A president and his grey hair

Fellow Nigerians, I invite you all to look sternly at the head or any exposed part of the head of President Goodluck Jonathan, when next he appears in public on his very thickly choreographed schedules.
When I said I invite you all, I mean you all, but especially those who have never seen any bit of wisdom in observing the size and kempt of the heads of their leaders, and those who wish to carve out some course of study from the physical metamorphosis of their leaders while they do their burdensome work of leading people.

Most of us would describe it as nothing striking that a societal leader grows grey hair for reasons emanating from the various degrees of the panting heat of leadership with all its demands, and in all its ramifications. Most of us would say the skull of a societal leader shoots off grey hair several times more speedily than his or her age warrants.
Yes! There is nothing striking about all these. It is normal!

However, the skull of President Jonathan looks more grey-haired than normally exciting, and whatever type of hat he wears to cover the grey hair betrays all his efforts at concealing the irritating heat of all the demands and ramifications of presiding over the affairs of the Earth’s most populous black society and its rather abnormally persistent and mounting troubles.
One is at pains to reconcile the regular smiles and amiable mien of President Jonathan with his too speedily greying hair.

Yes! Every leader of the country over its 54-year nationhood history is in a class of his own in terms of the massive weight of the peculiar challenges emanating from the internal and external circumstances of the country when he assumed leadership by whatever means. But President Jonathan is, indeed, in a class of his own quite more excitingly than his 13 predecessors, not because most of the troubles he is grappling with, which, according to him, have been impeding the growth and prosperity of the country, are new, but because they have grown too monumental, and too seemingly incurable than he has ever envisaged in the broad landscapes of the economy and politics.

He feigns feeling at ease and contrives some calm and comportment by handling the troubles of his dear country. But most, if not all, Nigerians, including his fast greying hair, know that he is handling live coals spilling from his over-filled palms. Sometimes his smiles metamorphose to pitiful grimaces, confirming the observations of most Nigerians, including his fast-greying hair, as true. A section of Nigerians sympathise with him, a section remain dispassionate, a section scorn and laugh at him.
Whatever your feeling for him, President Jonathan is noticeably ailed by the prickling troubles permeating his presidential personality, and he should be sympathised with, even if strictly on the basis of his personality bearing the massive weight of the monumental responsibility of managing our collective affairs, not just as a developing nation, but as a Nigeria trembling with so many blighting troubles.

Aside the gigantic problem of insecurity and terrorism, mainly characterised by the dreadful activities of Boko Haram, communal conflicts and kidnappers, the activities of his ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) give him enough troubles. Indeed, his over- involvement in PDP affairs to put the party back on track seems so much rattling to him.
The Zoology scholar is in the office around 8am, closes by 6pm, and holds some meetings in his residence. And sometimes, holds some nocturnal meetings at House 7 or First Lady wing of the State House.

His trotting around the country and the globe, mainly for political and economic engagements, form a prominent feature of his tight schedule, especially of recent. Within the country, he was, in just a fortnight, in Kwara, Kaduna, Niger and Sokoto states for PDP rallies. He was also in Katsina for two-day state visit.
The following week, he embarked on a week-long trip to Namibia, Italy and Netherlands for state visit, papal visit and nuclear security summit respectively. After two days of the usual gruelling work schedule in Abuja, he travelled to Cote d’ Ivoire for ECOWAS meeting.

He left that country on Friday night and by 9am on Saturday he was in Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja for another conference. By 11am same day, he flew to Bauchi for PDP Northeast rally. He returned to Abuja same day.
Amidst a series of political meetings over the weekend, he squeezed out three hours to meet with North Central PDP leaders on Monday. All these did not affect his normal office work that day. And last Tuesday, April 1, he met with the members of the Economic Management Team (EMT) by 11 am, and by 2pm, he flew to Brussels, Belgium as part of African delegation to a meeting with the European Union on the issue of European Partnership Agreement (EPA).

On his return from Brussels, the president was billed to proceed to Bayelsa state for a traditional wedding and other engagements.  With these seemingly endless schedules, does the president rest at all? Well, that is the burden of leadership the president has resolved to shoulder.