BREAKING NEWS! Nigeria President Umaru Musa Yar´Adua is Dead

Nigerian President, His Excellency Umaru Yaradua is dead according to authoritative sources at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Jeddah Saudi-Arabia.

He died on the 10th of December at 3.30pm at an Intensive Care Unit at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Jeddah Saudi-Arabia. Sources at the Hospital say that the First lady wants to keep the news secret for the next few days for personal reasons.

At the time of his death he was surrounded by his wife, Turai and a childhood friend, Nigerian Member of Parliament,

The president left Nigeria fifty days ago after complaining of Chest pains. Sources at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Jeddah say that the president suffered among many other things, kidney failure, stroke and massive brain damage.

The President has been bedridden ever since. Nigerian officials had previously lied to the country that the president's health was getting better while his situation got worse. The president was conspicuously silent regarding the Christmas day bombing in which a 23-year-old Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to detonate a bomb on an aircraft that carried nearly 300 people.

Jonathan doing well — PDP

The National leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday said it was proud of the manner in which Vice President, Goodluck Jonathan has carried on with the affairs of governance since President Umaru Yar’Adua left the shores of Nigeria for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia.
According to the party, the Vice President has actually taken care of all issues that required presidential attention which it said he had addressed those areas that would have created a vacuum, just as the PDP stressed that the Vice president’s performance was contrary to claims by the opposition that there was near absence of real leadership at the federal level.
It said that rather than criticize the government, the present administration must be applauded for its achievements in office so far.
Speaking yesterday in Abuja, the National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Professor Rufai Ahmed Alkali said, “People are sitting down outside and defining the dos and don’ts of government. The reality of it is that we are operating a system and so far to our knowledge, there has been no evidence of breakdown of this system.
“The Vice President is there as the Vice President of this country and he has done extremely well in the past few weeks since the President traveled outside the country. All these issues of what should be done or what should not be done is the prerogative of government”.
Alkali who noted that the opposition tried to set agenda for government over President Yar’Adua’s health situation by constructing various scenarios, said they do not have the right to do so, adding that it was  unnecessary to join issue with the opposition, just as he stressed that there was no pint wasting energy to convince the opposition against the backdrop that there was nothing one would say or do to impress the opposition.

Senate to decide Yar’Adua’s fate tomorrow — Ekweremadu

The Senate is to determine the fate of President Umaru Yar’Adua who is undergoing medical treatment in Saudi Arabia for over 50 days now.
Deputy Senate President, Mr Ike Ekweremadu, who disclosed this while answering questions from journalists in Minna, Niger State yesterday said the Senate had decided to deliberate on the issue because it was of national importance.
The Deputy Senate President who was in Minna to pay a condolence visit to former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, over the death of his wife Maryam told journalists that Nigerians should have patience until tomorrow for the outcome of deliberation of the Senate over the controversial issue.
“By Tuesday, the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will rise to the matter. The Senate will rise to the occasion,” the Deputy Senate President declared when further pressed by journalists on what the outcome of the deliberation is likely to offer on the medication of the ailing president.
Ekweremadu who admitted that the circumstances surrounding the health of the president had caused political crisis and comments by notable Nigerians did not disclose the actual action to be taken by the upper house in their deliberation but simply said: “You people and Nigerians should just wait patiently and watch out for what is going to be the outcome of the Tuesday’s deliberation.”
Calls for caution on terror list
On the failed December 25 attempt by a Farouk Umar Mutallab to bomb a US-bound aircraft, the Deputy Senate President called for caution in the way the matter is being handled in order not to degenerate into political logjam between the United States of America and Nigeria.
He called on US and other foreign countries not to see all Nigerians as terrorists because of the recent development, adding that there are other good attributes that can be associated with Nigerians and Nigeria as a nation.
According to him, we need to engage all diplomatic means to resolve the matter and avoid any further escalation on the matter in order to avoid a total breakdown of diplomatic relation between the two friendly countries.
On Maryam Babangida
On the former first lady, Mrs. Maryam Babangida, Ekweremadu described her a woman of all parts  who used her position to better and uplift the lives of all Nigerians especially the womenfolk through her project, Better Life for Rural Women.
He called on Nigerians, especially the women, not to allow the good work started by the former first lady to die by continuing the good work where she stopped.
Mrs  Abacha  consoles IBB
Also at the Uphill residence of the Babangidas, the wife of the late General Sani Abacha, Hajiya Mariam Abacha, accompanied by her son, Mohammed and some women paid a condolence visit on the former military President.
Hajiya Abacha who spent over two hours along with her entourage on the condolence visit, however, refused to entertain questions from journalists on the life of the former first lady but instead prayed God to give the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

