I have stood and watched from the sidelines, as Russia pounded Georgia, with superior military power. I cried for the civilian population of Georgia and mostly, l wept for the inhabitants of South Osetia as their “state” became a theatre of war and reckless show of Power.

I was even more worried when the United States, currently the strongest nation militarily, jumped into the fray by taking sides, using fiery comments and rhetoric. The two Presidential nominee where not left out, trying to use the situation to score much needed credits on “being ready” as Commander-in-chief and being seen as having “good judgment” on international politics.

After all said and done, it is the people of Georgia- Gore, Poti, South Ossetia, that lost children, mothers and fathers and it is their state that was turned into ruins. What lessons, do we learn from these situation as it concerns our fatherland, Nigeria?

A short relapse on how the conflict, which has been simmering since 1990, blew into a full scale war, between tiny Georgia, a break-away USSR republic and a mighty Russia of the cold war fame, will attempt to show the link between the continued survival of a nation and the world in general, and the “mental stability and state of mind” of a President and commander-in-chief.

Georgia wanted South Osetia back into the Georgian republic. President Mikheil Saakashvili was aware that majority of the South Osetians, like their Abkalzian neighbors , carry Russian Passports, making them Russian citizens.

President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, wanted to join “Nato alliance”, for protection against a smarting Russia, still bruising from being “short-changed” in the “Glasnot and Perestroika” scam, played on it during the Gorbachev reign, by the USA.

The European allies have blocked and delayed Georgia’s membership for “security reasons” not least among them, its political instability and the rumblings from Russia.

Then the unthinkable happened, Georgia’s President Mikheil Saakashvili “ordered the use of military force” to conquer and re-integrate South Osetia!

He knew what Russia’s reaction will be, he was counting on a swift response, by twisting the hand of European allies and forcing them into a defense-mode, such that they would have to be co-opted into direct war with Russia, in trying to defend Georgia. Infact, he calculated that this should lead to a military clash-of-heads between the two super powers, USA and Russia.

In summary, he goofed, he miscalculated, he was not thinking straight, he sent his military to untimely annihilation, he destroyed the economic prosperity of his country, he sacrificed the lives of his people, the same people he was supposed to protect; by his singular action, the whole infrastructure of Georgia was ruined and some territorial parts of his country was annexed and lost to Russia. Though events are still unfolding, the expected support, albeit most importantly, the military intervention, never came! America puffed and strutted all over the place but a war weary George Bush, still bugged down in Iraq, Afghanistan and possibly thinking of opening a new front in Iran, with tons of domestic economic headache, did the prudent thing…shout, rave and rant and offer ill-affordable aid package!

The question then is: what manner of President, will lead his people to the slaughter-Slab, to commit suicide, on such a scale?

Or are we to assume that President Mikheil Saakashvili, like the German Fuehrer, Adolf Hitler, was unaware of the consequence and futility of their actions or better still, was their “state of mind and mental stability” in such a poor state that they could not comprehend and therefore articulate the foolishness of starting a war they have a ‘zero chance’ of winning?

The position of “Executive President and commander-in-chief” demands not just a very astute and experienced mind but one that is sane, vibrant and not bogged down by any form of infirmity that may affect decision making.

Like someone retorted cynically, “President Mikheil Saakashvili must certainly be crazy to start this war”.

This brings us to the situation in Nigeria and the current “infirmity” of our President.

Personally, l have never missed a day of praying for President UMYA, to recover and be hail and hearty. As the president of my country, his health affects my health and that of my families. I look forward to the day l can watch him on TV, smiling at us and telling us how far he has gone into solving the myriads of problems he inherited from that ruinous man called OBJ or just to watch him playing squash or Golf, like a man whose heart is beaming with thanks, to the almighty God for having brought him this far.

Having said that, l want to also draw his attention and by implication, every other Niegrian, to the fact that as a leader of a nation, the “President and Commander-in-chief”, his “state of mind and mental stability” is crucial at all times.

We are concerned and worried over him. The President’s cohorts have sought to deceive the nation about his true state of health and this has led to wild speculations and rumors so much so that we can neither trust them nor trust the Presidents ‘sense and judgments’.

