by Alexander O. Onukwue
The audio message released by the Presidency as the Sallah felicitations of President Buhari has been the subject of debate and controversy on social media.
Amidst murmurings that Buhari, who has been in London for seven straight weeks without any verbal communication, is suffering from speech impairment, the Presidency decided it was a good idea to have him greet the nation to celebrate with Muslims on the occasion of Eid-al-Fitr.
Buhari’s message was for Nigerians to shun hate speech and avoid divisive tendencies that had the potential to create unfavourable tensions within the country. It was a run-of-the-mill message which you would expect the President to make, taking note of the current political climate within the country.
The questions about the speech have not been about its contents but about the health of the supposed messenger. The President’s handlers have been tight-lipped on his health status.
Before the recording in question, SaharaReporters had mentioned in a report that the President was suffering a form of speech impairment as well as memory loss. According to them, these have been swiftly refuted by some aides of the President who say the impairment is only a side effect of the treatment being administered on Buhari.
The duty of communicating felicitations to the nation for Eid-al-Fitr is not the biggest of national assignments. It could have been done through a message by one of the Senior Special Assistants to the President. Also, a message from the Vice and Acting President, who has provided all important communications himself since May 8, should also have been enough.
The need to get the President to speak by himself shows a move to convince Nigerians that the President is still up to the task. The audio which lasted less than a minute was hardly convincing as to be judged as the words of a relaxed person. If the President’s handlers have coerced him into reading a speech to the country, we should be worried what other things they have in stock for him to do against his will and current capacity.
