By Mike Ozehkome
It was
Izaak Walton (1593 – 1683), an English writer, who once said: “Look to your health: And if you have it,
praise God, and value it next to a good conscience; for health is the second
blessing that we mortals are capable of; a blessing that money cannot buy.”
Health, it is said, is wealth.
And anyone who has been ill from mere headache can relate to the travails of
Mr. President in recent weeks.
*Buhari |
When the president transmitted
his letter to the Senate
for vacation to the United
Kingdom , little did we know that the
subsequent events to follow would raise much ruckus and fuss within the polity. However, for a minute, let us all sheath our ideological swords and
thank God Almighty for the president, his family and Nigerians at large, for making it possible for the president to return alive; for it could have
been, indeed, worse. God forbid!
What makes a Southerner happy
to be a Nigerian is quite different from what makes a Northerner happy to be a
Nigerian. Sometimes, this is caused by ignorance, sometimes by the weakness of
the human mind, which loves to categorise. Other times, because of the various
vested interests by different groups. One fact is indisputable; uneasy lies the
head that wears the crown, particularly in Nigeria , a country with about 388
ethnic groups that speak over 350 languages (Onign Otite); some say over 500.
Sometimes, we forget that our
leaders are also human, with their weaknesses, foibles, strengths, fears and
anxieties. It would be unfair to gloss over some great things that President Muhammadu
Buhari (PMB) has done for Nigeria .
His has been that of service to his nation, since his youth, when he was born
of a Fulani family on 17th December, 1942, in Daura, Katsina State ,
to his father, Adamu, and mother, Zulaihat. He is the twenty-third child of his
father. Buhari was raised by his mother, after his father died when he was
about four years old.