Like President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, it will only take one second of “uncoordinated thinking” bordering on a “poor state of mind and mental health” in one form or the other, to bring a nation to ruin,! Irascible and irrational behavior, engendered by whatever factor, be it from sickness or smoking Indian hemp, does not belong in the corridors of the “President and Commander-in-chief”.

Since there are so many selfish interests at play, who will continue to urge the President to hold sway even when his health and common sense demands that he “retire for complete medical rehabilitation” ….(and one rumor has it that his wife commented that “He should rather die in office than step-down”)….. l will opine that the citizens at large, have a say on this matter.

We can not continue to look at the “micro-picture and our myopic self-interest” while we neglect the larger picture and the fact that as human, the “sound health” of Mr. President should transcend any pecuniary benefit his ‘entourage of hangers-on and marabouts’ might forfeit, should he step-down to go look after his health properly while handing over the day-to-day governance of the country to those who are next in line of authority.

May healing come to the marrows of our President, IJN.

Mr. "Deji Saanu is an I.T specialist and Digital Security Consultant.

Robot  # 1 | 05.09.2008 23:26

...Read the full article.

pappilo  # 2 | 06.09.2008 02:41

President sakashvilli was and probably still is mad! I support Russia's actions 100% but I,ll d rather the whole event didnt happen as too many civillian and military lives were wasted. The Americans left their country and travellled thousands of miles to invade Iraq under false pretense and they have the balls to critisize Russia for defending its small neighbour in need of help. America's actions in Iraq has led to the death of over 500,000 people according to a chrisitian monitor report. 500,000 human beings made by God wasted over made up claims of WMD , are you not concerened???. Unlike America that stands aside (the russians are guilty as well) when the people in Darfur are slaughtered or citizens of Zimbabwe are starved by their own president, the Russians chose to take a stand against the oppression of a minority (the Ossetians) by the Georgians. To all the pro American people, regardless of what Russia does, America cannot do nothing to Russia. All they can do is talk, talk and more talk! As for Mr Yar'Adua, I am sorry I do not offer him any prayers and I strongly call on people doing so to channel their prayers to other more important areas.

Agidimolaja  # 3 | 06.09.2008 03:12

No! I will not pray for him also. Why should I? Because he is sick?So what? But he is attending a world-class hospital in Saudi Arabia at the expense of millions of Nigerians. Millions of Nigerians are here at home as sick as he is but with no hospitals to attend. Why did Oga Patapata not try and attend Abuja or Katsina General Hospital so that he may know that khaki no be leather? Do I want him dead? No! But death is a necessary end. We are all on death's waiting list.

employlawone  # 4 | 06.09.2008 04:35

On a lighter note there was a time when UCH Ibadan, LUTH, ABTH and others may have done an adequate job on him, but policies of successive governments have laid these places to waste and reduced them to shells of their once 'hallowed' existence. As for prayers, I will pray for UMYA, because as a Christian I believe, in praying for those who consider themselves my enemies by their actions, my oppressors and my persecutors. For in praying we ultimately benefit in the longer term.

