For over two weeks, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, was out of the country. And the trip was trailed by an avoidable controversy over his health. While government officials insisted the president had gone to Saudi Arabia to perform the lesser hajj, media reports suggested that he had gone for medical treatment and even underwent a kidney transplant in that country. It is now clear that the president never underwent a kidney surgery during this period but it is also clear that all was not well with his health.
It is worrisome that for over two weeks, Nigerians did not know the exact position of things with their head of state rather, the matter concerning him and his health became subject of speculation and rumours. It is more worrisome that the president's aides who should provide information as to what is happening to him chose to handle the matter with official secrecy.
The situation assumed a dangerous dimension when news started circulating about the death of the president. It took an enquiry by one of the national dailies directly with the president, who was still then in Saudi Arabia, for him to confirm that 'his death had been exaggerated'. Reading in between the lines, what the president might have been saying was that his health problem had been exaggerated, which implies that there was a problem with his health. So, if the president actually went to Saudi Arabia to treat an ailment or developed one when he got there, why should this become a matter for official secrecy?
After all, as president, Yar'Adua has become public property and Nigerians have the right to accurate information about their president. In other countries, any matter concerning the head of state is and should be public knowledge. Should the US president, George W. Bush, develop flu, for instance, the American people would have to be told and this would be followed by a step-by-step account of what is going on with him. This will apply to British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, as well as leaders of other countries of the world. So why this secrecy here?
As one observer rightly argues, the official secrecy with which the Yar'Adua health matter has been treated highlights the proclivity of those in positions of authority in Nigeria to hoarding information, and reinforces the need for the passage and adoption into law of the freedom of information bill, which unfortunately, is stuck at the National Assembly.
One unarguable fact is that the health of the head of a nation is indirectly tied to the health of the nation. So also is speculation or rumours of the ill-health of the head of state. This is more so here in Nigeria where everything about governance revolves around the person of the president. One can only imagine the magnitude of damage the speculations and rumours of Yar'Adua's state of health has caused the economy, especially because of the fact that governance in these parts is inextricably tied to the office of the president. Now that the state of his health is still not clear, there is a strong possibility of the economy suffering the more.
A nagging question is how our management of information regarding the president's health left us in the eyes of other countries of the world.