By Emmanuel Nduka
Having moved one step closer to achieving his life-long ambition of ruling Nigeria, Presidential flag bearer of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubu, says he is the best man for the job. “The other aspirants are doing well but I am the person the moment calls for,” he said while wooing party delegates prior to his landmark victory.
The former Lagos State Governor may have good intentions and the right policies in mind to salvage Nigeria, but his health status is arguing with him. His age and health condition have been subject to doubt and suspicion.
Recalling his time as Lagos Governor from 1999 to 2007, he said “I led the transformation of Lagos”. But that was over a decade ago. Even if that was true, the times have changed, and Nigeria is a much more complex entity to handle. Nigeria needs a younger and fitter President who possesses a sound mind and sound ideas.
With retrospect to 2015 till date when President Muhammadu Buhari came into power, Nigeria cannot afford to have another President that always jets out on medical tourism with public funds. Since he became President, Buhari has jetted out for medical trips at least 8 times, and has spent over 200 days in London treating his not-so-stable health. The implication of course, was that the country was left on autopilot mode whenever he went away.
Nature Of Tinubu’s Ailment
During his speech at the just concluded presidential primaries of his party, Jagaban was filmed on live tv wobbling as he tried to flip over his written script from which he read. It took him more than 15seconds to flip over to a new page. Even when the party’s flag was to be handed over to him after he was declared winner, he struggled to hold onto it. He wobbled again.
Aside his knee problem for which he has already performed a surgery, Nigerians have suggested that Jagaban shows traits of Parkinson’s syndrome. There had also been a video which trended on social media alleging that the former governor peed on his cloth while visiting prominent monarchs in Ogun State for endorsement. There was another trending video of his 69th birthday celebration in March 2021, where he tripped over his foot and stumbled, crashing between two chairs upon arrival at the 11th Arewa House Lecture in Kaduna State.
Heritage Times HT reports that Parkinson’s disease as defined by America’s National Institute of Ageing (NIA), “is a brain disorder that causes unintended or uncontrollable movements, such as shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination”.
Its symptoms usually begin gradually and worsens over time. As the disease progresses, people may have difficulty in walking and talking. They may also have mental and behavioral changes, sleep problems, depression, memory difficulties, and fatigue.
Parkinson’s disease has four main symptoms:
-Tremor (shaking) in hands, arms, legs, jaw, or head.
-Muscle stiffness, where muscle remains contracted for a long time-
-Slowness of movement.
-Impaired balance and coordination, sometimes leading to falls.
In 2021 alone, Tinubu spent over 60 days abroad patronising hospitals in France, United States and the United Kingdom where he underwent several surgeries over undisclosed ailments. He was hospitalised in Maryland, the United States in July 2021. Unconfirmed reports also says he could be billed for another one over a yet-to-be-disclosed illness.
“Tinubu is hospitalised in Maryland, US. His health is failing. He couldn’t participate in launching his Arewa library, and he couldn’t participate in the Local Government Area elections last week. He could not attend today’s APC congress due to health reasons.
“He had a surgery last week,” a source told SaharaReporters sometime last year.
The source also said he had another knee surgery on August 9 at the John Hopkins University Hospital in Maryland, the United States. It was later learnt that he left the US for the United Kingdom on crutches, a few days after the surgery. President had paid him a vist in London, with Tinubu pictured with Buhari supporting his posture with a walking stick, thus confirming the reported surgery.
Further comfirming his not-so-stable health, Jagaban in January this year, jetted out of Nigeria to seek medical attention abroad just few weeks after visiting Buhari to inform him of his interest to contest the 2023 presidential election. A member of one of his campaign groups, said the former Lagos governor only travelled overseas “to rest and strategise”. In August last year, there were rumours that he had died, but his media aide debunked the claim.
Stepping into 2023, his deteriorating health condition may technically render him incapacitated to run, especially if the current challenges persist. Going round the 36 states of the country to campaign when the times comes, will further sap his energy and tell on his health. While his camp are always quick to tell Nigerians that he is very stable and healthy, his physical appearance tells otherwise.
As it stands, political analysts have assumed that his questionable health condition may push Nigerians to look the way of other candidates, as they are not prepared to settle for another ailing President. Nigerians are calling for the election of a President that is fit and can attend to the nation’s challenges with swiftness.
Reacting to all of this, the Jagaban had denied being sick during his travels abroad and said he was seeking God’s forgiveness for those who carried stories of his alleged illness.
“I’m as fit as a fiddle. There was nothing wrong before I left the country. We had the Osun gubernatorial election and I’d planned a long vacation and some other research assignments in the political arena. It was to learn from people who had experienced the development of opposition parties in the past.
“I don’t have to disclose to people my vacation location. But it was very shocking and sad that there were speculations about my health. This a sign of the lack of trust people have for leadership in the country.
“When I had the knee problem, I disclosed to Nigerians that I was going for a knee surgery and I came back. Even then, they started peddling rumours. I don’t know whether some people deliberately insinuate that I have a medical problem. It seems like a deliberate falsehood to me. It is all lies. There was no day that I had the need for even Panadol since I left this country for this trip. I was very busy, reading and talking to people of great intelligence that I believe I could gain from politically.
“May God Almighty forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing. And I wish them all they wish for me,” he said.
