A dispute between the Presidency and an online news medium, SaharaReporters,
has introduced a new dimension to the health challenge that President
Goodluck Jonathan had in London on Thursday. The matter was provoked by a
response by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and
Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, to a story by SaharaReporters on the illness.
The medium had, on Friday, alleged that
Jonathan’s health broke down in London after engaging in a drinking
spree during a bash organised to mark his 56th birthday. That this
angered the Presidency is evident in the tone of statement issued by
Abati, which indicates that the government may institute a legal action.
In the statement that has sparked online reactions by many Nigerians, Abati said contrary to SaharaReporters’
claim, Jonathan observed his birthday on Wednesday quietly with better
part of the day spent on air from Abuja to London – while the remaining
part was spent in the privacy of his hotel room.
The statement partly read, “It is very
regrettable indeed that after complying with President Jonathan’s
standing instruction that Nigerians must never be kept in the dark about
the state of his health, the public was duly informed that the
President had received precautionary medical attention for an unexpected
indisposition in London. SaharaReporters and some other
reckless, lawless, impudent and unpatriotic Internet-based media chose
to assault the sensibilities of all decent Nigerians again with their
entirely fictional, malicious, hate-driven and scurrilous distortion of
the facts of the President’s indisposition.
“The suggestion by SaharaReporters
that President Jonathan took ill following a ‘heavy birthday party
thrown to celebrate the President’s 56th birthday at his Presidential
suite in the InterContinental Hotel in London’ is fictional nonsense as
there was definitely no party in London to celebrate President
Jonathan’s birthday on Wednesday night.”
With the latest development, the
presidential spokesman has once again come under fire from Nigerians who
say the response is hardly necessary. A majority of Nigerians who have
taken to Twitter, Facebook and The Punch news website, where the
statement was also published, say Abati’s response has thrown the
hitherto ‘unpopular and unknown report’ into the open.
Meanwhile, in the midst of the debate,
New York, US-based SaharaReporters says its report on the President’s
health is valid. It made this known in a statement on its website,
saying, “Despite Mr. Jonathan’s threats and deployment of scare tactics,
SaharaReporters, stands by its account of the events in London in the
past few days.
“While we have the attention of the
president and the hawks in the Presidency, we take this opportunity to
draw their attention to the scandalous quality of Nigerian governance
that SaharaReporters and most of the Nigerian media have been reporting
for many years, of which his government forms only a part.
As the 2015 election approaches and Mr.
Jonathan tries to invite the sympathy of Nigerians in his favour, we
challenge him to prove — including in a court of law – that these
reports have been “entirely fictional, malicious, hate-driven and
scurrilous distortion of the facts.”
Stating his views on the issue in The
Punch website, a certain Uba wrote, “They now respond to every gossip –
even beer parlour gossips. The Internet is a cesspool of gossip and
millions of Nigerians were not even aware of this gossip because it was
not carried by the mainstream media. Why on earth is this president now
replying to bloggers?’’
Abiodun Adeniran, who also dropped a
comment on the website, corroborated Uba’s stance in his post which
read, “I think the press relation managers of the President are a big
apology by making him to respond to a ‘beer parlour gossip’. The truth
is that excelling and making an indelible performance in a post like the
Presidency or any other exalted office does not necessarily require the
office holder to have exceptional knowledge.”
Akin, on the other hand, expressed his
opinion in a rather humorous manner, saying, “Abati! Abati!! Abati!!.
How many times did I call you? Why are you using ‘big big’ grammar that
even your Oga does not understand? Your use of big grammar and abusive
words shows a desperate man trying to be defensive by all means. Ok what
caused the ‘abdominal pain’?”
Another respondent, Adaku, also shares
Akin’s thought, arguing, “You make me vomit with your attempts to
protect your principal. Please, try to sound a little bit believable.
There is still life for after your days in the Presidency. Or will there
not be?”
Comments have also been flowing in
torrents on Twitter where respondents to the ongoing debate have not
been milder either. Mooha posted a sarcastic tweet which read, “Make
they tell Nigerians the truth about Jonathan’s health . Rueben Abati,
make una tell us the truth and no propaganda please.”
Lawrence Aknwumi also noted that it is important for the Presidency to establish the meaning of ‘precautionary treatment’.
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