Ailing Nigerian Leader Finally Speaks Out

Nigeria's indisposed president has broken his 52 day silence, telling the BBC that he was “felling better” and hoping to resume his duties soon.

Yar’Adua spoke in a telephone interview organized by his office from Saudi Arabia, where he has been hospitalized since November for a heart ailment. The president also wished his country’s national soccer team success in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.

Speculation has been rife in Nigeria that President Yar’Adua was incapacitated, sparking pressure on Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to take over in his place.

Yar’Adua’s doctors said he was suffering from an inflammation of the heart’s lining. He is also known to suffer from a chronic kidney condition.

Last weekend, a local newspaper reported that the president was brain-damaged and could no longer speak or recognize anyone, not even his wife Turai.

False rumours of his death have also spread on two separate occasions. In fact, the telephone interview came on a day when the American Chronicle had reported on its website that Yar’Adua had passed on, spreading panic in Nigeria. [PE]