"We Should be guided by What works" President Barack Obama.

I grew up to learn that you don't wish your fellow man even your enemy death. It's cruel and only acceptable in the extreme of all circumstances perhaps when that person is after your own life and you can't help the wickedness of men but defendj your dear life.

Today marks exactly two years,seven months and two days since Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua was sworn in as Nigeria's president in a disputed election which himself acknowledged that the process that brought him to power was 'flawed.' I was one of those who had tremendous faith in the incumbent President's ability to deliver and put Nigeria on the road map to progress and bring about the much needed economic and political emancipation that the 'Giant of Africa' deserves given the fact that God in his infinite mercies has blessed the nation with abundant human and material resources. My belief in Yar'Adua's ability to herald that needed paradigm shift stemmed from the fact that in our 50 years of nationhood,he is the only university graduate to assume the highest office of the land and moreover he came from one of those perceived humble profession which is teaching.

I presumed that since this man was coming from the education sector and more so a retiring teacher,he will come to terms with the underlying reality that education needed to be accorded high premium in our nation's development agenda;even as African governments have overlooked the full education of the African people as one of the major bane of our advancement in all areas of human endeavor.The West never misses that point that is why one of the major fulcrums of Obama's ascendancy to the US presidency as outlined in his books and campaign remains a call on America to invest more in the education sector as a panacea to maintain its enviable status as the world's then sole super power.Inability to pay serious attention to the education sector is just one of the many failures of this administration.

I was one among many who advocated that although Yar'Adua came in through the back door,he should be given the chance to build on the achievements of former President Olusegun Obasanjo or at least improve on them while we move ahead in the task of perfecting our democracy and in the direction of upward mobility of nation building. The report card of Yar'Adua today is nothing to go by rather dismal and appalling.He paints Baba Obasanjo as a super achiever. The year 2009 which coincided with the world recession-that ravaged the developed world and threatened human existence-is the worst in the ten years of our nascent democracy. A summary of the Yar'Adua's achievement has been captured in a 14 point report card published by saharareporters.com.

I had initially on the 9th of November 2009 weeks before the present incapacitation of Mr. President articulated and elucidated a 10 point discourse(nigeriarevoluition..com) on why the president should as a matter of urgency resign to save the soul of this nation;his poor health status topped the list. The saharareporters.com version is a better and summarized version of my over 25 pages discourse.

One month and 9 days ago,President Yar'Adua who could no longer hide under the cloak of performing Hajj in Saudi Arabia was admitted in a Saudi hospital. Those of us who were in the know of the inevitable quickly added steam to our initial calls for his resignation.We were vilified and demonized,call names and accused of trying to distort the political equation of Nigeria. Fasting and prayers were declared,while 'men of God' stormed Abuja and took their turns to pray for our ailing leader. Politicians have since then engaged in spurious prayers and have been posturing for who will out-pray the other. At a point it was rumoured that they were planning to bundle the President back to the country dead or alive.As for me, I continued to ask what this prayer warriors of our darling nation Nigeria want the God of Heavens to do.A miracle? A man that is known to suffer from a severe kidney ailment which is a terminal disease has his precarious health status complicated by an inflammation of the heart which is even an official version whereas we do not know if he had a heart transplant;then we are praying that God should heal him so that he will once again return to Aso Rock and be buoyed with the onerous task of leading Nigeria? Why are we so daft? Why can't we become pragmatic in the issues relating to our nation building? Does common sense not tell us that this man will indeed return to Jeddah in less than no time given the difficulty of the job of leading this nation?

For me I have never wasted my time in praying for Yar'Adua's recovery but I have busied myself praying to God to touch the heart of this man,the way he did to Pharaoh, to change Yar'Adua's heart so that he will release his sick grip on Nigeria because the real cure to his sickness remains perpetual rest with his N700m which must be running into say N700bn as at today going by the norm. Anyone who suffers multiple terminal diseases like his requires all the rest he can get and I don't think the presidency of Nigeria can warrant such rest for him. If we are a developed country we can afford to have a 'thai King' so loved that we can have him rule us from coma but in our state of depression we require a healthy individual with a good heart to alleviate the suffering of the masses.