10Kobo  # 5 | 06.09.2008 08:48

=Agidimolaja;4295094223>No! I will not pray for him also. Why should I? Because he is sick?So what? But he is attending a world-class hospital in Saudi Arabia at the expense of millions of Nigerians. Millions of Nigerians are here at home as sick as he is but with no hospitals to attend. Why did Oga Patapata not try and attend Abuja or Katsina General Hospital so that he may know that khaki no be leather? Do I want him dead? No! But death is a necessary end. We are all on death's waiting list. A-la-gidi-molaja :D, wetin, haaba? why wont you pray for a sickly man? what if he died nko, is that when you will start praying for the "repose" of his soul? Abeg jare, your "agidi" dey make me angry! :confused1:mad: I've always wondered why our leaders seems "soooo disconnected" with the people they lead. At one point, one Minister has said until he sees Nigerians scouring for food in the dustbins, that is when he would believe there is hunger among the populace but as he was making that statement, l had seen people, loads of them, doing exactly that same thing!! How come he couldn't see them? When OBJ was President, everyone begged him, even when it was his duty, to visit the issue of decaying infrastructure, especially transport, in form of failing roads and traffic standstills. The man acted deaf and dumb but a few days after leaving Aso Rock and he had to journey between Agege, in Lagos and his farm in nearby Otta, he was furious and raving mad that he missed his appointment simply because he got stuck in the same traffic standstill he was indifferent to! :D We have cried everyday about the decay in our electrical power supply system and for a whopping 18months now yet Ooga UMYA is still trying to "plug-in" into his 'emergency system' :D ...... and l am wondering, is it till that day when his life will depend on the same steady power supply, that he will finally feel "enough is enough" and do something about it? The Police force would not make any significant armed robbery arrest until one of their "big-bosses" or a Guv'nor is attacked or killed! For all they care, ordinary citizens can be dying daily in their millions :D Must our leaders wait till the calamity Nigerians, in their millions, experience on a daily basis, to knock on their own personal doorstep, before they deem it fit to respond? What is "servant-leadership" all about when the said leaders are so selfish and self-centered? Thanks to UMYA's kidney "acting-up", at least he has finally seen the need for hospital that can cater for kidney patients, to be built and equipped, at the speed-of-light! :D click and read, the billion-naira contract award, just for the sake of himself and himself alone. http://www.saharareporters.... So, should we always pray for our leaders to be "well and sound" or to be "plagued and afflicted" all day long? Which one will benefit us most? Which one will make them discharge their responsibility to us or at least throw some crumbs of democracy, our way? I rest my yeeye mind! 10Kobo

aguabata  # 6 | 06.09.2008 11:20

Georgia has the right to keep its territorial integrity through military action, the georgians were doing the right thing constitutionally but misjudged Russians direct and prompt intervention, Georgian president couldnt be stupid enough to expect US to fight the russians knowing the state of the economy and the new political order in the offing, he must have thought the russians would simply be giving the south Ossetian rebels arms and hopefully US and EU will also supply arms to them and facilitate their membership into NATO. The effect on the georgian infrastructure is a bit exaggerated in this article rather it is the humilliation that will cause the most pain.

10Kobo  # 7 | 08.09.2008 08:09

=aguabata;4295094309>Georgia has the right to keep its territorial integrity through military action, the Georgians were doing the right thing constitutionally..... . Do you really think anyone has the right, morally, constitutionally or militarily, to suppress the yearnings of a nation (South Osetian nation in this case) to be free? What would you say if l draw a parallel between this "Georgia Vs. South Osetians" and that of the Igbo nation, when the "Nigerian" govt used military force to suppress their yearnings to be free of this clog called Federal Nigeria, back then, resulting in mass Genocide of the Igbo nation? Was that justifiable as well? And by the way, dont introduce a "tribal angle" to your reply because l am not even from the Igbo tribe! Nnaa, dis logic baffles me. 10Kobo

christen  # 8 | 09.09.2008 17:15

=10Kobo;4295094271>A-la-gidi-molaja :D, wetin, haaba? why wont you pray for a sickly man? what if he died nko, is that when you will start praying for the "repose" of his soul? Abeg jare, your "agidi" dey make me angry! :confused1:mad: I've always wondered why our leaders seems "soooo disconnected" with the people they lead. At one point, one Minister has said until he sees Nigerians scouring for food in the dustbins, that is when he would believe there is hunger among the populace but as he was making that statement, l had seen people, loads of them, doing exactly that same thing!! How come he couldn't see them? When OBJ was President, everyone begged him, even when it was his duty, to visit the issue of decaying infrastructure, especially transport, in form of failing roads and traffic standstills. The man acted deaf and dumb but a few days after leaving Aso Rock and he had to journey between Agege, in Lagos and his farm in nearby Otta, he was furious and raving mad that he missed his appointment simply because he got stuck in the same traffic standstill he was indifferent to! :D We have cried everyday about the decay in our electrical power supply system and for a whopping 18months now yet Ooga UMYA is still trying to "plug-in" into his 'emergency system' :D ...... and l am wondering, is it till that day when his life will depend on the same steady power supply, that he will finally feel "enough is enough" and do something about it? The Police force would not make any significant armed robbery arrest until one of their "big-bosses" or a Guv'nor is attacked or killed! For all they care, ordinary citizens can be dying daily in their millions :D Must our leaders wait till the calamity Nigerians, in their millions, experience on a daily basis, to knock on their own personal doorstep, before they deem it fit to respond? What is "servant-leadership" all about when the said leaders are so selfish and self-centered? Thanks to UMYA's kidney "acting-up", at least he has finally seen the need for hospital that can cater for kidney patients, to be built and equipped, at the speed-of-light! :D click and read, the billion-naira contract award, just for the sake of himself and himself alone. http://www.saharareporters.... So, should we always pray for our leaders to be "well and sound" or to be "plagued and afflicted" all day long? Which one will benefit us most? Which one will make them discharge their responsibility to us or at least throw some crumbs of democracy, our way? I rest my yeeye mind! 10Kobo Thanks to UMYA's kidney "acting-up", at least he has finally seen the need for hospital that can cater for kidney patients, to be built and equipped, at the speed-of-light! :D it would be nothing short of a miracle if he does indeed see the need for a well equipped hospital and actually put one in place!!!

