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Turai Yar'Adua our modern day Imelda Marcos

Turai Yar'Adua our modern day Imelda Marcos. by Kayode Ogundamisi

Imelda Marcos is known in world history as the schemer of Philippines but also the “jointe presidento” of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos became the 10th President of the Philippines, he took the oath of office to defend the constitution of Philippines but in practical terms gave the “right to rule” to his amiable, strong wife, the “rose of Tacloban” and “iron butterfly” Imelda Marcos. Today Nigeria is presenting to the world her own Imelda Marcos in the person of “Her Excellency” Hajia Turai Yar’Adua, wife of the bedridden President of the Federal republic of Nigeria, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

Turai like Winnie and Hilary also finds herself in the throes of very sad historical circumstances. For her right now, there is the need to rise up from the ruins of a heart that should be shattered by the fate of her terminally ill husband who is also the president of a country in turmoil and stand on the side of her country. Turai must choose between the privileges of being the wife of a president and the rights of a country in need of a president; a president at work. She also needs to choose between the needs of a helpless man who must be challenged by the fact he is indeed dying and her need to enjoy the splendour, influence and ostentation that attend the life of a president's wife in Nigeria.Inspite of the despicable things we do to each other in a bid to survive and be influential, we are a nation of people with the African spirit; we share deep fraternal ties and true love for one another. Inspire of the fact that Stella and her husband abused the faith of Nigerians, we sympathised with him and her family. We are quick to empathise with our neighbour in distress and do whatsoever we can to ease the pain.

That is why it is painfully embarrassing to see that we have been denied the privilege to empathise with the Yar'adua family over the predicament of their son and Turai must take the bulk of the responsibility for that because of the obvious choices she has made. She must be held accountable for the fact that rather than cushion her husband's pains, she is fuelling the outrage that compounds his situation by insisting that he hangs unto power at the expense of Nigeria and his life. How much could a man possibly hold unto at a time like this?

It's amazing to see how she has evolved from the rustic woman who suddenly found herself in Aso rock to this sophisticated trendy woman with an insatiable appetite for power and the accessories that make it addictive. Turai leaves no one in doubt about her aspirations and she seems to be acting a well thought out plot that should culminate in her enthronement.
What we can only do is appeal to Madam President in waiting to put the well being of her husband and Nigeria first before anything else. President Umar Musa Yar’Adua is described as a very good man with good intentions and some of us who oppose his evil party the Peoples Democratic Party believe so, Turai can help free Musa from the “nest of killers”. She must join well meaning Nigerians to liberate the president from the evil men and women who pretend to love Musa Yar’Adua than Yar’Adua himself, they are nothing but a greedy lot who in reality are determined to loot our commonwealth and manipulate a sick president in the interest of the minority few in Abuja and other part of Nigeria over the 145 million people in dire need for a living and working President.

Hajia Turai is free as a Nigerian citizen to contest election into any post in Nigeria including the highest position in the land, the way she is holding on to power in Morden day Nigeria makes Imelda Marcos look like mother Theresa.

Only Hajia Turai Yar’Adua can free Musa Yar’Adua from the vagabonds in power. The time to tell the president to step down is now, in his own interest, in Turai’s interest and in the interest of Nigeria.Nigeria takes pre-eminence over any individual or gang. Ours is a democracy and not monarchy where the queen can inherit the throne after the king. There are laid down procedures that must be followed. Besides does Turai think she can do better than her husband? And if that were the case there are constitutional ways of proving her point without taking Nigeria hostage. 2011 is here already and it’s a trouble free opportunity she can take advantage of to pursue her ambition. She's been first lady long enough and with the talents she's revealing to us right now, there's no doubt about the fact that she must have amassed enough resources to fund her ambition. Hillary was merciful enough to legally pursue her ambition without politically murdering her husband. Let her story inspire Turai and encourage her to desist from rushing her husband to his grave.

Evil manifests in diverse ways but Turai and her gang are unprecedented! Nigerians do not want the president dead, Nigerians want the president to 'step aside' and take care of his health. If by the grace of God he survives it all, he is welcome to submit himself to democratic processes again.

The Ladies are Nudist So What?

Lagos State government! The ladies are Nudist! So what?
By Kayode Ogundamisi
Early in the year the Lagos state environmental task force, carried out what it described as a “carefully planned and very well executed raid” on private clubs that were said to be “carrying out immoral acts” such as girls performing “nude dancing”. It is the responsibility of any government to make sure that clubs and entertainment centres operate within the confines of the law and a responsible government will also keep an eye on such clubs to make sure they do not engage the services of the underage, minors or ladies who are forced to perform without their consent.

