by Alexander O. Onukwue

The UK are obviously too distracted by their own problems to be bothered that the President of Nigeria has been held hostage in their capital.

President Buhari has spent the last seven weeks at a location in London, undergoing a medical procedure that has been described by some as recuperation and others as treatment. It is within this context of confusion and lack of clarity that the Nigerian people have had to deal with the recent Eid speech supposedly given by the President from London.

The last time Buhari was in the country, he did say that he had never been so sick in his life. In such a situation, it is reasonable to assume that he is in his most vulnerable state at the moment. There have been insinuations that some persons have taken advantage of the President’s physical and mental weakness to drag him about according to their own schemes. The very wrong speech in Hausa is another case in point.

But for how long can this embarrassment continue?

Ordinary Nigerians are demanding to know what the state of the President is, but those with the most influence in places of authority seem to not be bothered much. Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has been an able deputy, choosing to make references of any of his achievements to the plan of the Buhari administration. To say he has played to the gallery might be shading his sincere efforts at keeping the oil of Government fresh and the machine lubricated and performing. However, with the matter of President Buhari’s health sure to come up at regular intervals, even he should at some point wish for more clarity to give him more focus.

The National Assembly has been at loggerheads with the Presidency for much of this administration, hence, they don’t represent much of a mediatory hope right now. Does the Judiciary have the jurisdiction to hear matters on the issue of the President’s extended absence and inability to communicate effectively to the nation? In effect, how do Nigerians get a definite and undisguised response on the question: Where is President Buhari and when is he coming back?