Suntai Is In Control Of His Mental Faculties Suntai Is In Control Of His Mental FacultiesPublished on September 3, 2013 by pmnews· No Comments Mr. John Dara is former Nigeria presidential candidate and one of the few friends of Governor Danbaba Suntai who were at the airport to receive the Taraba State chief executive when hereturned from a long treatment in the United States last week. He spoke to AYORINDE OLUOKUN on the various controversies that have dogged the return of his friend to the country What do you make of the controversies that have surrounded the return of Governor Suntai to the country? It is expected in politics. The drama of mutual suspicion between governors and their deputies, presidents and their deputies, is not peculiar to Nigeria; it happens all over the world. And my hope is that as our democracy matures, each and every one of us will learn to do the right thing and uphold the rule of law in the system. The governor has supporters, the deputy governor hassupporters, but as an outsider who is close to both of them, my own interest is for peace, and for the two seemingly conflicting interests to be harmonised for the overall interest of Taraba State. The general opinion is that the governor is not yet in the right frame of mind to resume office. Just like in Yar’Adua’s time, many believe that he was brought back by a cabal which is desirous of hijacking power in the state, using him as a cover.Do you think this is a valid claim? •John Dara First of all, those who are talking have never met the governor, they’ve not had conversation with him, so they don’t even know anything about the state of his health. But I have met with him. I know that if he wants to move from one point to the other, it is a struggle for him because he is someone recovering from a major accident. But the constitution recognises that such things may happen and it is up to him to get to a point wherehe says, ‘I don’t even want this inconvenience; I don’t even want this stress.’ But you cannot be saying ‘You are too tired, you are too sick, you should go’, because that will show that you also have a hidden agenda. And they are not necessarily saying that because they want good governance or out of allegiance to theConstitution of Nigeria. It is because they have vested interest. I am aware of the fact that those who do not want Suntai to come back are giving money to civil society and media organisations tosustain a campaign that he is senile, he is an invalid. They’ve told us before that he was brain dead. Now they have seen him arrive, wave to them, and he is holding conversation with the people. Even at the airport, they were saying he could not get down without support. But even sometimes, somebody who has malaria may not be able get down from an aircraft without support. But that is not the issue at stake. Can he read memo? Can he make reasonable or logical decisions? These are some of the questions that should be asked. We should love our leaders, from the President tocouncillors to the people who are physically and mentally fit. But you will notice that the main emphasis is on mental illness, not really on physical fitness. A man who is 75 – and there are some of them who are in their 70s who are in government today – how physically fit is he? But mentally, he (Suntai) is still alert, he is still able totake reasonable decisions. So, we are simply saying external forces should not rush the process. Let the people of Taraba State work out what is in their best interest so that there is no conflict or breakdown of law and order. I believe that if the deputy governor is genuinely loyal to his boss, he should be first of all be very happy to see him back. As a personal friend and as a human being, I had thought I would never see Suntai again, so I was thrilled to see him and we were able to hold reasonable conversation together when he returned. And that showed me that this is not a man whose brain is scattered, this is a man who obviously is recovering from trauma, but his faculties are already restored. Those are the issues that I think every one of us should pay attention to. We must not over-dramatise this thing in such a manner that will precipitate an avoidable crisis. You were at the airport to receive the governor and you said you spoke to him and he is in controlof his faculties. But those who watched him as he was being helped down the aircraft at the airporton television said they saw a man that cannot even talk yet. He has not also spoken publicly since he came back and it appears that he is not even yet in full control of his faculties? When the Governor of Enugu State returned after a long sojourn abroad, did he address the press atthe airport? Was his problem mental? He arrived and drove away in his car to the government house. Even now, how many times have they seen him in public? But the Enugu State Governor addressed journalists later. So, why can’t you wait for the later of Taraba State? Who told you that he will not address journalists later? I have already told them (journalists) at the airport that he would have a formal press conference, he will address the state, but when people are up to mischief, you will know it. Some people said the state Assembly summoned him, but that is not what is provided for in the constitution. They have the power to summon anybody, but that is not what astate Assembly that has missed their Governor should do to welcome someone they have missedfor 10 months. In any case, that was not true. It was the handiuwork