Yar’Adua: Soyinka, Ojukwu, Musa to lead mass protest

All appears set for a mass rally on Tuesday in Abuja to protest against President Umaru Yar’Adua’s failure to transfer power to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, 49 days after he travelled out of the country for treatment in Saudi Arabia.
Those lined up to lead and speak at the rally tagged ‘Enough is enough’ include Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka; former Kaduna State governor, Alhaji Balarabe Musa; the Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu and Pastor of the Later Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare.
Others are Mallam Farouk Adamu, Mr. Solomon Asemota (SAN), Mallam Uba Sani, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), Hajiya Najatu Mohammed, Prof. Pat Utomi, Pastor Sarah Omakwu, Mr. Femi Falana, Mr. Olawale Oshun, Dr. Tunji Abayomi, Mrs. Ayo Obe, Mallam Naseer Kura, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, Mr. Uche Onyeogocha, and Mr. Clement Nwankwo, among others.
Coming together under the aegis of ‘Save Nigeria Group,’ the protesters are also expected to press against what they described as power vacuum in the country, vacillation over electoral reforms, terror tag on Nigerians and corruption.
According to a statement signed by Mr. Fred Agbeyegbe, Mallam Buba Galadima, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, Mallam Tanko Yunusa and Mallam Salihu Lukman on behalf of the organisers, the rally will take off from Unity Fountain, near Transcorp Hotel, Central Business District, Abuja and terminate at the National Assembly Complex.
Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, who spoke in his Ilawe-Ekiti, Ekiti State hometown on Saturday, confirmed that the rally was to protest against many of the problems facing the country.
He said, “We are starting a series of protests on Tuesday in Abuja. The government must be forced to address issues such as 6,000 megawatts of electricity and absentee President. We will challenge the policy that allows those on level 16 and above to go abroad for medical checks and treatment. It is discriminatory and we will resist it. The people in government are too comfortable; we must force them to do the right thing.”
Another member of the SNG, who is also the spokesman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, said the rally was meant to prod members of the National Assembly out of what he called their docility and save Nigeria’s democracy.
He stated that the nation was gradually becoming a failed state on account of the power vacuum occasioned by the absence of the President.
He said, “The National Assembly has the power to make a resolution inviting the President’s personal doctor to know the state of his health. They also have the leverage to visit Yar’Adua and know his state of health.
“Under section 144, the Federal Executive Council is expected to make the request, but since they are accountable to the President by virtue of their appointment, the mass action against the National Assembly seems to be the best option to save our democracy.”
The SNG member further contended that the President had violated the constitution by not writing to the National Assembly to inform it about his long absence from office and failure to hand over power to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan.
Also, an online news agency, Saharareporters.com, reported on Sunday that the London leg of the rally which was initially billed to hold on January 8, had been shifted to Friday, January 15.
Representatives of the SNG in London were said to have met with the Metropolitan Police in London on Friday where it was agreed that the rally be shifted because of the growing interests among Nigerians to attend.
Listed among sponsors of the London rally are the Nigeria Liberty Forum, Action Congress United Kingdom, Unity and Positive Change in New Nigeria, Champions for Nigeria, Arise Nigeria, Women of Africa and Citizen for Change.
Spokesman of one of the groups, AC-UK, Mr. Remi Idowu, in a statement e-mailed to one of our correspondents on Sunday said, “The rally on Friday is about where President Yar’Adua is; dead or alive? The NEC and the National Assembly should respect and adhere to the constitution; accede to the vice-president’s taking over.
“The rally also wants Sovereign National Conference now and finally the terrorist stigma. The country is drifting without a clear direction and leader whose whereabouts we don’t know. The current situation could give a wrong signal for a suspension of the constitution by military opportunists.”
Pro-democracy activist and one of the leaders of the defunct Pro-National Conference Organisations, Mr. Bisi Adegbuyi, said of the rally, “The civil populace must vigorously engage members of the National Assembly to be alive to their responsibilities to ensure the immediate abatement of the serial violation of the constitution, the ‘Federal Extravaganza Council’ having timidly failed to do same.”
Meanwhile, the Senate will on Tuesday take a decision on the continuous absence of the President.
The Deputy Senate President, Mr. Ike Ekweremadu, disclosed this in an interview with journalists in Minna, Niger State capital, on Sunday shortly after paying a condolence visit to a former Head of State, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, over the death of his wife, Maryam.
He said, “By Tuesday, the Senate will rise up to the occasion and take a decisive action over the continuous absence of the President. Nigerians should look out for what will happen and let’s wait and see where the pendulum will swing.”
Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), had attempted to move a motion on the President’s health late last year but his colleagues refused.
But attempts to confirm from some of those billed to speak at the protest rally were unsuccessful. While Soyinka was said to have travelled out of the country and was billed to return on Monday ahead of the Tuesday’s rally, calls made to Ojukwu’s telephone were not answered.