However the recent invasion of clubs by the Lagos government officials in a Rambo style manner is very unbecoming of a state whose governor is arguably one of the best performing public official Nigeria as ever witnessed in recent times. The way they subjected those young Nigerian women, to series of humiliation, by photographing them openly and making such available to the press almost naked is a violation of the rights of the citizens. If the officials involved in the raid must display the “captives” can’t they give them the choice of having their clothes on?
There is need for the government to check the excesses of the Lagos State Environmental task force, that agency is more or less now behaving like a “moral soldier” meant to dictate to private citizens, on what move they should view, which club they must visit, what colour they must paint houses and what manner of apparels ladies must wear.

The raid before last week’s by the very same official did not produce any conviction except the sensation it got in the media. Sadly, the media worldwide seem to enjoy the public humiliation of the female body type, it is apparent those found to be “poll dancing” where men the photographs would not have been of public interest, thus we must stop the obscene chauvinistic tendency that is taking root in our society.

In as much as Lagos has been doing well so far, we cannot and must not keep quiet when some officials are out of line and literally wrapped up in misconduct. The emergence of ostentatious clubs, “yachts’” and other elitist play toys are contentious by-products of a city that prides itself in its pro-active mechanism of governance. If we do not cautiously ensure that a healthy balance is maintained at all times some overzealous officials will pretty soon start dictating to Nigerians on the shape, size and complexion of the partner they must date or marry - could get that ridiculous!

Under the nose of our so called “moral police” young Nigerian ladies who are incessantly challenged with forced long holidays due to the neglect of the educational sector and strikes by both academic and non academic staffs engage in misdemeanors to while away time or simply survive. High and low class prostitution thrive unchallenged in the streets of well lit reserved areas of Lagos and the men who can patronize these girls are definitely high net worth individuals in government and the private sector.

The irony rests in the act that it is the same Nigerian public officials who patronise these same clubs, have we not heard stories of girls pimping for commissioners, governors, directors, ministers and all in our various campuses? At least it is public knowledge that some public officials in Nigeria patronise these same clubs that are tagged immoral when on official assignment outside Nigeria . If the story of the “India Apple” is to be believed, then we all know that Aso Rock unofficially kept prostitutes in the dying days of Sanni Abacha.

Besides what alternatives are available to these erring young people? What choice do they have? The male students go delinquent and violent, venturing into kidnapping or just simply spend days in cyber cafés to look for an unlucky “mugu” that they can scam. Can’t the government see that we have let down our youths and tackle the problem from the basics? What infrastructures have been put in place to productively engage young people and empower them to live meaningful lives? Fact remains that an idle mind remains the devil’s favourite workshop and when that idleness is compounded with poverty there is no limit to what can go wrong.
The entertainment industry remains a sucour for young people all over the world. Impoverished young men and women are being transformed to millionaires, doing good work. If the government could partner more people in the entertainment industry to create a safe and conducive environment for the industry to grow in Nigeria and also serve as an alternative source of leisure and excitement in a nation bereft of social infrastructure, the nude clubs will die a natural death.

Moreover, are these social issues not as a result of more serious concerns in Nigeria ? With a sleeping president, law makers who cannot point out the difference between red and orange? Fast growing religious empires without a corresponding upright following? Collapsed infrastructure such as energy, road, aviation, policing, law and order and a charade called ICPC and other so called anti corruption agencies?

Women groups, non-governmental organizations, civil society groups should please mobilize and come to the aid of our youths, bring to justice those involved in the violation of the rights of young Nigerian in all ramifications and urgently assist in the rehabilitation of those who may have been forced to take up indecent lifestyles to survive the crunch of today’s Nigeria.
They also must impress on the officials of the Lagos State government that treating nude dancing as an outright criminal issue is contentious because there is a greater sense in dealing with it as a moral issue. If it is crucial for the lagos state government to eradicate it then the better option might be to regulate the activities of clubs by engaging the proprietors, putting acceptable norms in place and regularly inspecting the clubs to make sure they are not operating contrary to stipulated rules.

Unfortunately, religious leaders are jumping into the bandwagon of sitting in judgement over the ladies! Rather, they should put their money where their mouths are and check the corruption going on in their own organisations, or call to order government officials who have front row seats in their church and mosques and also impress on them the desperate need for them to deliver good governance. A failed society is the society where those who should speak out only speak out when it is popular to speak.