Nigeria’s president is ill. That is known, even if government will not give voice to that reality for many fears of the unknown. The fact however is: Yar’adua is not hale and hearty. He has just returned from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where some reports say he had gone for a kidney transplant. The hypocrisy or else thoughtlessness of government officials in keeping citizens in the dark about the state of health of the nation’s head is appalling enough. However, that much public discussion will lead to debating succession this early in the life of the administration smacks of trite opportunism I think.

The Sun newspapers in Nigeria today reports that “hovering political hawks, intense power intrigues and an anxious North all involved in an evil mix (that) forced President Umaru Yar’Adua to return to the country in the early hours of Saturday.” And yet, a statement by the spokesperson for the Nigeria Delta militia (MEND), Jomo Gbomo, warned that:

Goodluck Jonathan (the Vice President) must be allowed to occupy should that (President’s) seat become vacant the same way he was forced to occupy the seat of governor of Bayelsa State. He must occupy like everyone else. It is not the birth right of any section of this country to rule or misrule Nigeria...

He continues:

Should a coup be attempted or any harm befall him (Yar’Adua), MEND will no longer be talking about fiscal federalism but a Niger Delta secession from the contraption called Nigeria as we are capable of starting and sustaining a civil war.

Vice President Goodluck Jonathan was catapulted as deputy governor of oil-rich Bayelsa state into “good luck” when his governor was impeached on counts of money laundering on the 9th December 2005. He soon rose higher by being hand-picked by then presidential candidate Umaru Yar’adua as his Vice-presidential candidate in the 2007 elections. Now, his presence in such sensitive position seem to cause not just a mild discomfort for those perceived to sit astride a greedy political hegemony.

This days, it seems, all is not so well for Africa’s sleeping giant!