Buhari Could Have Died Earlier If He Used Nigerian Hospitals- Ex- Spokesman

Femi Adesina, a former spokesman to late President Muhammadu has disclosed that it’s possible that the former leader could have died earlier if he received treatment in Nigeria.

The former president died on Sunday in London after a protracted illness. His remains have just arrived few minutes ago, set for burial in Daura, Katsina state.

While he was president between 2015 and 2023, his tenure was marred by regular oversees trips to treat himself.

In one of those occasions, Buhari was rumoured to have died, a situation that almost threw the country into serious political crisis.

Not a few Nigerians even criticised him and other Nigerian leaders for abandoning the nation’s health sector in a shambolic state, while they and their families seek medical attention outside the country as they wish. Most times, public funds were used for this purpose, critics say.

According to Adesina, who served the late president as Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, for eight years, Buhari’s decision to receive medical care abroad may have elongated his life.

He stressed that Buhari started receiving medical treatment abroad, where he got the best medical care, before he became Nigeria’s president in 2015.

He added that the former leader would have died in office if he allowed himself to be persuaded by those who said he needed to show patriotism by receiving treatment in the country while he was ill.

Buhari had to be alive to be able to steer the ship of the country successfully, Adesina said.

“He always had his medicals in London, even when he was not in the office. So it was not about the time he was president alone. He had always had it there,” he said.

Adding that “You have to be alive first to get certain things changed and corrected in your country. If he had said, ‘I will do my medicals in Nigeria’ just as a show of patriotism or something, he could have long been dead because there may not be the expertise needed in the country.

“But he needed to be alive to be able to lead the country to a point where we would have that expertise.”

Checks by the magazine revealed that the late Buhari spent over 200 days in London on official medical trips while in office as Nigerian President.