Short Memo to my President

My dear President

I remain your staunch supporter, but I cannot close my eyes to areas you are obviously derailing. Once again, I find myself having to disagree with you on all these visits being made to you in the UK by different segments of the Nigerian political space. I am, in fact, surprised that you agreed to all this media charade in the first place.

The visits will achieve nothing, sir, except:

Taking resources away from Nigeria to enrich the UK economy. Every visit made to you in the UK by delegates from Nigeria makes the Nigerian economy poorer and the UK economy richer. When these people visit you, employment is created in the UK and unemployment created in Nigeria; resources are taken away from Nigeria and added to the UK economy. We are the loser sir. Your medical bill is already costing the country a fortune, why increase the cost by allowing all these needless visits sir?

As the leader of the most populous Black nation on earth, I think you should be genuinely concerned about the negative image your long medical stay in the UK is causing our dear country, Nigeria (even though nothing is legally wrong with it). It tells a sorry tale of our deplorable healthcare system. Why advertise that national embarrassment with all these visits?

If nothing else sir, these visits are making a mockery of you, Mr. President, and our dear country, Nigeria, before the international community. For God’s sake, Mr. President, you are neither a museum piece nor some tourist center for people to take turns to visit and make a sing-song of it.

If these visits are intended to puncture Governor Ayo Fayose and Femi Fani Kayode’s claim that you are on life support, it is certainly an over-kill, and an embarrassing one at that. I make bold to say that you do not need to prove anything to Fayose, FFK or PDP. These visits have only succeeded in politicizing your ill-health and making Fayose and FFK relevant.

It seems to me sir, that you have pandered to the wishes of your media handlers, led by Lai Mohammed. I am surprised that you allowed a media team that has been laid-back to take their own turn to visit you. What is their visit supposed to prove that the visits of the Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, Arch Bishop of Canterbury, Justin Wellby and APC and PDP chieftains and governors visit to you did not prove? Your mandate is not to please your media team sir. Your mandate is to please Nigerians, and I honestly do think that instead of allowing all these visits, you should have made a short live broadcast to Nigerians. I’m even surprised that your physicians approve of these visits.
Mr. President, please put a stop to all these visits; it is making a mockery of you, and embarrassing our country. Take your time to recover fully and come back home sir. I wish you full and speedy recovery.

Yours faithfully

Frank Ofili