by Alexander O. Onukwue

In the last quarter of 2016, there was a strong possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin was going to resign.

The line of thought of many observers at the time was that his health was becoming much of an impediment in running the Russian nation. A professor at a high ranking Institute in Moscow had made the prediction that Putin would exit the public space in 2017, according to the Express.

It has not happened. Putin has continued to run the country through the investigations in the US of its alleged involvement in making Donald Trump the leader of the (former) free world. He has been granting interviews across several platforms, speaking out on issues of the elections, the coming World Cup, and on other matters.

For the ardent Buharian observer, it could be a positive thing to still see Putin in the public space after his curious absence last year. Given the nature of the politics in the Kremlin, the same high-level secrecy with which Buhari’s health is being managed in London was also the case with Putin last year. However, he’s back to the business of stoking international fires.

Now, there are some obvious differences between Putin and Buhari. The Russian czar plays with big dogs in his office, engages in sky jumps, and rides horses bare-chested. Though not clearly specified, it was also not said that Putin was outside of Russia during those uncertain days; and even if he was, Russia was still under his control.

Nigeria’s President Buhari has been in London for 40 days, and there has been no direct communication with Nigerians on his health. His deputy has been in-charge but there are widespread doubts as to the persons who are handling the health of the President and determining the directives he passes down. Whereas in Putin’s case his health status was not defined, events over the past months and weeks have given the strong suggestion that a definition of Buhari’s health will be more to the negative.

Can he beat this episode and get back to being the jolly fellow his aides say he is? Yes. Do Nigerians want him to return and continue his mission as stated on May 29, 2015? By all means, in the best health. But, without any information from his doctors or the ‘cabal’, how can this hope continue to be flamed?

A Twitter user, Adetutu Balogun, observed that “A feeble executive implies a feeble execution of Government”.

A feeble executive implies a feeble execution of the government. #BuhariAbsenteePresident

— Adetutu Balogun (@Tutsy22) June 15, 2017

Would a medical certification declaring Buhari feeble necessitate a resignation?