PRESIDENT YAR'ADUA AND THE LOME MIRACLE.

Umaru Musa Yar'Adua

As was common at such events within the sub-region
The President alighted from the aircraft to a tumultuous crowd that had been

stationed at the airport to welcome the visiting African leaders. That also meant he had to inspect a guards of honour!
Nobody anticipated any trouble until the president took about 20 steps and could not move again. Since the drummers and dancers were carrying on excitedly,there was not much attention focussed on him at that point. He whispered to the ADC,who had by then moved close to him,that he may fall if he took as much as another step. Moving quickly, Mustapha draped the lapel of the president's Babaringa over his uniform, so that no one would see his right hand, which he had used to support the president while pulling him forward with his shoulder and right leg. Many in the ecstatic crowd watched the awkward and slow movement of the president. The ADC succeeded in dragging him forward until he could make a detour to enter the nearest room at the arrival hall. It was a public place,but all the officials were immediately cleared by a visibly worried Togolese president,who helped the ADC to sit President Yar'adua on a chair provided for him.
Because we were the last delegation to arrive at the airport, which was quite a distance from the town where the ECOWAS session was to hold,immediately the president aircraft touched down and cameras captured his arrival,all the journalists were directed to leave for the venue so that they would not be caught in the presidential convoy. That became the saving grace:beyond the official photographer and cameramen who came with the Togolese president,there was no newsmen around the airport from the private media to observe the unfortunate drama.
We stayed at the airport for a further thirty minutes while the doctor observed the President. When we eventually arrived at the venue,rather than go for the meeting,the president moved straight to the room that had already been prepared for him. As people milled around, there were whispers that the Nigerian President had nearly collapsed at the airport,with varying accounts as to what had happened.
Given the incident,and sensing that it might not be wise to hold a session in public in the state the Nigeria president was,the ECOWAS leaders decided to have an informal closed door session with no other official present. It was only after the session had ended that someone came to where we were all gathered to read the communiqué.
Till today,it remains a mystery to me how the ADC successfully moved the president away from the tarmac,a fairly long distance.
His only responses when I asked him later in the day was a terse, "I am a military officer." Nevertheless,with the remarkable feat, his stoke rose,since the president knew he (ADC) had saved him from what would have been an international embarrassment, Until then, Col.Mustapha Dennis Onoyiveta had been viewed with suspicion based on the little fact that he is an Urhobo man from Delta State and not a northerner as some preferred.
Yet he had gotten the job purely on merit after a competitive interview conducted by Major-Genera Muhammed from a shortlist sent by the defence headquarters. That itself became an issue,as there were whispering campaign that former president Obasanjo deliberately planted Mustapha on Yar'adua. After Togo, Mustapha loyalty was never question again.
The experience of that day sounded a further note of alarm that the president needed to attend to his health. At the time,I too had earned his trust so when the idea was being mooted for him to travel out of the  country,I was in the picture quite early. He 

personally told me of the need for him to see his doctors in Saudi Arabia, and I suggested that the best way to handle the issue was to give an advance notice. Most Nigerians would understand and even appreciate the gesture if that was done,I told him,he agreed.
So five days before he was scheduled to leave the country on  Friday, August 14,2009,I informed Nigerians that the president would be travelling for a scheduled medical Check- Up. In the statement I put out on  Monday, August 10,2009,I added that he was expected to be away for one week.

The excerpt was from the book, Power, politics and death written by Segun Adeniyi.