By Emmanuel Ebimoh
Certain events that happen in our lives have the power to prove more significant than others, or yet, leave a lasting change in us. Many times we term them as being mere coincidences, other times we simply cannot ignore the presence of the supernatural in these events. But, whether we choose to be oblivious of the significance of certain events in our lives, the truth still remains that somewhere in the annals of history we were touched or changed by them.
President Muhammadu Buhari, since his inception as the number-one citizen of the country, has suffered from series of undisclosed illness that took him outside the shores of the country for medical treatment. After grabbing the presidential ticket during the last general elections on March 29, 2015, the president has since then embarked on medical trips to the United Kingdom three times, spending 166 days in the foreign land.
The first among the visits was a 14-day medical leave from June 6 – June 19, 2016 where it was said that the president went for treatment of a persistent ear infection. The following year, on January 19, 2017, the president embarked on another medical journey and spent 49 days in the UK, this time treating an undisclosed illness. Again, that same year, on May 7, 2017 the president travelled to the UK where he spent 103 days on another medical visit. During that period, different rumours went viral on the internet about the president’s actual state of health. Some even went ahead to speculate that the president had passed on abroad.
However, debunking the erroneous speculations on the president’s health during the period, more significant and indeed worthy of note was the caliber of visitors received by the president in his prolonged 103-days stay in London. Having received many high profile political members from his cabinets, and other dignitaries at the Abuja residence in London, a day before his arrival to Nigeria, the leader of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye visited him. After the visit, the president took to his Twitter handle, @MBuhari to express gratitude to the man of God for the visit.
“I thank Pastor Adeboye for visiting today and for his prayers and good wishes. May God continue to bless him and his work,” President Buhari tweeted.
The following day, on August 19, 2017, after the visit from Pastor Adeboye, President Muhammadu Buhari came back to Nigeria, looking as fit as a fiddle, ready to take on the challenges laden on the presidential office. As a matter of fact, in spite of reports from rumour-mongers who enthusiastically fuelled tittle-tattles that the president was not his real self, the president arrived in his full traditional regalia with a matching cap, actively smiling and exchanging pleasantries with dignitaries who waited for him on his arrival at the airport. Since then there has been no reason for him to travel abroad for such routine medical treatment. Now the question is: could it be a mere coincidence that immediately after the visit of the man of God to the president in the UK, he returned home and fully regained his health, or, did the president encounter the touch of the supernatural as a result of the Pastor’s visit which ensured his full recovery?
Going back memory lane in the case of former president, late Umaru Yar’Adua, who suffered from a chronic heart condition that took him away from public eyes for months, there were indications that the embattled ex-president might not be as healthy as Nigerians were made to believe even before he was elected president. Shortly after his ascension to the presidency, the late Yar’Adua started showing signs of a failing health condition which was believed to have plagued him from his tenure as governor of Katsina state. He was flown abroad on several occasions for treatment of chronic pericarditis, but unfortunately, he didn’t stay long to complete his presidential tenure.
With that national tragedy fresh in mind, Nigerians hoped the same fate won’t repeat itself again. So with maintained commitment, several heartfelt prayers were held across the country for the quick recovery of President Buhari during his prolonged medical leave abroad. Perhaps, the visit of the renowned Christian leader, Pastor Adeboye brought about the needed supernatural touch to augment prayers for the president and revive him back to his duties as the number one citizen in the country.
Emmanuel Ebimoh is a Social Media Strategist, Writer and Blogger with 9News Nigeria.
You can contact him on
Facebook: facebook.com/EmmanuelEbimoh
Twitter: @emmyebimoh
