By Samuel Adeola
Former presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, has said that ex-President Muhammadu Buhari might not have survived as long as he did if he had relied solely on Nigeria’s healthcare system.
Speaking on Channels Television during the live coverage of Buhari’s burial on Tuesday, Adesina said the former president had been receiving treatment in the United Kingdom even before assuming office, and continued the practice during his presidency due to the quality of care available there.
“He always had his medicals in London even when he was not in office. It was not about the time he was president alone,” Adesina stated.
Buhari, who died on Sunday in a London hospital at the age of 82 after a prolonged illness, had frequently faced criticism during his tenure for his repeated medical trips abroad, especially as Nigeria’s own healthcare system remained underfunded and underdeveloped.
Adesina defended the decision, arguing that the former president needed to stay alive first before attempting to fix the country’s broken system.
“If he had said, ‘I will do my medicals in Nigeria’ just for show, he could have long been dead because the needed expertise might not have been available in the country,” he said. “You have to be alive to change things in your country.”
During his time in office, Buhari reportedly spent over 200 days abroad for medical reasons, including a 103-day stay in 2017 that sparked nationwide speculation about his health and rumours of his death.
Buhari served as Nigeria’s military ruler from 1983 to 1985 and returned as a democratically elected president from 2015 to 2023.
