A View From The Scandinavian

What happened to N13 billion Aso Clinic’s Budget?

So, if the people rejoice again at the death of the next prominent politician, please let them rejoice. If stealing, looting and spreading poverty make the politicians happy, then their deaths should make the people rejoice. What goes around, comes around. Death is no exception. Happiness, irrespective of the source, cannot be an exception.

What happened to N13 billion Aso Clinic’s Budget?

By Adeola Aderounmu

To understand the evil that has been perpetrated by both the PDP (1999-2015) and the APC (2015 – 2020), all you have to do is to remember their promises and what they delivered.

In 2016, this APC government budgeted more for the Aso rock clinic than all the federal teaching hospitals in Nigeria. Let that sink in your cerebral as you read on.

In this table is the total budget for Aso Clinic since 2015. Amounts are estimates in billion and millions.

Keep the budget in mind and read on.

One of the undeniable facts about the Buhari-APC mandate is that one Abba Kyari (who passed on recently) was until his death the mastermind of this Buhari regime after (not before) it’s inauguration. In this essay, l would limit his influence to what he knew about the Aso rock clinic.

The reasons why Nigeria, a mere geographical region, is in such a bad shape today can be discussed from now till eternity because everybody has his or her own opinions.

But another fact is that for one reason or the other, majority of Nigerians have myopic views and they forget about yesterday hoping that a divine or an invisible force will come with a soothing balm the next day. How many people remember, or care about what transpired in 2017 under this evil Buhari-APC mandate?

Abba Kyari’s life is not more important than Edith’s mother who died because no hospital outside of Onitsha would admit her to treat her heart problem. Kyari’s life is not worth more than all the hundreds of children who will die today in Nigeria because of malaria.

In 2017, the Reps started a probe that covered the tenure of both Mr. Jonathan and Mr. Buhari with respect to the Aso Clinic. It was in response to Mrs. Buhari who (rightly or wrongly) brought the attention of the whole world to the deplorable state of the Aso clinic. What did Nigerians do with that information? How did the investigation end? Was Jonathan summoned for questioning? Did Buhari go to the Reps to explain why the clinic was in a deplorable condition? How useful are the Reps in this type of enquiry?

Let me repeat one of the reasons Nigeria became a hell on planet earth. Nigerians go to sleep, pray and hope that tomorrow will be better or that solutions come from above. Zebrudaya will say, faa, faa… faa….faaa….fowl!

Abba Kyari as the main man of Buhari, actually the chief of staff, must know that Aso Rock Clinic was in a deplorable state. With all that we now know about the man, surely he had knowledge of where the money went too. This man wedge so much power that Osinbajo almost became an invisible entity in the government he helped to bring to power through his religion.

Abba Kyari became the alfa and omega of the Buhari government. Like many other foolish, arrogant and senseless Nigerian politicians, he preferred to be an outpatient at a London hospital rather than ensuring that the billions and excess budget allocated to Aso clinic was put to work.

At the height of the stupidity of the APC-Buhari mandate, Mr. Buhari stopped all “outsiders” from visiting the clinic, restricting it to himself and the inner caucus. Still when he got sick, Mr. Buhari went abroad. Do you know the meaning of stupid? Do you know what it means to lack common sense? Even when his son was involved in a reckless auto accident, Mr. Buhari flew him abroad.

If Nigeria was a country, we can count in one thousand ways why fools, reckless and worthless people would never smell the political offices. The presidency would be reserved for a person with functional brain cells and effective cognitivity.

When Buhari and his family were going abroad to “rest” or seek medical tourism, Nigerians (if Nigeria was a country) would have united and end such stupidities. It was this democratic virus called kovikk one nine in Aso rock that exposed Abba Kyari as an outpatient clinic for a London hospital as well.

The first point I tried to establish here is that Mr. Kyari does not like himself. If he does, then he had no common sense when he was alive. Common sense should allow people with privileges to take advantages of opportunities. One way would be to upgrade Aso clinic to a world class health center because of unexpected or unforeseen circumstances. So, No! Abba kyari, (like Buhari and Yar Adua) did not have common sense!

If you want to see an example of a man with common sense, look at Boris Johnson. He got sick and was admitted at the center of London. That is sense. Sadly, it is this type of simple cases that brings insult to the intellectuality and mental capacities of the African race. We have morons representing us, and showing us badly to the world.

Abba Kyari could have been admitted a few meters away from his office if N13 billion-naira worth of equipment were available at the Aso Clinic. Aso Clinic could have been a world class hospital or clinic. The resources were there and still there!

What we know, is that the budget was on paper. What we don’t know is if 10 times that amount was transferred digitally as the real cost. Nigeria is a geographical region, so the people in power remain above the law. They do what they like, they get away with it. They are mostly criminals.

Kyari died at 82. When does a man deserve to enjoy the fruits of his work, his labour and his loots? I remember in the early days of the APC-Buhari mandate and on a few occasions after that, l argued that even a man like Buhari (as at 2015) should be home in Daura tending his cattle and laughing with his grandchildren. That is still my view today if that man Buhari still exists.

Whether you like it or not, whether you speak good or evil of the dead or not, a man like Abba Kyari was one of the problems with Nigeria. His demise in the hand of this democratic virus does not bring us any hope or solution. We are living in a geographical region where evil replaces evil and good never rises. Abba is just one man, not better in any way than the 21 or more people that the military have executed since the start of the unplanned lockdown in Nigeria.

It’s just another one bite the dust. Abba Kyari’s life is not more important than Edith’s mother who died because no hospital outside of Onitsha would admit her to treat her heart problem. Kyari’s life is not worth more than all the hundreds of children who will die today in Nigeria because of malaria.

Do Nigerian politicians learn? Do they see the death of the most powerful among them as a reason to return their loots and build the geographical region called Nigeria? Will they sell their houses in London and bring the proceeds back to Nigeria?

Will they sell their houses in Dubai and bring all the monies back home knowing that Kyari did not take any of those with him? Will the stupid ones scheming for 2023 relax and work together to build factories, hospital, modern schools, good roads and better infrastructure knowing that life itself is a passage and death is certain?

I could ask one thousand questions bothering on the meaning and essence of our transient lives.

If we don’t learn from this and start to ask for better governance and take our rights by force, then kyari’s death is useless to us. If the politicians don’t learn from this and return all loots, cut their borgeous salaries, spread wealth and not poverty, then Kyari’s death is useless to them.

So, if the people rejoice again at the death of the next prominent politician, please let them rejoice. If stealing, looting and spreading poverty make the politicians happy, then their deaths should make the people rejoice. What goes around, comes around. Death is no exception. Happiness, no matter the sources, cannot be an exception.

aderounmu@gmail.com