JONATHAN'S BROTHER DIED FOR CARDIAC ARREST

President Goodluck Jonathan,
Saturday, said his junior
brother, Chief Meni Innocent
Jonathan, died of cardiac
arrest.

The late Jonathan who, until his
death, was the chairman of
Otuoke chiefs council,was laid
to rest, Saturday, at his
Otuoke home town in Ogbia
council area of Bayelsa State
after a solemn funeral service
at St. Stephen’s Anglican
Church.

In an emotional laden voice,
President Jonathan, clad in a
black shirt, who described the
death of Meni as very painful,
said he died of cardiac arrest.
The president spoke at the
church service. According to
him,his brother lived a good
life, though he was still a young
person at his death, his death
is particularly too painful to
bear.

His words, “I always know that
people will surely die. I always
believe that people will live to
an age where they make their
names. Some persons die before
they are born, there are a lot
of still births. Some others die
before they grow up to an age
where people recognized them.
He (brother) had his two sons
fairly grown up; that, at least,
will be with us. The
circumstances of the death
sometimes worries me. What
worries me is the he died so
suddenly.

”This was a young man I came
home on a Friday, he came to
my house, nobody carried him,
he moved down just from his
house across the road. We
discussed he was a bit frail.I said
follow us so that he could do
medical check up.

”He drove himself down to
Yenagoa to board the chopper
to Abuja. He got to Abuja that
Saturday and was admitted in
hospital. The following Monday,
his breathing changed.I said,
‘let us make arrangement to
get him out to let him get
treatment outside’. So an
arrangement was being made.
Unfortunately the following he
had cardiac arrest and inflamed
heart at the State House Clinic.

”We were making arrangement
to move him to National
Hospital. It is a very sad thing.
He had been covering the home
front for us.He has a very
humble person. He was a reliable
and trustworthy person you
could ask to handle things for
you. He is dead, there is nothing
we can do. I must thank all of
you who have come to join the
Jonathan family to give us this
respect. In some traditions, I’m
supposed not to be in church. It
is tradition that you don’t bury
your younger ones.

Luckily for this community, we
don’t have too many of these
cultural and traditional things. It
is quite sad, it pulled the whole
Nigerians to the community to
bury my younger brother.”

Present at the church service
were Mrs. Eunice Jonathan,
mother of the president; Dame
Patience Jonathan; Speaker of
the House of Representatives,
Aminu Tambuwal; his Deputy,
Emeka Ihediora; Governor
Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa
State and his wife. Also in
attendance were Governor
Emmanuel Uduaghan;(Delta);
Matin Elechi (Ebonyi), Rotimi
Amaechi (Rivers); Godswill
Akpabio (Akwa Ibom); Theodore
Orji (Abia); among others.