of mischief makers. When the man has rested enough, he will speak to the press. America had a president who had polio, but he governed successfully and they hid the polio from most Americans, which means his exposure to the public was controlled. One can be on a wheelchair and still be in control of his faculties. But the fear of Nigerians in the case of the Taraba governor is that he may not just be physically incapacitated, he may also not be in control of his faculties. The fear is unfounded. The fear is out of sheer propaganda from those who do not wish the manwell, those who wish him dead. You remember when he had accident, the first report was that he was dead and some people were jubilating. So, those who were jubilating that the man was dead, do you think they will be happy now that he is alive? They are the ones spreading these irresponsible rumours about his faculties. Have they done any examination for him and he failed? Have they spoken to him and he couldn’t speak back? So, the press and the public should wait. Give him a few days. When the governor came back, you were one of those at the airport to meet him. Did you have a long conversation with him? We had conversations; he even ate. He ate at the airport. He stayed in Abuja airport for over one hour; he rested and we had conversations. We had pictures together. The media people came in and took pictures, but what we had agreed was that there would be no interview, and that was even before he arrived. We agreed that that the interviews should be later. So, jumping to conclusions without facts is not charitable. But how soon will be this later that you said the governor will come out and speak? I am not one of his handlers. I am not a staff of government of Taraba State. I am just somebody who is grateful to God, thrilled and happy to see my friend who I thought was dead back alive. Left to me, I don’t care whether he is governor or not a governor. Whether he is or not a governor, he is my friend, he remains the husband of his wife; he remains the father of his children. But that’s a decision the people of Taraba should be allowed to make. When the governor returned to Taraba last week,his deputy who was at the airport was not allowed to get near him and it appears that thereis a cabal that wants to exploit the situation for its own benefit… The number of people in the cabal must be very many because there were hundreds of thousandsof people who were at the airport. And the hundreds of thousands of people were saying they were not happy about the level of loyalty the deputy governor has shown. So, is that a cabal? You are inventing words and creating problems. The media must be careful as the fourth estate of the republic not to be the one fanning the embers of discord. I am not aware of any cabal. I know the people of Taraba State who are watching the drama that is unfolding and I know that at the airport in Jalingo, these people were ecstatic; almost difficult to control intheir excitement that their governor who they thought was dead is alive; he is back. And even psychologically, it is easier for the governor to make progress in the recovery process in a familiar environment, so he is back at home. That’s why people are saying that the governor should not have been brought back to the countrynow, since he is not fully recovered; that his return to the country was motivated by the desireof some power mongers. The people saying that are ignorant. I am saying to you that a man who is recovering even needs to be back in his home at a stage. What they should be saying is, ‘Is he back and strong enoughto govern?’ That is a legitimate question. But when you ask a question, wait for the answer. You cannot ask, ‘Is he well enough?’ and then yousay ‘he is not well enough.’ You will be talking nonsense. It has to be a conclusion based on evidence on the ground. Can the man write? Can the man read? Can the man speak? Can the man make reasonable judgments? Those are questions that are begging for answers. And I am saying the man is back, let’s all watch and see whether he can do what they say he cannot do. If he cannot, there are avenues in the constitution for the people of Taraba and the state Assembly to say ‘Look, we need government, we need goodgovernance. We love you, Governor, but it is clear you cannot do this.’ We’ve not reached that point, but people who arenegative minded are jumping to their own negative conclusions before they have the facts. And they are now creating impressions that they are the ones who are the good people and those saying that, ‘Wait a minute, let’s manage this in a way that Taraba will be stronger, Taraba will be united, Taraba will be happy.’ So, it is a manufactured idea and I don’t think that the media should lend themselves to such mischief. In this country we are not babies, we know those who use religion and ethnicity to hanker for power, we know those who wish the man dead. But now he is alive, they should face that reality and give peace a chance in Taraba State. Going forward, what is your advice to the people of Taraba State? The people of Taraba should put the interest of Taraba above any religious or ethnic sentiment. The people of Taraba should think about peace, harmony and progress. And when they have appraised the situation with facts available to them, they should take a reasonable decision in the interest of Taraba State.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 13:29:41 +0000
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