10Kobo  # 9 | 10.09.2008 18:47

=christen;4295095816>Thanks to UMYA's kidney "acting-up", at least he has finally seen the need for hospital that can cater for kidney patients, to be built and equipped, at the speed-of-light! :D it would be nothing short of a miracle if he does indeed see the need for a well equipped hospital and actually put one in place!!! Now, he does not have a choice....."Post surgical Rehabilitation"! No one plays "Ludo", when its their life thats at stake!! :D I hope some poor people can also benefit from the usage of the hospital sha?

toksy  # 10 | 11.09.2008 08:42

What i still find hard to comprehend about this guy, UMYA, is that he's known he had this medical condition while he was a governor of Katsina state for 8 years, he did jack about it. At the time, in his asset declaration, he was reputed to be worth 100million naira but in his latest declaration of his net worth, last year, the figure has gone close to 900million Naira. This means, while he was a "servant-leader" of Katsina state, his private business was yeilding him almost 100million naira per annum. yet, the guy didn't see it salient and prudent to spend some of these money on his deteriorating health. Why did he agree to become our president when he's fully aware of his health condition? Now, the guy is flying to germany today, S.Arabia tommorrow to treat this long-known affliction at the expense of the poor sufferin' & smilin' people of nigeria who can't even afford to buy common drugs to save the lives of their loved ones. The same poor "suffering & smiling" masses are now being asked to pray for the health of their president so that, in effect, he can continue propagating their miseries through his myopic, incompetence, visionless and corrupt politiks. Next thing, you will hear some religious leaders (hoping to jump on the gravy train), spitting brimstone and fire, saying that the poor people of nigeria should fast for the life of their president, but somehow omit to highlight myriad evidences which suggest that, in actual fact, UMYA, doesn't give a damn about the masses or their problems! But these are people who have already incorporated 0-1-0 into their daily diet due to the conditions, the ilk of yar adua instituted, nourished and perpetuated in the country. Did UMYA and his cronies pray for the lives of hundreds of nigerians that die on a daily basis because of inadequate medical facilities in the country, even though billions of naira are allocated every year to the health sector? did they, heck? Not that the people have any need for their leaders' prayers, they just want their leaders to do something constructive to alleviate the deplorable conditions of their human existence. Did Umya and his paymasters attempt to really serve the people of nigeria by devising measures aimed at assuaging their wretchedness? Hell no rather, they have sent messages of "business as usual" to their fellow insensitive, greedy, morally-bankrupt, bungling and corrupt public officials. He has done nothing so far to improve the lot of the improverished people of 9ger and yet they are being asked to pray for his life! Of what consequence is it to them, whether he lives or die? They do not care if he lives or die, all they want is for yar adua to vacate Aso rock if he knows, he's not medically fit to affect a change in their lives and let he, who will, and can, ascend onto the "throne". How many more nigerians has to die aa a corollary of yar dua 's failing health status ? haba! The man no get two heads o !, So why then, should tens of hundred of nigerians have to die due to his inability to lead and his doggedness to hang on to power, at all cost? UMYA should just go and enjoy his millions (however way earned) in a nursing home ojare and leave the deprived nigerian citizenry to converge their little energy on how to survive, the daily conundrum, life in nigeria, portend. Just my "widow's mite"...........