Ogbodo in Abuja
The former Director General of the Nigerian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), Prof. Epiphany Azinge (SAN), has said Nigerians deserve to know the health status of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Azinge, while fielding questions from ARISE TV Abuja, said the implication of putting the president’s health status on public domain is to avoid overheating the polity because of the rumours associated with the nondisclosure of his health condition.
He said: “I wish that we are in a position that this should be corrected. Rumour flourishes when there is lack of information or where there is a vacuum, and that is where rumour flourishes.
“I wish that the information can come out to the public domain so that people can know the nature of the ailment and who and how they are handling the president out there.”
According to him, Nigerians need to know the likely implication of the extended vacation, whether is it indefinite or is it going to be for a given period of time, stressing that when some of these issues are in the public domain, it will keep Nigerians in relaxed mood.
He said: “With the right information in the public domain, Nigerians will relax and the polity will no longer be overheated anymore, because people will be in a position to now sit down properly to, pray for him as we want to believe and obviously offer him to God’s protection even where doctors cannot do as much.”
Azinge said his bone of contention is that information on the president’s health is not enough at this point in time, saying: “That is my challenge and the earlier it is corrected, the better for the country.”
On the unfolding late President Umar Yar’Adua’s scenario, he said: “I don’t think so, I know that the situation may not be as critical as we had seven years ago with the late President Yar’Adua. I look forward to the time when Buhari will come back, and I wish him well.
“Our prayers and thoughts are with him, but we still want to advise either for now or in due course that Nigerians are entitled to know what is happening to their president at any time.”
