Yar’Adua’s Aides Must Be Arrested
For some time now, Nigeria have been caught in the web of taking a decision on the presidency, resulting from the absence of the President, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua who left the country without due notice. This to some school of thought, is threatening the peace of the nation as well as painting Nigeria in a bad light among comity of nations.
Wednesday, most Nigerians were stunned to hear that Yar'Adua was flown into the country early Wednesday. Our reporter, Alice Onukwugha approached a frontline politician and social commentator in the state, Rev. Dr. Minaibi Dagogo-Jack and an interview ensued. Read excerpts!
Telegraph: Wednesday morning, people woke up from their beds to hear or realise that President Yar'Adua was brought into the country at about 2.00am via air ambulance. What is your reaction to that?
Dagogo-Jack: Well I don't want to believe that the President is here in this country. If the President is coming into this country, we have an acting president who should go to receive him. If the president is coming into this country, the nation would be properly informed. And up till today, the so-called president that they said is in this country has not spoken to the nation. So I don't want to believe that he is in this country.
But all this being equal, if the President is in this country, if we are to believe what we were told, that he was flown in by an air ambulance, let me tell you, ambulances are made for emergency cases and dead people. So, it is either the man is still in an emergency case, or he is a dead man. So, his aides for his aides to tell us that he was flown in with an air ambulance, he is either still in an emergency case, or he is a dead man. Because ambulances are made for those two cases.
Telegraph: From all indications, the First Lady, Turai Yar'Adua had barred every other person from seeing the President. Is it really right at this point in time, considering that he is a public figure?
Dagogo-Jack: I do not also want to believe that Turai, the President's wife would stop people from seeing the president. Like I said, I don't believe that the President is in this country, and so I do not want to believe that a woman that do not have any constitutional office. There is no office for the First Lady that is recognised by the constitution. That such woman would stop office holders that are recognised by the constitution to see the president. It is quite unthinkable.
If that is happening, then it is an insult to the nation, it is an insult on anyone that has interest in this country and I condemn it in its entirety.
Telegraph: Don't see what is going on as threatening the nation's relations with outside countries?
Dagogo-Jack: What is happening now is just a group of persons, a cabal, headed by Yar'Adua, and assisted by Aondoakaa. And another person there is Turai. They have taken Nigeria as their personal office and so the President can leave Nigeria for two months or three months and then come back at night. A man, who bade us farewell when he was leaving this country in our own presidential jet alleged to have comeback in the night Nicodemusly, and coming to tell us again that he cannot be seen, is unthinkable. This must stop! It is disrespect and great insult to the Nigerian populace. And if the whole world is seeing this, there is no where all over the world that this kind of thing can happen. But let me tell you something very quickly, we are 50 years old, and every great nation that is fifty years old, has a spiritual arithmetic and equation. God is going to expose these cabals. God will begin to hit on their heads and you begin to hear people falling down anyhow and then they will fly out the country and come back Nicedemusly. God will begin to hit them down very soon. It’s as good as that. Enough is enough of all these insults on the Christians, insult on churches, insult on the people of this nation.
Other nations would begin to see us as lawless. It is unthinkable that a small boy like Segun Adeniyi would still address the acting president as vice president. It is insult on that throne, not to talk of the Niger Deltans. I think I see loyalty on some persons instead of loyalty on the throne. And to answer your question properly, I think this whole thing will sever the diplomatic relations that we have with other countries.
Telegraph: Sir, looking at it from another perspective, don't you think Yar'Adua was brought back to the country just to stop moves of impeachment against him?
Dagogo-Jack: Well, all these things are allegations. I don't want to suspect anything. But I think that Nigeria has come to the level where they would want to tell Yar'Adua, enough is enough - Yar'Adua and his cabals. Like I stated here last time, Yar'Adua's tenure is ending next year, up till today, I have not seen any good thing that he has done. 7-point agenda. One of the 7-point agenda is the Niger Delta. And I tell you, instead of doing good to us, he has created more troubles, disrespect. Nothing is happening here. You can see what the cabals are doing. Atiku was there as a Vice President contesting against the president. Atiku left the presidential villa to another place. When he was fighting the president, everybody was clapping hands because he is a northerner. Today, the Acting President as quiet as Dr. Goodluck is there and look at what is happening. A man that has not even challenged them. So what do we have to say? We need to pray. I want to sound it very clearly, let everybody pray that Lord God Almighty, let your right hand come down this year.
We expected that Turai upon arrival would have gone to the Acting President to thank him for taking care of the nation for three months in the absence of her husband. She would have gone to the Acting President to thank him instead of giving him all sorts of directives. This is an insult. I also expected that the National Assembly by now, would have commenced or concluded an impeachment process. Because on his arrival, he was supposed to communicate to them, but this is two days now, he has not done that. He could not even write a letter, the same man who signed the supplementary bill can not send a letter while in the country now to the National Assembly that I am back. Thank you for keeping the nation together. What kind of thing is this?
Pursuant to that, I would recommend seriously that the aides to Yar'Adua be arrested. Because they have continued to insult this nation. They should be arrested and asked questions for even going to the extent of giving directives to the acting president (as alleged). Instead the sitting President should give directives to the President. If Yar'Adua can talk his aides to give directives to the Acting President, then why can't he deliver a speech? He should have called the Acting President to speak with him, or communicate a letter to him, or do a letter to communicate to the National Assembly. He has not done all these things. Instead his aides would now come to give directives. Where do they get these directives?
Another thing is these security officers who went to the airport. Who are they responsible to, is it to the Acting President who is the commander-in-chief or they are responsible to a group of cabals, unknown persons? They should be made to answer all these questions? Are they loyal to the throne, or they are loyal to individual persons? Even the CSO should answer questions. Even though he is a personal aide to the President, he is not autonomous. So if the CSO thinks he can do anything he likes, without any directive from the president who is the commander-in-chief, or the senior officer who assigned him to that post, then something is wrong. So we should begin to sit down and ask where all these things are coming from, because interest of the nation is more than individual interests.
Telegraph: Sir, still talking about the security men that were detailed to the airport. Acting President Jonathan is supposed to be the Chief Security Officer of the nation, yet he was not aware of the president's coming. Is that really right?
Dagogo-Jack: It was gathered that the Acting President was not aware about his return. That is wrong. That the president of a nation who has been out of this country for three months would come into this country without the notice of the acting president and yet, somebody directed army officers to go to the airport. Those army officers from A-Z must be arrested and asked questions, because they are not to be responsible to individual persons, but should be responsible to the office of the president. So, the army officers should be arrested, the CSO should be arrested, the aides should be arrested and questions should be asked, who gave them these directives.
If the President is coming in, and the Acting President is not aware, who gave them these directives? The aides were even given directives not to allow the Acting President access to the President. We must not allow this to continue. So we Nigerians that are out there, we should begin to pray.
