Stella Obasanjo’s Death; Nigeria is a Big lie (A Sober/Annoying Perspective)

By

Prince Charles Dickson

pcdbooks@yahoo.com

Jos, Plateau Nigeria

 

"As we mourn the tragic loss of our first lady, we should put it in perspective and not get too emotional. This way we will hopefully avoid the frenzy that accompanied the equally tragic death of Ibrahim, General Abacha’s son, back in January 1996. At that time, the reader will remember, we lived to outdo each other in exaggerating his virtues and attributing to him achievements he never made, simply because he was the First Son".

 

I picked this as my opening paragraph from Mohammed Haruna’s piece ‘official media and Nigeria’s black Sunday’. However my sympathies to Mr. President on his loss. Loosing one’s wife irrespective of the circumstances is no fun but I will attempt to put the whole episode in the perspective of a nation that has been bedeviled with all sorts and manner of crisis as a result of a crippled leadership.

 

Mrs. Stella Obasanjo to ‘them’ was a paragon, amazon, she was a pride to the African woman, an epitome of strength to her husband, and she was an angel, a conscientious supporter of her husband, kind hearted, irreplaceable. The words kept following, infact a newspaper reported that the Ogun State Governor’s wife had not eaten since Sunday, I called a government source that confirmed…while some of these encomiums, she sure deserved. But the hypocrisy is also self- glaring especially judging by the character of some persons who have condoled the President on his sad loss, I say safely most are grieving more than the bereaved.

 

Nigerian leaders are the ‘fakest’ of kinds… in a show of ‘notice me’ some are calling for her name to be immortalized, her name should be this and that, well as much as I do not have any problem with that. I will also recommend that the victims of the ill-fated Bellview plane crash should be immortalized.

 

At the first Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by Atiku, some Ministers we are told was in tears as Stella’s only son representing the family at the meeting spoke…he asked that, "The nation rather than mourn his mother that she should be celebrated". Emphasis mine.

 

I join Mallam Mohammed Buhari former Military Head of State, in facilitating with the President on this loss without grudge, but like it is said sometimes death when it comes is a gift and has no enemy. To Nigerians, we have been oppressed by a leadership that lies, so I can expect that no government official will have the guts to tell us what killed our honourable First Lady, but too bad we know, and the truth is bitter in this case even disgusting. But, the truth is the only thing that can set us free as a nation not all these wild goose merry go round Paris and London inspired reforms.

 

How do we immortalize, celebrate and mourn all at once a death, which has come through a self-inflicted means. The Federal Government has not immortalized Chima Ubani, Dele Giwa, Alfred Rewani, Bola Ige…this nation is strikingly amazing in a world of her own. What killed the First Lady, what killed Abacha, How did Abiola die? Was there a coup (whether fathom or vision), did IBB bring Obasanjo to power? Are Governors rogues or leaders, did Orji Uzo Kalu at any point donate paper notes as money in Bornu State, does Obasanjo have a Platinum or Gold card, what did Obasanjo do to the World Bank list of stolen money by his predecessors given to him in 1999? Is our President a wicked man or simply tough, doe he want a third term, maybe a Mugabe styled leadership? Was Ben Bruce the First Lady’s Boy, man friend or brother and cousin, is Olumuyiwa…?

 

Nigeria is a rumour, a big masquerade, the citizenry have no right to see the face behind the mask. We are fed lies by leaders, while image denting stories fly around and no one gives a hoot, not even one person can step up categorically say proclaim the truth. That is why El-Rufai the President’s Abuja henchman will swear that he was asked for bribe and Mantu and co. will swear they did not request for such, the President will also plays swear games with his Vice. What lessons are giving the younger ones, what picture are we painting, looking at the mirror do our leaders like what they see. My nine old friend looked me in the eye and said "Uncle I heard auntie Mairo tell Hassana not to bleach that it kills, that it killed the President’s wife".

 

Let me look at the whole episode with emotions but, without unnecessary sentiments. One, it is a big shame and palpable contradiction for a government that has spent billions on its health sector with all sorts of programmes initiated to still have the misfortune of losing her First Woman on an operating table in far away Spain. If indeed the President’s wife was ‘sick, ill or indisposed’; the Presidential Villa has a Presidential Clinic with a Presidential Doctor. So why Spain, for a woman everybody has since her death confirmed to be hale and healthy? Does it not confirm that our leaders are unsure of the gospel they preach? They build spectacular hospitals that cannot dispense ordinary choloroquine, our leaders cart tax payers’ monies away to some foreign student doctors for back ache, neck pain, frequent stooling, mild head ache and stomach upset and they refuse to pay medical doctors and health personnel in our hospitals.

