El-Zakzaky Complaints Too Many

By Suleiman Umaru

 Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, the leader of the Iran backed  Islamic  Movement of Nigeria, IMN, appears to have given the Federal government  room to doubt his sincerity of actually seeking medical attention in  the New Delhi,  India, Hospital of Medanta, which was booked by him and all the necessary bills paid by the government  in order to  quickly commence treatment as soon as he gets there.  The IMN leader may have deceived the government by his actions on getting to  India.

This is because the same  complaints of poor medical facilities he had raised against the Nigerian Hospital used for his treatment  played out again in the Indian Hospital, an indication that  that he has a plan to escape to any of the Arab countries sympathetic to his cause.

The IMN leader had described the Indian Hospital as   ‘’pathetic and worrisome’’ in order to draw the international Community  sympathy for himself. He may have got it wrong as the Hospital Authorities quickly found out his tricks  and quickly kept him and the wife under close watch.

 It was then that  it dawned to them that his intention of   insisting that he should be flown  to India  for  medication was not really because   of his deteriorating  health  but ostensible to use the Hospital to perfect plans to escape.  He may have proved the Hospital Authorities right as he refused to allow the  Doctors assigned to him to commence treatment.

Sheikh Ibrahim el-Zazaky: IMN Leader On A Wheel Chair

His justification for the action  was that  before he left Nigeria for the Indian Hospital,  it was agreed  that his personal Physicians would supervise  his treatment and that of Zeenat, the wife but that is not what they are  getting.  Describing  the Doctors assigned for their treatment  as ‘’strange men’’, he had vowed  never  to take any treatment  from them without the supervision of his personal physicians, which the Hospital  Doctors considered laughable.

Security watchers believe that the IMN leader  may have  been up to something  as he had also complained of tight security around him at the Hospital .  ‘’On  getting to the Indian hospital  , we were placed  under a tighter security  situation  worse than   what  we had witnessed in Nigeria’’, he had said .  The truth of the matter was that he wanted to be allowed Freedom of movement and to receive visitors at any given time which the Hospital Authorities were not not ready to grant him.

The Hospital Management at the instance of the Indian government  are not ready to guarantee him for fear that he might escape. Note that the government had assigned some  Department of State security, DSS, Operative to accompany him to the Indian hospital to monitor his movements and  the visitors coming to see him .

He had considered the situation worrisome as he had accused the DSS personnel of conniving with foreign security agents, particular, the American CIA, to watch over him. Giving that his plans could not be executed  that could have created a Diplomatic row between  Nigerian and  the Asian country . He had pleaded with the hospital   Authorities to allow him return to Nigeria to enable him source for  a more reliable  and trusted hospital  in Malaysia and  the European country of Turkey , which he believes could help.

El –Zakzaky, the IMN , leader may have made people to believe  that why the  Medanta hospital  did take his worsening health condition serious  was because  security agents  believed to be working for the the United States government had perfected plans to frustrate his treatment.  

Ii is not surprising why his followers are peddling the rumour both within and outside the country   that the All Progressive Congress, APC, government led by President Muhammadu Buhari  and the American  secret service  are frustrating   the medical treatment of their leader  in the New Delhi Hospital, India.

The uncontrollable attitude of the IMN  leader  in faraway India may have become a source of worry to the government that it could no longer condone it but to allow the hospital to return him to Nigeria, where his facing trial.   Grace Gekpe, Permanent Secretary, ministry of Information and Culture  may have spoken the mind of the Katsina born Nigeria President when she described  the IMN lamentation as ‘’foul cry’’, that should be disregarded.

An angry Gekpe,   disclosed    that the Islamic Cleric  started ‘’displaying his  ulterior motives   against laid down procedures  when he  and Zeenat, his wife, made a stopover in  Dubai. She noted that the situation continued in India where he insisted   he must be checked into a five star  hotel instead of  a hospital. He was said to have requested to be given unfettered access to visitors.  He was said to have also requested that his international Passport which was seized from him by the DSS be returned.’’They were impossible demands’’, according to a security source.  

He may have known that his case is a bad one that he decided to utilize any available opportunity to the draw the international Community to his condition.  The Presidency may have been worried at the reports of the DSS  personnel who had accompanied  him to Indian for treatment  that his behavior was not different from how the terrorists all over the world  behave . This may have prompted the   India government, the Nigerian security  Operatives and the America secret agents to ensure that he was not given a moment  chance  which could cause great damage.

 The Medanta hospital Authorities  may have known that he is a security that they quickly acceded to his request to return him to Nigeria.

Ibrahim Musa , the IMN Spokesperson, who reportedly confirmed it said it was a personal decision based  on lack of  a ‘’breakthrough  in the impasse that ensued  with regard  to the treatment of  Shiite  leader  in the India hospital’’. According to him, the IMN leader  was given two conditions to remain in the hospital  either   to commence the treatment  on their own terms  or the government terms or they will be  sent back to Nigeria. He was said to have opted to be sent  back to Nigeria, describing it as the ‘’best option for everybody’’.

Perhaps, to avoid a break down of Law and Order in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, with the planned return of the IMN leader, security was said to have been beefed up at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Internal Airport  to avoid the infiltration of his followers into the Airport.  His refusal to commence treatment in the Indian hospital  may  have caused  caused the government a fortune.   The government had paid  for return ticket for him and the wife including the hospital bills. The duo were said to spent almost a week and  three days in the hospital.  

The government was said to have  also paid for the return tickets of his is, personal Physicians, and the DSS, personnel, assigned to accompany the husband and wife to the Indian hospital including their hotel Accommodations and   Estacodes,  which many believe run into thousands of dollar which could have been channeled to other areas of the economy.  The government may have undertaken this extra-budgetary expenditure because el-Zazaky  and the wife are still facing trial and  in DSS custody.

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