Re: YAR’ADUA’S UNFULFILLED PROMISES

Dear Editor;

Re: YAR’ADUA’S UNFULFILLED PROMISES

The Sunday Nation newspaper of 24/01/10 on its front quoted a statement issued on 19/03/07 by Umaru Yar’Adua, thus: “When I become the President of the Federation, I will fight to ensure that no Nigerian travels beyond the shores of the country to seek or obtain medical care.” But since becoming the President, Yar’Adua has gone out of the country two or three times (for medical attention) before the present.

One of the Nigeria’s foremost artistes, Christy Essien, had in one of her recorded works, a lyric which says: “What you say doesn’t matter but the way you say it; what you do doesn’t matter by the way you do it; what you promise doesn’t matter but how to fulfil it”. It would be recalled that President Yar’Adua still left unfulfilled his promise to send a Bill to the National Assembly towards scraping the Immunity Clause; the same lady musician wrote to him (then), promising to lead the campaign provided he was serious and sincere about it.

This brings to fore other (apart from the healthcare) unfulfilled promises by President Yar’Adua. These were captured in his 7-point Agenda slogan and include; guaranteed security, adequate power generation, good roads, and rule of law. As it stands he has seriously flouted the rule of law by refusing a simple letter to the Senate so that the country would not be grounded by his long absence from duty as it were.

We need sanity to return to our polity. Coincidentally again, the Lady of Songs (Christy) in the same musical track had said “When Sanity returns and God takes control our heavy loads shall be light and the tears of the helpless people would be wiped away”. My appeal now to the Senate is that since it has heard the voice of President Yar’Adua over the BBC, its members should take it that he has communicated to them, nay Nigerians; they should waste no time in doing what the constitution expects of them, so that Nigeria moves forward.

Dr. Akin Jamiu, 164 Akilo Road, Ogba, Lagos.