Blinded by sectarian agenda,he has refused to hand over to his Vice-president solely because he is not a northerner.The drama has just started to play out.The other day I joked on Nairaland.com that Yar'Adua will thumbprint the supplementary budget as was speculated from his hospital bed in Jeddah. The next day,a mail filtered inside my mailbox from FOI Coalition that he actually did so. We have a healthy vice-president who can hold the fort for the president until he is able to return to Abuja even if he will eventually administer the nation from the Aso Rock hospital.

I have been and will remain a strong advocate of rotational presidency(RP) and I will be remiss If I fail to realize that truth. We have a unique history and that history requires that RP remains a panacea for the continued unity of Nigeria until we attain a certain level of development when the ethnic nationality of our president will play little role in politics.

The north should realize that once in the history of Nigeria,luck has run out on them. Or possibly as many have put it,OBJ outplayed them in that famous game of politics.I also vehemently and strongly believe that power should remain in the north till 2015 when they will pave way for the South-East.To avoid a further deterioration of the polity,a political compromise should be worked out which will see Yar'Adua hand over to his vice Goodluck Jonathan as the Constitution stipulates to hold the fort till Yar'Adua is healthy enough to return.Or even till 2011 when all the major parties will field an all northern presidential candidates with the realization that 2015 is non-negotiable for Ndi-Igbo or we face a possible break up of Nigeria.

However, I continue to ponder and ask myself these questions:Does Yar'Adua know that we have become an object of ridicule by among African nations and indeed the whole world as a sleeping giant? Is Yar'Adua aware that his continued absence,stubbornness and refusal to hand over to his vice can lead to a more severe constitutional crisis even as we have witnessed recently? I begin to wonder if he is of this generation or another one to realize that situations like this are those that can spur our brothers in uniform to have a good reason of explaining to us 'why they struck'? Does Yar'Adua realize that the destabilization of Nigeria spells doom for all Africa nations who will follow suit because if other Africa nation take it or leave it we remain the leader of Africa and as they say when a mother goat is chewing his cord,the child goat will imitate it?

I do not know the answer President Yar'adua will give to this questions but it is not difficult to arrive at what his eventually response might be going by the nation's status quo.Nigeria is at the crossroads and one man who is supposed to provide guidance and good leadership has constituted himself into a nuisance and indeed a cog in the wheel of our progress as a nation. I know that we can not continue in this chaotic state for so long. Change which is the most constant element in life must play out its role. Uncertainty hovers over the nation and even as we glide into the new year,let us remember that Idiagbon struck on the 31st and history has a way of repeating itself if we water the ground for it.

Finally,I want to end the year just like the Iranian who constantly rile out 'death to America' in all their demostration by echoing loud and clear,death to Yar'Adua for his determination to destabilize the nation in his over two years in power.

God bless Nigeria.

Even as I don't agree with the call for the death of Yar Adua I can understand the consideration leading to this call i.e the need for 140 million people to gain effective and progressive leadership.

Let me add that Yar Adua is not the only culprit in this saga even as he is currently the focal point . Let us focus too on the many conspirators who can , but refuse , to do the right thing and put an end to this macabre Presidency. The names David Mark, Dimeji Bankole , Aondoakaa readily come to mind. Let us consider also all the shameless members of the FEC - federal executive council- who keep endorsing Yar Adua as fit to lead when we all now know that they are telling lies.

It is a tad simplistic to think Yar Adua's death will solve anything. If Yar Adua dies and the powerful "business as usual" politicians and kingmakers remain influential, we will simly gain another regressive stooge like Yar Adua. As far as I am concerned , a near total cleansing of our political stratoshpere , to be done by a focused and legitimate President, is the only solution.

@Poster, it is not good to wish someone dead because it is the COWARDS solution to problems. Yar adua is meer mortal; a weakling at best. He is not the culprit here. The 140 million people who have caged themselves, while conveniently blaming the a few and this man are the culprits here. They are the ones who continue to rob the young of a better future in Nigeria.

Even when you get your wish, what guarantee do you have that this will end? You quoted Obama there, but you forgot to add we wished the same during Abacha’s time in office. Did that really work out for our good in the end?

Kobojunkie:

The 140 million people who have caged themselves, while conveniently blaming the a few and this man are the culprits here.

What have you done to change all this if its the citizens fault? Or are you not part of the 140 million?

Never wish another man's death neither should you take a man's life cos you are not a creator of life and are also capable of dying