Patience Jonathan had 9 surgeries !
Olalekan Adetayo
Wife of the President, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, was at her best again on Sunday. The venue was the Aso Villa Chapel where she joined her husband, our outgoing President, for a special thanksgiving and farewell service organised in their honour.
As usual, President Jonathan arrived the chapel a bit earlier than his wife. He was already seated, engrossed in the Sunday School, a Bible study session that always precedes the Sunday service proper before his wife arrived. The President’s Chaplain, Ven. Obioma Onwuzurumba, was the one conducting the session. He threw a question at the congregation and his wife, Martha, stood up to offer an answer.
It was in the process of answering that question that the main door of the fully air-conditioned chapel was thrown open to enable Mrs. Jonathan and her retinue of aides to move in. Mrs. Onwuzurumba had to pause for a few minutes to allow the new entrants find their seats before she continued with the answer.
Mama Peace remained calm throughout the service. She read the first lesson of the service from Numbers 6:22-27. After the message was delivered, Onwuzurumba announced that the President and his family would offer a special thanksgiving while Mrs. Jonathan would also offer another special thanksgiving.
At that point, I had started suspecting that something would happen. For the first thanksgiving, Jonathan, his wife and members of their family danced forward with their offering. They were asked to stand on the altar and face the congregation while friends, political associates and well-wishers danced forward, dropped their offerings and danced back to their seats. All of us danced very well in the presence of God except for Jonathan who had confessed penultimate Sunday that whenever he considered what God had done in his life, he wished he could dance like the biblical King David but he kept missing his steps whenever he made attempts.
After praying for them, Onwuzurumba announced that Mrs. Jonathan would give a short testimony before coming for her thanksgiving. I quickly ran from my seat and located a loudspeaker where I hurriedly placed my digital recorder. I knew that mama would give a good story for Monday edition. I was however disappointed when it was again announced that she would go ahead with her thanksgiving without the testimony. I felt bad that those who prevailed on her not to talk had deprived me of a good story.
To my greatest relief however, immediately after the thanksgiving, Onwuzurumba again announced that before Jonathan would speak to the congregation, a forerunner would come and speak. That forerunner turned out to be Mrs. Jonathan. She was full of smile as the congregation stood and clapped for her.
After greeting almost everybody in the church, including choristers who she described as “angels,” the President’s wife took time to acknowledge journalists. “The media men are not left out. Today is your day. You are here to carry (sic) the last news,” she said as she joined the congregation that had already erupted in laughter. I heard some colleagues saying, “God forbid! This won’t be the last story we will write.”
The man behind the camera that projects images on the television screens both inside and outside the chapel mischievously focused his camera on the battery of television cameramen that positioned themselves directly in front of Mrs. Jonathan. As the image appeared on the screen, another round of laughter cut through the chapel.
She held the congregation spellbound as she recounted her health challenges while their stay in the Villa lasted. At the last count, according to her, she had undergone 13 surgeries in the last two years. She attributed her continued existence to God. The testimony earned her another round of applause and standing ovation.
By the time the President would mount the pulpit for his remarks, his wife had already done a good forerunner job and he confirmed that when he said he would no longer bother to observe any protocol as he would rely on the one already established by his wife.
No doubt, Mrs. Jonathan will be missed by all and sundry in the villa for different reasons. For me, I will miss her because she gives me good story when she speaks, when she refuses to speak or when she is absent when she is supposed to be present. Mama is indeed journalists’ delight any day.
