Former President Muhammadu Buhari would have died long ago if he had relied solely on Nigerian hospitals, Femi Adesina, the late president’s spokesperson, has stated.
Mr Adesina shared this during an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday.
Mr Buhari passed away on Sunday in a London clinic after suffering from a prolonged illness.
He is set to be buried on Tuesday in Daura following funeral prayers.
Mr Adesina, who was defending criticisms over Buhari’s repeated medical visits to the United Kingdom while in office, said those foreign trips were a matter of survival.
“Buhari 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,” Adesina explained.
He mentioned that UK doctors had been managing Buhari’s health before his election in 2015 and were familiar with his medical history, making it unwise to change the medical team mid-treatment.
Mr Adesina argued that the decision to seek treatment abroad was based on professional expertise and the limitations of Nigeria’s healthcare system at that time.
“One has to be alive first to get certain things corrected or changed in the country. If Buhari had said he would do his medicals here as a show of patriotism or something, he could have long been dead because there may not be the expertise needed in the country,” Adesina said.
He added that Buhari’s survival and capacity to lead were directly linked to the quality of care he received abroad.
The former spokesperson stated that the former president’s choice of overseas treatment should be viewed within the context of necessity rather than as a luxury or a sign of disregard for local healthcare.
“He needed to be alive to be able to lead the country to a point where we would have that expertise. So those who criticised his frequent medical trips abroad do not understand that the man needed to be alive first before you can make a change,” Adesina said.
