintained by Alhaji Dahiru Barau Mangal, described by one source as “Nigeria's most powerful cross-border criminal.” Alhaji Mangal is a smuggler and Yar'adua's richest moneybag.

If Yar'adua returns on Wednesday as planned, he will be welcomed by his associates as a "hale and hearty" returnee from Ummra or lesser hajj. “His hand’s off attitude to governance has allowed some of his ministers and aides to do as they wish in looting the national treasury unsupervised,” said one source, which is knowledgeable about the political goings-on.

A source in Abuja said Yar’adua’s arrogance in lying about his health crisis owes to the fact that his younger brother has helped him to cow and decimate any elements in the military that might challenge his regime. “Besides, the opposition is flatfooted and thoroughly in disarray, the labour movement is comatose, and the media too compromised to even report that the man was sick in the first place. It will be business as usual until Yar'adua departs Nigeria for another medical trip disguised as a headache.”

the nigerian political class is a disgrace to the world.

What if Nigeria's president leaves office early?-Reuters

Last View on Sat 6th September, 2008
Last Modified on Fri 05th September, 2008 5:39:10 am
Author: Posted by Admin Sahara


Thu 4 Sep 2008
(Reuters) - Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua's two-week absence from Africa's most populous nation has fuelled concern over the state of his health and raised questions about what would happen if he was forced from office early.

His victory in April 2007 polls has also been challenged at the Supreme Court by his two main rivals. The court is expected to uphold his win but should the ruling, due later this year, go against him, he could be forced to step down.

Below are answers to some questions on what could happen:


HOW WELL IS YAR'ADUA?

Yar'Adua, known to have a chronic kidney problem, travelled to Saudi Arabia last month for a Muslim pilgrimage. A source in the presidency said he had received medical treatment during the trip but the government says he is healthy and will return soon.

A medical source in Saudi Arabia said Yar'Adua had undergone an operation but gave no further details.

His absence from the country for more than two weeks, despite indications that he would be home by now, has added to concerns for his health and drawn opposition calls for more transparency on his condition.

WHAT DOES THE CONSTITUTION SAY?

In the event of temporary incapacity, the vice-president takes over as acting president. But if the president becomes so indisposed that he is permanently incapable of running the government, the vice-president is sworn in as president.

He then in turn appoints a new vice-president, subject to approval by the National Assembly. The new team completes the unexpired period of the four-year presidential term.

COULD THAT BE A SMOOTH PROCESS?

The political climate in Nigeria is, however, not as straightforward as stated by the constitution.

There is an unwritten agreement among the political elite that the office of the president rotates between the north and south of the country.

President Umaru Yar'Adua, a northern Muslim, assumed office in May, 2007 after eight years of rule by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, a southern Christian.

Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan is also a southern Christian.

Should he take over in the event of Yar'Adua's departure from office, there would be an expectation that the presidency should be handed over to a northerner. This has raised speculation that Jonathan could be forced to resign.

Were he to do so, the constitution states that the president of the Senate would take over as acting president for no more than 3 months, during which new elections would be held.


WHAT ABOUT THE SUPREME COURT RULING? If the Supreme Court annuls the April 2007 election, both Yar'Adua and Jonathan would leave office.

The president of the Senate would take over as acting president and organise fresh elections within 3 months.


WHERE MIGHT THIS LEAVE POLICY?

Yar'Adua's critics believe he has already moved too slowly on reforms such as restructuring the energy sector and have questioned the seriousness of his efforts to curb corruption.

The doubts over his health and Nigeria's political direction, whether or not he is forced out early, risk holding up the process even further.

If Yar'Adua were unable to continue and controversy arose over whether Jonathan could take his place, that might also stoke anger in the oil-producing Niger Delta since the vice-president is from the region.

Attacks by Niger Delta militants seeking a greater share of the region's wealth have already heavily cut oil output in Nigeria, the world's eighth-biggest exporter.http://www.saharareporters.com/www/news/detail/?id=712

Well if they won't let Jonathan take over if things turn out badly, then they shouldn't even bother claiming that they have a government.

There`s a kind of division in that nation. I can see the Northerners and Southerners seem to see themselves differently and it contributes to the way forward for the country and its development.

Ya`radua not making its health condition known to his government is a testament of how much transparency plays in a man who said he`s against all forms of corruption, being that there`s a reason to be concerned about his health at the moment. When the nation is on the way to economy growth that would later follow by development. In all, if things went sour,there`s going to be chaos in the government and the nation politically.

Yar´Adua is a good and honest human being but he is not the right man to lead Nigeria from day one! If he is not healthy he should make way for a new president!