Umaru Yar'Adua, the Nigerian president, has returned home after a 93-day absence while seeking medical treatment in Saudi Arabia.

But he has not been seen or heard in public since he returned to Nigeria a week ago, serving to fuel speculation about the state of his health.

Zubaru Ali is the president's first cousin and one of the few members of the Yar'Adua's family willing to discuss the president's health.

Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege travelled to Katsina state in northern Nigeria for this interview. (Mar 3, 2010)