By Halima Olajumoke Sogbesan
I am made to believe that the Office of the First Lady is not recognized by the Nigerian constitution. However, the celebrity status of the First Lady is enough to convince anyone that the position is a ceremonious one with many privileges, the most recent being possible candidacy for position of Permanent Secretary. I was, therefore, not surprised when Nigerians noticed the absence of our First Lady-turned-politician from public arena for about six weeks and asked questions regarding her whereabouts.
Ayo Osinlu, the First Lady’s aide, explained to the media that Mrs Jonathan had to “rest” after hosting the laborious African First Ladies Summit in July. The presidency said no more on the subject, leaving the people with unanswered questions, therefore, giving room to media speculations. Few weeks into the First Lady’s mysterious absence, different “discoveries” were made on the First Lady’s whereabouts. First, the media reported that Mrs. Jonathan was in Germany receiving treatment at one Horst Schmidt Klinik in Wiesbaden for numerous ailments.
The First Lady was alleged to have been hospitalized for treatment of terminal diseases, such as cancer of the uterus and the Parkinson’s syndrome. Her Body Mass Index (BMI), slurred speech, and slow movements were symptoms that were fed to the public as indicators that she had these diseases. I dismissed the credibility of these news reports when the speculated list of ailments extended. In addition to the previous list, the First Lady was supposedly treating complications from a cosmetic surgery she had in Dubai; she was getting treated for food poisoning and, in fact, some speculated that she had died. You can always trust Nigerians, they will connect the dots. Overnight, people concluded that the Aso Rock Presidential Villa had been cast under a dark spell. This spell was said to have claimed the life of a president and/or a first lady. Examples of the death of Late Abacha, Stella Obasanjo and Yar’Adua were cited to make the nonsense believable. Was it Patience’s turn? Nigerians asked.
While these speculations continued, the presidency remained mute about Dame Patience Jonathan’s location. Instead, to pacify the enquiring minds, the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) on October 7 aired President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit to the First lady in Germany. She was not dead after all.
Patience Jonathan finally silenced cynics with her arrival at Abuja on October 17. She was received amid celebration at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport by politicians, state First Ladies, and female ministers. Mrs Jonathan was happy to be back to Nigeria and she had a few words for those that had spread the rumors. She said, “…I will use this opportunity to tell those few ones that are saying that anybody that goes to Villa or Aso Rock will die. They mentioned Abacha, Stella Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and other people. But those people, why didn’t they mention those ones that went there with their families and succeeded and they still came out alive?
“At the same time, I read in the media where they said I was in the hospital. God Almighty knows I have never been to that hospital. I don’t even know the hospital they mentioned. I have to explain what God has done for me. I do not have terminal illness, or any cosmetic surgery much less tummy tuck.”
I was just about to castigate the rumor mongers before some more words of the First lady struck me. “…I will use this opportunity to thank my beloved husband and my children and my staff in general and all Nigerians for standing by me during my trial time. God has given me a second chance to come and work with women of Nigeria, children and the less privileged.”
Mrs Jonathan is causing some confusion here. Apart from the fact that many people who welcomed her at the villa wore shirts with “you will live long” inscribed on them, Mrs Jonathan talked about “a trial time” in her life and God giving her “a second chance”. What is Mrs Jonathan not telling the Nigerians she has come back to “serve”? I may have understood the First Lady better if she just slightly hinted at her whereabouts for six weeks. Don’t we deserve to know how she was getting really comfortable with the nation’s money?
This is another issue that is shrouded in detestable secrecy. It has become typical of the presidency to keep health issues secret. The Patience Jonathan case has some similarity with that of Late President Yar’Adua, whose unstable health was kept secret until his death. My prayer for the First Lady is that she remains in good health. However, let Mrs. Jonathan tell the truth about her condition to Nigerians. Until she does that, her “second chance” will continue to remain a perplexing issue.
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