{"id":716,"date":"2010-01-18T13:51:37","date_gmt":"2010-01-18T13:51:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.feelnubia.com\/?p=716"},"modified":"2025-01-02T15:12:14","modified_gmt":"2025-01-02T15:12:14","slug":"nigerians-petition-missing-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feelnubia.org.uk\/index.php\/2010\/archive-2\/nigerians-petition-missing-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Yar’Adua: Return or Quit, Say Angry Nigerians"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n

Nigerians Demand Action: Yar\u2019Adua Must Return or Resign<\/h2>\r\n

As political tension deepens in Nigeria, up to one million citizens are expected to sign a powerful online petition demanding that President Umar Musa Yar\u2019Adua either return to office or resign<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n

The petition\u2014\u201cPresident Yar\u2019Adua Should Return or Quit\u201d<\/strong>\u2014is spearheaded by the respected Nigerian newspaper NEXT<\/em>, and it’s spreading rapidly across cyberspace.<\/p>\r\n

Court Declares Jonathan Can Act as President<\/h3>\r\n

On Wednesday, Chief Judge Justice Dan Abutu ruled in Abuja that Vice President Goodluck Jonathan<\/strong> could lawfully carry out all presidential duties without a formal handover of power.<\/p>\r\n

Former Attorney General and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Richard Akinjide<\/strong>, called the judgment “excellent” and urged the nation to rally behind Jonathan.<\/p>\r\n

But Nigeria, Africa\u2019s most populous nation, remains on edge. With Yar\u2019Adua\u2019s continued absence, religious and regional tensions<\/strong> are rising. Jonathan is from the Christian South. Yar\u2019Adua hails from the predominantly Muslim North.<\/p>\r\n

The Mysterious BBC Interview<\/h3>\r\n

To everyone\u2019s surprise, a voice claiming to be President Yar\u2019Adua gave a phone interview<\/strong> to the BBC on Monday, January 11th<\/strong>. He said he was receiving treatment in Saudi Arabia<\/strong> and hoped to resume his duties soon.<\/p>\r\n

However, the interview raised more questions than it answered.<\/p>\r\n

Local media had already reported that the president was either brain-damaged or brain-dead<\/strong>. Leading the charge was NEXT<\/em>, published by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dele Olojede<\/strong>. They claimed authoritatively that Yar\u2019Adua was incapacitated.<\/p>\r\n

So why speak to foreign media instead of Nigerian press? Why avoid visual confirmation?<\/p>\r\n

BBC Nigeria Director Bilkisu Labaran Ohyoma<\/strong> insisted the interview was genuine. It was conducted by Mansur Liman<\/strong> in both English and Hausa<\/strong>. Still, many Nigerians aren’t convinced it was truly their president speaking.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cEnough is Enough!\u201d \u2013 The Protest That Shook Abuja<\/h3>\r\n

On Tuesday, 10,000 protesters<\/strong> stormed the streets of Abuja, demanding accountability.<\/p>\r\n

Led by Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka<\/strong>, they chanted \u201cEnough is Enough!\u201d<\/strong> and refused to meet with House Speaker Dimeji Bankole. The protest, unusually well-supported and orderly, was accompanied by cheering police officers<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n

The BBC interview did little to stop the march. Many believe it was staged to distract from the planned demonstration.<\/p>\r\n

52 Days of Silence<\/h3>\r\n

President Yar\u2019Adua was flown out of Nigeria under tight security on November 24th<\/strong>. For over 52 days<\/strong>, there was no verified word<\/strong> from him\u2014until the BBC call.<\/p>\r\n

During this time, the country was awash with speculation and fear<\/strong>. Reports claimed he was in a coma, then on life support. Some even said he was dead.<\/p>\r\n

On Monday, The American Chronicle<\/em> reported that Yar\u2019Adua had died on January 10th at 3:30 p.m.<\/strong> in Jeddah. Strangely, the story was later taken down without explanation.<\/p>\r\n

Churg-Strauss Syndrome: A Silent Killer?<\/h3>\r\n

Yar\u2019Adua suffers from Churg-Strauss Syndrome<\/strong>, a rare illness that begins as severe asthma but quickly affects major organs including the heart and kidneys.<\/p>\r\n

He has faced health challenges since taking office on May 29, 2007<\/strong>. Rumors of his death have circulated more than once.<\/p>\r\n

Since his latest disappearance, only a handful of trusted aides\u2014led by First Lady Turai Yar\u2019Adua\u2014have had access<\/strong> to him. This has fueled rumors of a palace coup<\/strong>, secrecy, and a nation in the dark.<\/p>\r\n

Will Nigeria Break in 2010?<\/h3>\r\n

Some international analysts<\/strong> predicted that Nigeria would split in 2010<\/strong> due to ethnic and political tensions. But many Nigerians reject this doomsday outlook.<\/p>\r\n

They argue that the country has faced worse storms and survived<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n

Nigeria at a Crossroads<\/h3>\r\n

As the debate rages on, one thing is clear: Nigerians want transparency and leadership. Whether or not the BBC voice was truly Yar\u2019Adua\u2019s, the demand remains:<\/p>\r\n

Return, or Quit.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

\r\n

\ud83d\udd17 Sign the Petition<\/strong>: http:\/\/www.ipetitions.com\/petition\/yaraduainoffice<\/a>
\ud83d\udcac Join the Debate<\/strong>: Was it really the president? Share your views below.<\/p>\r\n

{jcomments on}<\/p>\r\n

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 <\/p>\r\n

More about this unfolding story<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[122],"tags":[733,310,313,735,214,311,734,575,589,736,737,732],"class_list":["post-716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archive-2","tag-absent","tag-feel","tag-feelnubia","tag-million","tag-nigeria","tag-nubia","tag-petitoni","tag-president","tag-protest","tag-quit","tag-return","tag-yaradua"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelnubia.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelnubia.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelnubia.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelnubia.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelnubia.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=716"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/feelnubia.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3076,"href":"https:\/\/feelnubia.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716\/revisions\/3076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelnubia.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelnubia.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelnubia.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}