The petitioners in the letter which was made available to newsmen in Abuja said their appeal was necessitated by the desire by Nigerians to know the whereabout of the President who has been away for six weeks now.
They also cited being subjected to half disclosures by government officials since the President's departure to Saudi Arabia in November, 2009.
The letter reads: "In the Name of God, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful. We the under-listed concerned citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria address this open letter of appeal to your government to reveal to Nigerians the exact location and state of health of our President, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua who we believe has been your guest and patient in one of your hospitals since November 23, 2009. This open letter of appeal has become necessary because a nation of nearly 150 million has not seen or heard of its president for six weeks without any credible information.
"Your Royal Highness, Umaru Yar'Adua is not a private patient but our president and an employee accountable to millions of people. Information about his physical and mental well-being cannot be subject to the usual medical confidentiality of any ordinary citizen.
This information should not be kept secret from the people he leads. Sadly, we must admit, that our current government has failed to be truthful and transparent about the extent of infirmity of our president.
"In the eyes of many Nigerians, the Saudi government has, by default, become part of the conspiracy of secrecy that threatens to destabilize our democracy.
Because without information on whether the president is alive or dead, permanently or temporarily infirm, the appropriate provisions of our Constitution cannot take effect to deepen and broaden our democracy. The effect of this leadership vacuum on our nation's peace, progress and orderliness is self-evident, Your Highness.
As Crown Prince of your Kingdom, you took charge of the affairs of state when your elder brother, King Fahd of blessed memory, became ill. Also, when Crown Prince Sultan departed for the United States for treatment on November 23, 2008, the Saudi public was made aware of the progress in his treatment leading to his return to the Kingdom on December 10, 2009.
Leadership of nation-states is and must be continuous, and Nigerians need your intervention for our country's young democracy to survive.
"You may recall that our shared mutual history has shown that there is a tendency for adventurists to take advantage of the vacuum caused by prolonged visits of top Nigerian government functionaries to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to stage a coup d'etat as was the case when the government of Nigeria under the leadership of Major Generals Muhammadu Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon was overthrown in 1985 as a direct consequence of Tunde Idiagbon's prolonged stay in your country.
This action severely embarrassed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and set a precedent. In view of this, it is our desire to forestall any such act by military adventurists by requesting for accurate information from the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which will enable the Nigerian people take advantage of the clauses in our constitution which provide for orderly continuity in government in the event that the president is incapacitated by illness.
"Your Royal Highness, we implore you to use your good offices to let our nation know the state of our President."
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