By Theophilus Ilevbare
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Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan
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Nigerians were yet to come to terms
with the FCT Minister’s budgetary allocation of N4billion naira to the office of the first lady - that has never been
recognized by the country’s constitution from 1960 to 1999 - for
the proposed construction of the African First Ladies’ Peace Mission (AFLPM)
Secretariat in Abuja when news filtered in of the First Lady’s half a billion
naira thanksgiving party at Aso Rock Villa to celebrate her “resurrection”, or
sojourn in the land of the dead. I joined millions of Nigerians to felicitate
with her.
And when it was
time for the First Lady to make an address at the lavish thanksgiving, she
decided to do it offhand, making a stunning revelation: "I actually died -
I passed out for more than a week. My intestine and tummy were opened. I am not
Lazarus but my experience was similar to his. My doctors said all hope was
lost. A black doctor in London who is with us in this service was flown in when
the situation became critical. It was God himself in His infinite mercy that
said I would return to Nigeria. God woke me up after seven days.”
The First Lady’s
office is not recognised by the constitution, hence, she is not obliged to
notify Nigerians of her travelling itinerary within or outside the country but
by virtue of her position as a Permanent Secretary in the Public Service of
Bayelsa State, she is a public servant.
On her return she denied ever
attending any hospital in Germany, or anywhere! In the heat of the rumour about
her whereabouts, presidential aides told barefaced and shamefaced lies. Mrs.
Jonathan was taking a “moment’s rest” abroad after a hectic First African
Ladies’ Summit she presided over, said the First Lady's spokesperson, Ayo
Osinlu.
Reuben Abati dismissed the
reported illness as a rumour. But if her illness
was made public and Nigerians carried along, it would have ignited nothing but
fervent prayers from every Nigerian. We can as well count on the
Aso-Rock-friendly CAN to organize numerous prayer sessions and vigils across
the country.
It wasn’t to be,
as the rumour mill was left to swell. It baffled
me that those words came from the same person who told Nigerians that she was
“never” admitted. But thank God for his mercies, he gave her a second chance in
spite of the deceit and lies.
Lies are nothing
short of state policy of the present administration. The government, led by the
President himself, has turned the country to a laughing stock. Lies are routine.
Today, we
talk about governors on long medical vacation shrouded in deceit and shenanigans,
without a proper handover as required by law, and the affairs of their state are
left on autopilot.
As of today, there are still some
state governors who are absent without leave. Gov. Sullivan Chime returned from
a long medical leave abroad declaring that he owed no one an apology for not
disclosing to Nigerians the state of his health before travelling out of the
country.
Nigerian leaders can take a cue
from ailing Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez’s well publicised struggle with
cancer that has kept him out of office for months. Venezuelans were sympathetic
to his cause, showed him love and support.
This much was made evident with
the heroic welcome he got on his return home from cancer treatment in Cuba
recently. Hillary Clinton, just before she stepped down as US Secretary of
State, last year December, State Department officials announced she was undergoing
treatment for a blood clot just below her ear with details when she will make
complete recovery. This is what is expected from every responsible government
that understands what public office entail.
It is the very
nature of this administration to propagate lies. President Goodluck Jonathan,
in the last few weeks, has had a torrid time engaging northern governors and
other presidential aspirants that he signed an agreement in 2011 to run for
only a single. Constitutionally, there is no law barring him from contesting
but the Chairman of Northern Governors’ Forum and Governor of Niger state, Babangida
Aliyu, has reiterated that Jonathan signed a pact with PDP governors.
President
Jonathan inadvertently gave himself away after an AU Summit in 2011 in Ethiopia
when he spoke to his compatriots abroad, “Nigerians in the Diaspora will not
vote, but I will work towards it by 2015, even though I will not be running for
election.”
To an
international audience, Mr. Jonathan tried to pull a fast one but he ended up
pulling the rug where it hurt most on the failure of his administration; Power.
In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, President Jonathan claimed that
Nigerians were now impressed with the improvement - stable power - in the
country, bragging as he spoke, like a school boy thumping his chest, “I would
have loved that you ask ordinary Nigerians on the streets of Lagos, Abuja or
any other city this question about power. This is one area that Nigerians are
quite pleased with the government that our commitment to improve power is
working."
His claim was
punctured days later when Americans were embarrassed by a 35-minute power
outage at a Super Bowl game which sparked interest from Nigerians on social
media who see it as a norm in their country. CNN had to do an Open Mic in Lagos
to sample opinion, which in the end sharply contrasted the president’s
position. Yet another lie.
It would be recalled that President Jonathan also lied to Nigerians in
his Independence Day anniversary speech last year, making a bogus claim that
the global corruption watchdog, Transparency International, ranked Nigeria the
second most improved country in the fight against corruption.
He said “…the fight against the scourge of corruption is a top priority
of our administration. We are fighting corruption in all facets of our economy,
and we are succeeding. We have put an end to several decades of endemic
corruption associated with fertilizer and tractor procurement and distribution.
We have exposed decades of scam in the management of pensions and fuel subsidy,
and ensured that the culprits are being brought to book.”
Mr. Jonathan’s claims were promptly dismissed; “Transparency
International does not have a recent rating or report that places Nigeria as
the second most improved country in the fight against corruption.”
What made the
First Lady’s baloney worrisome is the fact that the first family was involved,
at a time Nigerians thought they’ve had enough lies from President Jonathan.
When the President of a country lies without flinching, expect no less from
aides, Ministers, Governors and other government functionaries.
The likes of
Labaran Maku, Doyin Okupe and Reuben Abati, at different times have struggled
to outdo each other with deceitful press releases, phantom statistics and
essays. There is a media aide of the President who comes on social media every
now and then to gull Nigerians that Power has improved even when the reality on
ground states the obvious.
And state Governors
who go on medical leave for months without any form of notice. It is surprising
that on their return they make their illness public and expect to get public
sympathy. Wouldn’t it have been better if they had disclosed it before
travelling to quell rumours and ignite fervent, perfervid prayers from
compatriots regarded as the most religious people on earth? Lying under oath as
a public servant, isn’t it tantamount to stealing and other offences punishable
by law?
theophilus@ilevbare.com
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