As concerns continue to mount over the health status of President Muhammadu Buhari, Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, yesterday joined millions of Nigerians asking the president to release a detailed medical record of his state of health.
This is coming as fresh anxiety began to mount over the failure of the President to appear at the Aso Rock Mosque yesterday for the weekly Juma’at prayer.
In the last one month, it had been a usual occurrence for Nigerians to wait for the Friday prayers to see Buhari, who had not been frequent in public since his return from a medical trip in London.
It is the first time the president would be absent at the Mosque since his return from the 49-day medical vacation in London. Alerting the public to the issue that bothers every Nigerian today, Soyinka, in his usual mannerism challenged Buhari to publicly declare his status, being a public figure. “Once you are in Aso Rock, or you occupy a similar position, you have a responsibility to come out frankly to your citizens.
Guarding your state of health like Donald Trump is guarding his tax returns is not what we expect from a Nigerian President. “Let him address the nation and stop all these speculations which create unnecessary political manipulations. Why is the President hiding his state of health?” The professor of dramatic arts asked.
No official reason had been given for Buhari’s absence at the prayer session. The President, since assumption duties after his medical voyage to London had been observing the Friday prayers at the Aso Rock mosque.
Some Muslim dignitaries including Governors Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun State), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara State) and Abdulahi Ganduje (Kano State) were among those that worshiped at the villa mosque. Since the President’s absence in public, it had been the trend for some governors and other notable Nigerians to hide under the cover of the Juma’at prayers to meet with him on Fridays.
However, some of those who witnessed the prayer session yesterday explained to Saturday Telegraph that the governors were not happy that they could not see the president.
One of the worshippers, who pleaded anonymity spoke with Saturday Telegraph on the telephone: “You should have seen the look on their faces, they were obviously disappointed, it was visible with the expression on their faces.
The countenance of one of the governors’ said it all, it showed that he was frustrated”, he said. Soyinka, who also condemned government’s inaction over the incessant attack and mindless killing by Fulani herdsmen, noted that despite assurances that the homicidal escalation between the cattle prowlers and farming communities would soon be over, the reverse appeared to be the case.
Alerting the public that his home had been invaded again, he said: “I reported to the police and I have reported to Alake of Egbaland in Abeokuta. Again, this time, right to my doorstep; in other words, they didn’t just pass the motorable way; they actually passed through another path and came right to my doorstep. “We are living a very dangerous life. Other things have happened, by the way, which I haven’t made public.
If you want to go and check, you can ask the police in Abeokuta, I am not quite given to the conspiracy theory, but the incidents which have taking place in that area over the past few months are very alarming, very life-threatening.
“We are talking about serious day life and death issue. The herdsmen are even worse than Boko Haram in many aspects, and yet it is being treated lightly. Some kind of action required calling leadership to order. Maybe we should have a day or a week of beef boycott, or any form of sit down action is indicated at this stage, that will call the leadership to a sense of responsibility, and compel it to take holistic action.”
“Ranches, yes, as the president promised over a year ago, if that is one of the solutions, but above all there should be an immediate convocation of all vested interest.
Saturday Telegraph however sought the opinion of some top Islamic clerics on reasons a believer in the Islamic faith could be absent at Juma’at prayer, an action that many Muslims see as sacrilege.Professor Ishaq Akintola in his remark said: “We don’t have to beat about the bush over this matter.
There’s no need for Nigerians to worry themselves. The president left for London for about five weeks or so for health reasons. That is a pointer to Nigerians that the president is not 100 percent healthy.
“Aside from that, his absence from the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting about three times now plus the absence from the Friday prayer, we only need to do a little arithmetic to know that the president needs rest. And if you need rest in Islam, you’re allowed to be away from the Juma’at prayer.
You can observe your Zuhri prayer at home or in your office”, he said. In response to the request made by Soyinka, that the president should make public his health status, Akintola said the president could not be forced to make such sensitive declaration.
“Even in the United States, there had presidents with health challenges who didn’t go public with it. In fact, in the case of Franklin Roosevelt, he was on the wheelchair yet he didn’t oblige the public such information.
That action is only voluntary.” On his part, Sheikh Habeebullahi Al-Ilory of the Markaz Islamic and Arabic Institute, Lagos, insists: “He can miss the prayer if he has challenges.
But that is not to say that he can’t observe the Juma’at prayer from home. “For instance, there is a guesthouse directly opposite Kabbah in Saudi Arabia where some noble men and aristocrats converge on Fridays to observe their Juma’at prayer. What they do is to monitor it on the television since it’s a live programme.
“Some people may say there’s no row formed, but the condition is for him to hear the voice of the Imam, follow him, know him and ensure that it’s a live programme. If it is recorded, it’s then that the prayer is not valid.
“On Eid day, because of the crowd, some will choose to be nearby the praying ground, switch on their radios and participate in the prayer.” Another cleric, Dr. Alayinde Yusuph noted that:
“There are four schools of thoughts, three of which support the option to follow Juma’at prayer wherever you are, if you have any challenge. You could follow it if your house or office is close enough or if you monitor the programme is live on the TV, radio or Internet”, he said.
