No fear can stand up to hunger(for information), no patience can wear it out, disgust simply does not exist where hunger( for information) is; and as to superstition, beliefs, and what you may call principles, they are less than a chaff in a breeze......it takes a man all his inborn strength to fight hunger( for information) properly. It’s really easier to face bereavement, dishonour, and the perdition of one’s soul—than this kind of prolong hunger (for information) –From the heart of darkness by Joseph Conrad
In that piece, I had argued that while McCain had the “experience” from his war records to the fact of his longer stay in the American senate and by extension, politics compared to his arch-rival Obama, Obama in turn had the good judgement to know what was needful—statement and actions—as a value adding acts towards achieving his political goal of winning the presidential election. Afterwards, I had used it as a plank to argue against some related issues in Nigeria citing examples of persons without the almighty “experience” who had gone into ventures and had done better than those who had been there for aeons, based on good judgement. Some persons I cited included Prof. Soludo of CBN, Toyin Subair of HITV and inexperienced Obasanjo of 1979 and the over experienced one of 1999-2007.
In the last months of 2006, Obasanjo arguably the most experienced occupant of the most mental and energy demanding seat in Nigeria, the seat of the president, went chopping for a presidential material customised to his likings. He found Yar'Adua. A man that had spent most of his time as governor of his state, moving in and out of hospitals and in one particular instance, spent as many as six months in a stretch. His personal experience in the office would ordinarily have dictated that apart from mental requirement that nothing short of a man in a showroom condition of health was needed for such an office but his experience did not avail him of this judgement that anybody blessed with good judgement, without having occupied that exalted seat would easily have decided; even with the added ulterior motive of an insurance cover for the out-going president. Consequently, Nigerian and Nigerians ended up with a physically inadequate president.
I want to state categorically that if good judgement had been applied to the whole issue surrounding the health of the president by those around him claiming to be his loyalist, the nation would have been saved the needless confusion, tension and the attendant resentment against him and his family, that it has experienced and continues to be it lot with each passing day. But most of the dramatis personae, experienced in their respect field of human endeavour, lacked the good judgement to determine what was helpful to the situation.
Aondoakaa, former attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, an experienced SAN before his coming to government took his understanding of the constitution to the next level in his bid to starve off judicial interpretation of his master’s absence from active duty for so long. He had employed his legal experience of word twisting and stretching to declare that the office of the president was not territory bound, that the president in fact, could lead the country from any part of the world of his fancy. When his information counterpart differed and went on to make her opinion public, Aondoakaa, a supposedly, learned man of letters, fired a message, publicly, to her amongst other things, accusing her of some under hand deals during her stay at NAFDAC— in an veil manner. Threatened with a court action, he recanted and even tried to do the impossible by giving another meaning to a sentence whose intent is or was as clear as the day from night. The import of this is that while his experience as a lawyer is not in doubt, his sense of judgement is suspect and this might be responsible for his off the point opinions on the president absence.
If all there is to being a media aid to a president is experience in the media then the current spokes man for the president would have been more than qualified for the position he currently occupies. But beyond a stint in the pen profession, one finds him lacking in the exercise of good judgement; and this is in addition to his lack of any impressionable personality, fluid grammar and even voice quality required for such a job— If, I am ask to, pick from the media for such a job, I would comfortably settle for Dr. Reuben Abati; he has got the personality and the voice.
Adeniyi, told Nigerians and this through NTA that the Acting President was in the know of the health position of the president as he was being sent a copy of his medical report, every other day and that the last was sent on a Friday. This turned out to be hogwash as even the one and only one that was sent was no more than a memo or better still, letter. And if it was not for his bad sense of judgement, he would have known that there was no compelling need to inform or talk about a report of any kind been sent to GJ, even if that was the truth. He is too small a fry to interject and announce ahead of the Acting president, that there was a report. if he was desperate to let Nigerians know that the Acting president was keeping information at his disposal away from the public in other to make the president look bad, he could have done this through the usual, “reliable source” or “inside sources”. But no good judgement, so wanting nothing but victory and glory for his imaginary fight, further exposed the president to more attack, this time, from medical doctors who have been busy dissecting the so-called report and finding different kinds of faults in it.
Situations make some people and mar some others, particularly those that lacked the good judgment to know when to act and when not to. And even what to act on and what, is better left unattended is to. Since the return of democracy, lack of good judgment has sent persons with otherwise brilliant career prospects out of their jobs, ignominiously. One recallable one is that of Ribadu. In the present Yar'Adua brouhaha, it has already destroyed Aondoakaa and waiting to further claim this Adeniyi. Should Yar'Adua cease to be the president and there be any cabinet reshuffling today, he will be amongst those to be spewed out much thought about any good quality of his.
If all the Yar'Adua supporters had the good judgement to know what would sell they would have chosen the broad daylight period to bring him back to the country and formally announced his return, prior. Provided, as they want us to believe, he is or will get better. A Yar'Adua brought in and stretched out of his ambulance aircraft to another vehicular ambulance, waving weakly and televise live to Nigerians would have seen majority of those against his stay in office today, changing their minds. His infirmities are not his making. Even if they had taken him almost immediately to any other hospital anywhere in the world provided a letter is delivered to the national assembly on his behalf. Nobody would have been mean enough to canvass his impeachment. The truth about the agitations by most Nigerians including some sessions of the elite class is about whether he is still alive or not and not about fitness. We just want to satisfy our curiousity.
But they lacked the good sense to know this and rather saw others not buying into their method of helping the president keep his job as part of the people engineering or responsible for his ailment. A little honesty here and there, particularly with the Acting president, would have solved virtually all this.