Is Chime sick?

A recent media report said there are anxieties over the state of health of Enugu state governor, Barrister Sullivan Chime. The report, as contained in Sunday Punch, added that Governor Chime was taken to an undisclosed hospital as a result of his ill-health.

But the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Dan Nomeh, quickly retorted that Chime is hale and hearty, contrary to the Punch report which he described as ‘mischievous’.

Incidentally, the Chief Press Secretary admitted that the governor was slightly indisposed, as a result of which he had to be confined to his residence in Enugu for recovery. The newspaper had reported that Governor Chime was taken to an undisclosed hospital following his ill-health.

In the words of Nomeh, “The truth of the matter was that the Governor was slightly indisposed and took some days to rest on the advice of his personal physician. At no time did he step out of his residence to any hospital as to arouse the concern which the journalist reported”.

The governor’s spokesperson added: “As I speak to you, Governor Chime is on his seat at the Government House. He’s hale and hearty and there’s no anxiety whatsoever over his health. As a matter of fact, at no time was government business slowed down on account of any ‘anxiety of ill health. His Excellency has continued to attend to his official duties”.

Nomeh, for the purposes of emphasis, restated that ‘Governor Chime is healthy and continuing with his commitment to rebuild dilapidated infrastructure, provide quality life for the citizens and generally better the lives of the people’..

KlinReports, however, observes that, contrary to the claims of the Chief Press Secretary, all is not well with Governor Chime. The Chief Press Secretary himself did admit that Chime was slightly indisposed as a result of which he got bedridden in his residence.

Now, where lies the goof in the Sunday Punch report? One thing that is very clear between the newspaper report and Nomeh’s admittance is that Chime is sick. Or, is he not?

And the report was not the first hint of Governor Chime’s ill-health. Whether for the adduced reason of exhaustion (FATIGUE) or not, the governor had, sometime in 1996, collapsed in a public function in Enugu. That incident was enough pointer to the fact that something is definitely amiss with the health of the lawyer turned governor.

But the worrisome aspect of our polity is that the health statuses of our leaders are always shrouded in myths and mysteries. For instance, why can’t Chime’s Chief Press Secretary expatiate, at least, for the benefit of the people of the state, on what the ‘slight indisposition’ of Governor Chime is all about? Is Chime suffering from malaria, cold or cough? What manner of sickness is Chime suffering from?

Fidel Castro of Cuba was sick. His health status was disclosed to the people of the world. Here in Nigeria, Nigerians must never be told what is wrong with either their president or their governors. One governor in Nigeria, Mamman Ali of Yobe, is dead; Nigerians and, especially, indigenes of his state are stunned. Ali had to sneak out of the country to a far away hospital in Florida, United States of America (USA) to die as a result of hitherto undisclosed ailment. But had Ali’s health status been made known, the shock would have been less to his people.

Sickness is natural phenomenon, and every mortal is bound to fall sick. So, what’s the big deal if the over two million people of Enugu state are told the nature of their governor’s indisposition? What a shame!