Alhaji Yerima Shettima, the convener of the Arewa Youth Coalition has said that Nigeria is too big to be held back by the sickness of President Muhammad Buhari.
Shettima made the comments in reaction to a statement from the Governor of Benue state, Samuel Ortom. Ortom had earlier said, “We should be praying for him. If Mr. President is sick, it means all of us are sick; the whole country is sick. It is our responsibility to pray that Mr. President get well so that our country too will be well.”
However Shettima criticized Ortom in his own remarks as he stated that Nigeria would forge ahead, despite the condition of the ailing president.
His words: “As much as we love him (Buhari), and we are worried about his health, we cannot say because he is sick, the entire country should fall apart. We pray for his quick recovery, but Nigeria must forge ahead.
“Nigeria must forge ahead, but we pray for him to come back in good health and discharge his duties and fulfil his obligation to the electorate. But for anybody to say without Buhari, there is no Nigeria or because he sick, the country is sick; it is not right.
“I am sure Buhari will not want Nigeria to go down, or for the country to be sick because he is sick. We need to be mindful of our words; the country is greater than any individual.”
Also commenting on the matter to PUNCH, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the Director of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), said, “When the President left for his first medical trip, he made it known that he would still go back for a checkup. The health of the president is very important, and he has a duty to take care of himself. The governors do not have to tell the President before he does that. They are not medical doctors.
“It is what the medical team in London tells him that will be done. Nigeria has existed before the President was born, and the country will continue to be whether he is well or not.”
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