Abuja (AFP) - Nigeria's
President Muhammadu Buhari is apparently unwell. Or he might not be. Either
way, it's enough for his health to have increasingly become a national talking
point.
The 74-year-old
former army general had been due to resume work on Monday morning in the
capital, Abuja, after a holiday in London.
But on Sunday
evening, his office announced he was to prolong his stay on doctor's orders, as
he was still waiting for the results of medical tests conducted during his
stay.
No further
details were given about his condition nor when he would finally return.
The announcement
triggered fresh speculation about the state of Buhari's health and has done
little to convince an already sceptical public that there is no cause for
concern.
Buhari's office
has already had to counter rumours during the trip that Buhari was critically
ill and had even died.
- In the dark -
The main
opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seized on the announcement of his
extended stay in London, saying Nigerians had a right to know what he was being
treated for because he was using public funds.
"He should
tell them (the public) the true state of his health," a statesman for the
PDP was quoted as saying in the Punch newspaper.
"Medical
tests have dates of collection of results. It can't be open-ended without
dates."
In Abuja, where
protesters had turned out to demonstrate against Buhari's economic policy and
call for solutions to end a crippling recession, there were calls for greater
openness.
"I wonder
why the government is not transparent enough about our president's health
issue," said one woman, who gave her name only as Mabel. "We are
completely in the dark."
James Badmus, a
lawyer, added: "The issues are clear and straightforward: what exactly is
wrong with our president and for how long is he going to be away? Period.
"Anybody can
fall sick but when a president falls sick, it should not be a confidential
matter."
- Spectre of
Yar'Adua -
The health of
Nigeria's head of state has long been a sensitive issue. In 2010, president
Umaru Yar'Adua died from a long-standing, but undisclosed kidney condition,
while in Saudi Arabia.
His initial
illness and treatment in hospital abroad triggered months of political
uncertainty. Yar'Adua's death brought his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, to power.
To be sure,
Buhari's presidency has not hidden the fact that he needed medical treatment:
in June 2016, it said he was heading to London for treatment to a persistent
inner ear infection.
It also announced
last month that his latest trip would include "routine medical
check-ups".
But Buhari and
his All Progressives Congress (APC) have been unable to shake off persistent
rumours that he is more seriously ill than is being made out.
The PDP claimed
during the 2015 election in which Buhari defeated Jonathan that he had terminal
prostate cancer -- one of a series of smears designed to show he was unfit for
office.
One of Buhari's
spokesmen, Femi Adesina, on Sunday evening tried to play down the significance
of the extension, as Nigerians took to social media to air their theories.
"I am sure
it will get to a point when the president has to disclose the status of his
health if it needs to be disclosed," he told Channels television.
But he said that
because of doctor-patient confidentiality, only Buhari himself could reveal
what was wrong. Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo is deputising and there was no
power vacuum, he added.
- Open government -
Nigerians are
generally mistrustful of government and its pronouncements. They also have long
memories that go back beyond Yar'Adua to military ruler Sani Abacha, who also
died in office.
"My concern
is that I hope history is not going to repeat itself," said one civil
servant, who gave his name only as Adam. "The Yar'Adua episode is still
fresh in our memory.
"They told
us Yar'Adua was OK but what they eventually brought back from Saudi was not
healthy for the country."
Victor Giwa, of
the Advocates for Peoples' Rights and Justice pressure group, said the public
had a right to know if the president was unwell.
"If they
cannot tell us the health status of the president, it shows there are many
things they have been hiding from us," he added.
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