Former presidential spokesman Femi Adesina has revealed that late President Muhammadu Buhari may not have lived this long had he depended solely on Nigeria’s healthcare system.
Adesina made the remarks during an interview with Channels Television ahead of Buhari’s state burial in Daura, Katsina State, where the late Nigerian leader will be laid to rest later today.
In his words, “He always had his medicals in London, even when he was not in office. So it was not about the time he was president alone.”
The former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity defended Buhari’s much-criticized medical trips abroad, noting that the late president’s choice was not about appearances but a matter of life and death.
“If he had said, ‘I will do my medicals in Nigeria just as a show-off or something,’ he could have long been dead because there may not be the expertise needed in the country,” Adesina stated.
Buhari, who passed away on Sunday at 82, had long been known for receiving treatment at a private clinic in London, even before becoming president in 2015. His recurring trips became a talking point throughout his tenure, often drawing criticism from those who questioned his commitment to developing Nigeria’s own health infrastructure.
However, Adesina insisted that critics were missing the point. “You have to be alive first to get certain things changed or corrected in your country,” he said. “Those who believably talk of going abroad, going abroad — they don’t know that a man needs to be alive first before he can effect a change.”
The remarks come as tributes continue to pour in for the late president, whose burial is taking place today amid national mourning and a public holiday declared by the federal government.
