Council for a Community of Democracies

Nigerian President’s Ability to Govern in Question
January 13, 2010
By: Benjamin Russell

Umaru Yar’Adua may be unable to continue in office as President of Nigeria amid reports that he is severely brain damaged. According to NEXT, a Nigerian newspaper, Yar’Adua has lost all cognitive function and is unable to recognize even friends and family. He has been undergoing medical treatment in Saudi Arabia for nearly two months, according to AllAfrica.com.

Conflicting accounts of the president’s condition are the result of an elaborate charade, according to NEXT, orchestrated by Yar’Adua’s wife, Turai Yar’Adua. Despite reports that the president has been in contact with a number of government officials, Mrs. Yar’Adua is, according to the newspaper, limiting his contact to only a handful of aides. Her aim is, reportedly, to bide enough time to place a friendly politician in the vice-presidential post after current Vice-President Goodluck Johnson assumes her ailing husband’s soon-to-be vacant position.

Mrs. Ya’Ardua may be calculating that the next vice-president will be well-positioned to assume the presidency in the next elections, according to the NEXT report, as Johnson is largely seen as an unlikely candidate for the position.

Many government officials have denied the claims that President Yar’Adua is incapacitated, including his chief economic advisor, Tanimu Yakubu. According to NEXT, though, those claiming to have met with the president on state business are simply cooperating with Mrs. Ya’Ardua’s efforts to deceive the public.

On Tuesday, the BBC released a three-minute interview with the president, but questions of its authenticity and the content of the interview itself have provided few clear indications of the truth behind Ya’Ardua’s illness.

Sources:

NEXT – Ya’Ardua is Brain-damaged
http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5509847-146/yaradua_is_brain-damaged___.csp

AllAfrica.com - Yar'Adua Incapable of Acting as President?
http://allafrica.com/stories/201001100020.html

Foreign Policy – Is the President of Nigeria Brain Dead?
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/01/12/is_the_president_of_nigeria_brain_dead?page=0,0