Tragic End Of Prince Abubakar Audu

The nation was jolted on November 22nd, 2015 with the death of former two time governor of Kogi State and APC candidate for the 2015 gubernatorial elections, Prince Abubakar Audu. In a string of coincidence, that day marked the 52nd anniversary of the death of the charismatic former United States President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. The only difference between the two deaths was that one was violent and the other was by natural causes.

Three possible reasons were adduced for his death which was rather untimely as he was on the verge of becoming a three time governor of the confluence state, a feat only achieved by Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim of Yobe state.

The first reason was that he was a victim of food poisoning as he was said to have vomited blood before dying.

The second was that he was hypertensive and vomited blood before he went to cast his vote in his hometown of Ogbonicha with the doctors having to give him a blood transfusion to give him the energy for the arduous trip. He returned home and started vomiting blood all over again.

The third was that his health had been failing for quite some time and may have died from complications from some serious medical condition which was not disclosed. His death was not sudden as he had been ill for quite some time.

Chinua Achebe in his treatise, “The Problem with Nigeria” put the failure of the Nigerian State squarely on that of leadership. He was meant to have been rushed to Abuja and then flown abroad for proper medical treatment before the inevitability of death played a fast one on them. Why can’t our leaders or rulers invest massively in our healthcare system? If Kogi state had a good healthcare system, there won’t have been any need to first take him to Abuja and then use that as a transit route to fly him abroad.

Why wouldn’t death come when so much man hours had been wasted? What goes around seems to be coming around for our parasitic political class who have been worse than irresponsible with our enormous human and financial resources. Nemesis seems to be on the ruthless prowl. It has now become the norm for our rulers to meet their maker abroad. Billions of dollars is been transferred to the west and even India in form of health tourism because we have failed to get our axe together in the healthcare sector.

It is a monumental shame that thousands of our doctors are servicing Western and Asian hospitals while ours have been left to deteriorate into something worse than mere consulting clinics apologies to the late General Sani Abacha. Former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Alameiyeseigha also died in similar circumstances when there was no functional clinic in his hometown of Amassoma. By the time, he got to Port Harcourt; he had given up the ghost.

There is no consideration for the hapless common man who can’t afford the medical bills of the West or even India. The largely inept National Health Insurance Scheme does not even cover the treatment of the cancer ailment which has been ravishing Nigerians in recent times. The irony is that it is the looted funds that is been used by the inhumane political elite to fund their medical expenses abroad.

Some of late Audu’s critics opined that at 68 and having being in Lord Lugard House twice, he had no business contesting again for the coveted office. I see nothing wrong in his taking a shot at the highly exalted office. It was his constitutional right to do so and age is not a barrier to seeking to lead the people. Madiba Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s President at 76, Ronald Reagan became the oldest American President at 69, Winston Churchill was back to Downing Street for the second time at 76, Golda Meir became the first female Prime Minister of the State of Israel at 71. There was nothing wrong with his aspiration but he owed a duty to the people of Kogi State whom he wanted to serve to disclose his health challenges. As a servant-leader, they deserved to know. It would then be left to them to decide if they could take a gamble with him. There should be a constitutional provision compelling intending public office holders to make a full disclosure of their medical history to avoid this ugly reoccurrence.

His death has plunged the state into controversy. Technically, he won the elections as he had higher votes than that of the incumbent, Captain Idris Wada. However, it was declared inconclusive because the voided votes were more than that of the difference between his and that of Wada’s. This is the first time a death of this nature is happening in the country and the constitution is silent on its implication. It has propped up legal fireworks and the controversy is something that would linger for a long time to come. The National Assembly has a huge job to do to ensure this lacuna is well covered.

Whoever becomes the next governor of the state should devote a huge chunk of the resources to revamping the healthcare sector. There is no big deal in having a well-equipped hospital devoted to heart ailments for instance to avoid needless deaths. A lesson from Audu’s death which should have as a lesson to all future governors is to ensure that the masses have a better deal especially with regard to the health care sector as health is wealth. The death of two former governors because of the health sector neglect has shown that a boomerang can be the price of non challance.

Two deaths from the lack of vision should be enough lessons for the present occupants of the various government houses and a lesson in the ephemeral nature of power. At the end of the day, the filthy lucre wouldn’t save the beneficiary from the harsh verdict of posterity. The fast cars, posh houses, voluptuous women, choice food and wines would fade into cruel oblivion. What would matter would be the worthy and positive legacies left behind? Health is wealth goes the age-long aphorism. It won’t be a bad idea for our leaders to etch their names in the sands of time by ensuring their led get a better deal in healthcare services and avoid the shame of having to turn into mendicants to foot their bills.

May the soul of Prince Abubakar Audu rest in perfect peace!

Tony Ademiluyi

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Articles by Anthony Ademiluyi