SUNTAI: A MAN STRUGGLING TO BE HIMSELF

He was a man full of life. That was before October 25, last year. He flew a plane. Not as an amateur. He is a certified pilot. But the plane came down and life for Danbaba Danfulani Suntai, Taraba State governor, has not been the same again.

He returned to the country yesterday, but he is not the Suntai many knew. His gait gave the impression he could fall if not supported. His look unfocussed, as though blank. He shook hands as though it made not much meaning to him.

Almost everything about the new Suntai raises posers: Is he really well? Did he rush home so he could keep his seat as governor? Will he be able to function efficiently as governor? Why was he prevented from talking with reporters both in Abuja and in Jalingo? And why was the reception so short as though someone was trying to hide something?

His aides claim he is fit and that he was tired yesterday as a result of a jet lag and needed to rest. Former Minister of Information Prof Jerry Gana, who was at the Abuja Airport yesterday to receive him, said he was happy Suntai was back. But, is he really back?

The late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua also had cause to be away for so long. He was brought in the middle of the night and sneaked into the Presidential Villa and was never seen by the public. His then deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, continued as acting president. Taraba has been under Acting Governor Garba Umar since October last year. The Suntai who returned from Staten Island, United States yesterday, does not look ready to displace Umar. So, there may be a governor and an acting governor at the Government House, Jalingo for some time to come. It may cause friction, especially coming not long after the acting governor sacked the Secretary to the State Government and some commissioners appointed by Suntai for allegedly mismanaging the N400 million grant the Federal Government gave to the state to mitigate the effect of the floods, which ravaged the state last year.

The questions will not stop and answers will be demanded.

Culled from The Nation