 

Governor Ngige was away on medical vacation in Houston, Texas U.S, when the First Lady died, the Biafran Warlord Dim Ojukwu also came back from such medical check up. Which way forward. If the rich do not have hope in the same institution they pump billions of Naira and Dollars why shouldn’t the poor take solace in his cheap native medicine.

 

 

Next in my perspective look is this thing we call cosmetic surgery. One look at the First Lady’s face would tell the whole story better, at 60 years, no matter the kind of enjoyment. It should be a thing of joy to age gracefully, however not for our leaders of nowadays, everyone is struggling to beat nature. The list is not exhaustive from cosmetic surgery, plastic surgery, face left, face enlargement, erasure of winkles, anti-aging, laser surgery, corporal surgery, liposuction, tummy tuck, nose improvement, inverted nipple, to breast this and breast that, chin tuck, neck lift, lap band. I won’t bore you because I’m even bored now and this is only a percent of the list of possible ways to alter how Almighty Allah created us.

 

It was for a ‘vain’ reason that our beloved Stella left the country to Spain the land of the Iberians. Whether Mrs. Remi Oyo did not know, was not told or not sure, better still was not authorized. The bitter truth is that our President’s wife died trying to look a mile more beautiful, she died trying to cheat age. Nobody was there to advise her on the increasing dangers associated with cosmetic surgeries. Nobody could tell our dear Stella that spending between 9,000- 30,000 Pounds in a nation of abject poverty was going to cost her the very life she sought to elongate and beautify.

 

It is the painful truth that the President’s wife had before now been indulging herself in this expensive and dangerous pastime called facial make over and body enhancement. She had gone to Molding Clinic in Marbella before, but there’s always a day when everything that can go wrong, sure goes wrong. When a nation’s First lady died of shock resulting from a massive asthma attack due to the cosmetic nonsense she was doing to herself.

 

I can almost hazard that this itself must have hurt Mr. President very deeply. How can Mr. President explain that he endorsed his wife to visit a clinic that had a record of being medically negligible on occasions, that the President was aware that the clinic in Marcella is strictly for high net worth clients, for the super rich, models, actress and African/ Nigeria leaders who steal public funds and not forgetting vain woman, that the clinic with rooms comparable to any suit in a five star hotel that the President would have lodged in, with satellite TV,DVD, internet connection, attached with hydro-massage, hydro- sauna and Jacuzzi. Did our President know all these facts and if he did he or she should have the rate of professional malpractice.

 

If only Stella Obasanjo knew that Nigerian loved for despite her face or tummy, breast or buttocks, she should have been told a fine face needs no paint. Someone should tell me how much the President’s wife expended on the beauty venture called Vanity Fair.

 

I am happy the President has since resumed duties today (two days after mourning). He is a brave man; we pray God grants him more strength to bear his loss. At this junction the reader should share with me some undisputable truth. That the President’s wife would have been 60 on the 14th of November 2005, plans for her birthday was reaching a frenzy point with millions already expended in here and there arrangement. Political jobbers and thieves in government had already bought jewelries and cloths on credit for the mother of all parties.

 

It was for this occasion that mummy went to do tummy tuck, facial lift and all the lifts. She had earlier done a laser eye surgery (a process that requires rays from a laser beam, no knife or scalpels). Oh death, vanity upon vanity.

 

The First Lady could not content herself with the goodwill and charity she had garnered from her pet project ‘Child Care Trust’ she could not be rest assured of the place kept for her by activists, democrats and civil society for the role she played in making noise about her husband’s incarceration by the Abacha junta.

 

She was not content, she wanted a sweeter skin, flattened tummy, dignified gait and posture. If only the First Lady knew that rather than recuperate in the Marbella home of Senator Daisy Dajuma, she would die, she would have thought twice.

 

Of course despite all these shortcomings her Child Care Trust did touch lives even, if it is the lives of the children of the rich, she still touched lies. The woman, who stood by Obj throughout his period of incarceration, was a woman of steel, her resolve to keep looking sixteen even at sixty is a testimony to her resolve. A word is enough for the wise. Vanity upon vanity so says Solomon the wise one. May Almighty Allah help us.