Yar’Adua: Gone Without A Goodbye

Sir: He was our President and Head of government, the 13th in the count. And for two years, eight months and a half, he commanded the armed forces of Nigeria. He did so with tact, firmness, integrity and trusted sincerity. The news of his death let out to Nigerians and world citizens, at 9.30pm Wednesday May 5, 2010 was so sour and painful . No one danced as was done when General Abacha died. He was not a bad man. More of what was in his heart was not fully accessed.

That was what Nigerians had missed. A leader who believed in transparency, bold to declare his assets in government without the fear of being found out after his tenure to have amassed more wealth that would have been freely allowed to circulate to other hard-working Nigerians.

He was a great man and a leader with a human heart. Issues were tackled with analytic precision. The singular reason and approach behind the dousing of the storm in Niger Delta, the Amnesty antidote is still being administered.

Yar’Adua was a public leader. He was the people’s man. The good of the society was his passion. But his wife Turai, family members and the caging cabal locked him in. mercilessly. Their activities also impacted negatively on the family’s name and the image of this great Nation.

His life had become just another candle in the wind. But there is the resolve to move on. Good people, great nation. The new President, the first Doctorate degree holder to occupy such office would need to wield knowledge, passion and genuineness to restructure Nigeria. While electoral reform is seen to be the anchor for credible leadership, the new dimensions of corruption need to be checked. It is increasingly becoming a pattern for offices housing important documents to go up in flames, to kill files’ eternally that record corrupt dealings of a serving officer or one bowing out of office. Good luck to President Goodluck Jonathan.