Beyond Yar' Adua

Nigerians have raised so much uproar about Yar'Adua's absence from Abuja that one begins to wonder what that is all about. Government in Nigeria has never been of much benefit to the larger citizenry anyway, irrespective of the person in charge. Who cares whether it is Yar' Adua now or Jonathan? That government, like the ones before it, has done little for Nigerians. Who cares whether the President is at home or in a Saudi Arabia hospital? We are not talking about a dutiful leadership seriously churning out development projects for the country. We are not talking about a truly democratic government in which the people's will is held sacrosanct. We are not talking about a nation that has known ideal leadership to the admiration of the world. We are surely not talking about a President who has earned the respect of world leaders for his achievements. While humane considerations require that the ailing president gets our sympathy and prayers, the political uproar is absolutely a distraction from the real issues at stake. The problem with Nigeria has not been caused by Yar' Adua's absence. The problem is a conspiracy of the political elite against the citizenry. Yar' Adua has only been out for a few months but had been present for years as President and achieved not much. His government has not given Nigerians regular electricity supply. They have not given Nigerians other basic utilities, potable water supply, fuel automobile or otherwise. Yar' Adua's presence is not going to change this and will not cause the crime rate to abate. His return to Nigeria is not going to improve the state of corruption in the country. It sure would not stop the Abuja politicians from continuing to do business as usual with the mantra of self before the people.
Really, all the noise about Yar' Adua being absent makes no difference. It only matters in whose picture is placed on the walls of public offices with the inscription "President and Commander in Chief". People should stop wasting time demonstrating and debating the issue. We should instead be addressing the needs of our people and how to make the government serve those needs.