‘President placed on life support’

Confusion over the true state of President Umaru Yar‘Adua‘s health heightened on Sunday as ministers and other aides were sharply divided over whether Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan should take over as acting President.

The confusion, our correspondents reliably learnt, grew as fresh facts emerged over the weekend that contrary to reports of improving health, the President might have been placed on life support machine since the last week of December.

Our correspondents gathered that Yar’Adua was transferred in the last week of December from the Intensive Care Unit of the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to one of the supporting wards in the Royal Suite attached to the hospital, after he suffered “a repeated multiple organ failure.”

Reliable sources who spoke with our correspondents in Lagos, Abuja and Jeddah, said the President‘s current situation was responsible for the confusion that his whereabouts is currently generating in the media and presidential aides’ desperation to manage the development without causing panic in the system.

One of the sources said, “The President was moved from the ICU of the hospital on the night of Thursday, December 24 to the supporting ward of the hospital in Jeddah where he has been on life support since.

“His situation is getting similar to that of the former Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, who has been in coma for three years and is only being kept alive with the aid of the life support therapy.”

Another source who confirmed that at least two specialists of African descent were some of the doctors that attended to the President before he was transferred, said the surreptitious manner in which Yar’Adua was transferred gave room for speculation about his present condition.

He said, “Because he was transferred to a section where important patients normally recuperate, the few close aides of the President thought he was getting better and might be recuperating. But the truth is that President Yar‘Adua is in a secured adjoining ward where, beyond the life support machine, only a miraculous recovery can see him through.

“Even if that will happen, it may take a while as he is totally dependent on the life support machine to continue to live. In his present state, he is unable to make use of his organs and senses.”

The source said that since patients who were on life support were not listed as regular patients whose records could be traced at the hospital, it would appear as if President Yar‘Adua was never admitted at the hospital, had been discharged or could not be traced.

“The fact is that the Federal Government signed a Non-Disclosure Order request form, which forbids the hospital from releasing any official information on the progress or whereabouts of the President. I am aware that two people signed the form when the president checked in at the hospital - his wife, Turai and his Chief Security Officer, Mohammed Tilde,” the source added.

Our correspondents learnt that except the Federal Government failed in its obligation to pay or the President‘s family offered an express instruction to have the life support machine removed, the President might be in that state for many years.

“The Federal Government, of course, is able to foot the bill, even if Yar‘Adua is no longer the President and except there is a religious consideration, I do not think the family would be in a hurry to discontinue with the life support. It is obvious that the confusion to reconcile all these developments, in view of the lies that have been told about the President‘s health, has caused the dilemma in the Presidency at the moment,” the source stated.

It was gathered that apart from the First Lady, Turai; the Chief Security Adviser, Serki Muhtar, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Alhaji Adamu Aliero, the Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Issa Yuguda, the Minister of Agriculture, Alhaji Abba Ruma, and Tilde, no top government official has seen or heard from the President since he left Nigeria on November 23, contrary to reports that he signed the supplementary budget and spoke with some state officials on the telephone.

Our correspondents gathered that there was a mutual suspicion among ministers, as none wants to be seen as being disloyal to the President by calling for his resignation or openly supporting Jonathan as acting president.

When contacted on the telephone on Sunday, the Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili, told one of our correspondents that she was on vacation and “out of the country.”

A telephone call pulled through to the King Faisal Hospital in Jeddah was not successful as the hospital‘s spokesperson spoke only in Arabic.

When our correspondent told the female voice in English that he had an enquiry from Nigeria on President Yar‘Adua, she said, ”Nigeria, no, no, no,” and hang up the phone.

But a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Olayiwola Ogunleye, in an interview with one of our correspondents said that acute pericarditis should not take more than a week to treat.

He, however, added that if the ailment was as a result of other conditions, it could take a longer time to treat.

According to him, patients whose essential body systems are not working could be put on a life support, which he explained might involve enteric feeding, mechanical ventilation, defrrillator and, heart/lung machine.

Ogunleye, who is the only cardiothoracic surgeon at LUTH, said, ”It is used when organs of the body are not working. Such organs include the liver, kidneys and the heart. Its usage can be stopped when the organs start working.”