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I grew up as a
teenager, in the streets of Benin City, opposite the famous New Benin
Market and ‘Regent Cinema’ where the notorious Anini had his enclave.
There, it was purely the survival of the toughest and craftiest – or so
we thought, until the God factor became clear.

Well, I survived,
despite the daily troubles and fights, especially when we had to fetch
water from those public taps where iron buckets were used freely like
in WWF – World Wrestling Federation. I had an uncle who nicknamed me
‘fighter’ because every time he entered my father’s house, he found me
by the corner kneeling down, with my eyes shut, and usually, he would
be told that I was involved in a street fight. How I managed to escape
without serious bodily harms I have now discovered to be God’s love for
innocent and ignorant children.

My story, however
is about adults. I told everybody at that time that I would rather have
internal ailment than have bodily injury that would live a scar on my
skin. Now I know better, having found out that inside our body resides
the most delicate organs. So, when I trace the history of Nigeria in
the last fifty years, I have found out that many of our leaders have
always travelled outside the shores of this nation to take care of
their failing health in the area of the heart, liver, or kidney.

The question then
arises, why have all these leaders who have continuously recycled
themselves or their children not been able to build an ultra modern
hospital that will take care of these organs effectively?

All fingers point
in one direction. This happens to be the last card in our quest for a
corrupt-free society and it is also the joker in the pack of cards, for
our acquire-all looters in the corridor of our nation’s power. A lot of
comedians have joked about most governors and even some past presidents
concentrating their efforts in refurbishing or making our prison houses
more comfortable. But to their bewilderment, according to the jokes, if
you refurbish Kuje Prison, when you are out of office, the new helmsman
may decide to send you to Gasua Prison, where the sun’s heat has never
been known to be merciful. But again, a leader who is sympathetic could
keep you in Kuje Prison in Abuja, where most political prisoners live
better than most of us outside.

Not so smart heart

It is, therefore,
very credible that these gang of leaders have refused to build a
hospital good enough because it will not support their evil ploy of
looting and bleeding the nation. As has been found out, even our
courts, after the usual de-briefing from the brief case of these
international thieves, grant that “the accused be allowed overseas
travel for medical care, for a failing heart, liver, or kidney.” If our
politicians and their cohorts know that once they are caught in the web
of fraud and corruption, they will receive full treatment right here in
Nigeria, there will be some kind of rethink to this whole disease of
kleptomania. It is strange that their heart that was strong enough to
steal but not strong enough to face the music, and the same heart would
always fail them before or during trial.

Unfortunately, President Umaru Yar’Adua (may his gentle soul rest in peace), died from heart and kidney related diseases.

Perhaps, if he was
able to get treatment for these obviously terminal ailments here in
Nigeria, the time spent in transporting him abroad could have been used
to stabilise and accord the sickness proper and more effective care
and, most importantly, the craft and chicanery of the cabal would have
been made more difficult, if not impossible.

When I saw Rotimi
Ameachi of River State on television, speaking about the new Port
Harcourt City his administration is building, and the international
standard hospital he has budgeted for in that garden city, I could not
help but say a Daniel has come to judgement. But your Excellency sir,
is our new modern hospital going to be able to treat effectively and
perfectly the very elusive problems of the liver, kidney, and heart?

For a popular musician once sang “…can’t always trust it no, the
heart is not so smart, goes where it should not go, the heart is not so
smart”.