On Thursday, December 10, 2009, Dr Doyin Okupe, President Obasanjo's former aide, wrote an article in This Day titled: "In Defence of Yar'Adua" where he falsely claimed that Evita Peron was a former Argentine President.
The offending paragraph reads: "I recall the events that led to the death of Evita Peron, the late Argentine President. When Evita was dying of a terminal illness nobody asked for her resignation. There was no bad press about her health. She was so moribund and on a down hill course to her demise, yet night after night, citizens of Argentina lit their candles, prayed and cried until her final passing over to the world beyond. President Yar'Adua is a better and stronger breed than Evita Peron."
This comparison by the President Obasanjo's former spokesman is facile and does not support the spinmeister's argument. While it is true that Eva "Evita" Peron was an influential politician who once accepted the nomination for the Vice-Presidency, she ultimately had to withdraw her candidacy when her failing health became an issue. Ms Peron was never an elected head of state.
By bringing up the case of Evita Peron in his poorly-written article, Dr Okupe has shot himself plumb in the heart. There is no logical reason for Mr Yar'Adua's insistence on ruling by telephone. He is ailing and clearly living on borrowed time. He has created a vacuum in the centre of government that has given his thieving ministers the license to pillage the country's finances.
The President must do the right thing.
Dayo Coker
Economic Analyst and Blogger,
[email protected]
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