Garba Shehu, former media aide to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, has said the former leader’s regular medical trips abroad were not a rejection of Nigeria’s healthcare system but a matter of personal preference.
Shehu made this known during an appearance on Inside Sources, a Channels Television programme, where he responded to recent comments by Femi Adesina, Buhari’s former spokesperson.
Adesina had suggested that Buhari “could have died a long time ago” if he had relied solely on Nigerian hospitals, citing a lack of expertise in the country.
Contradicting that view, Shehu said Buhari remained under the care of Nigerian doctors throughout his presidency.
“I think it is wrong to assume that he fenced himself off from the Nigerian medical system,” Shehu said.
“He had a Nigerian doctor — a chief personal physician and a state house clinic, also led by a medical consultant, a distinguished doctor of many years of practice.
He emphasized that the president’s medical team was always available to meet his immediate health needs.
“In terms of the immediacy of his own medical needs, they were always present to administer to his own needs,” Shehu added.
While acknowledging Buhari’s consistent visits abroad for treatment, Shehu said this was due to the president’s longstanding medical relationship overseas.
“As for his attachment to his past practice abroad for his medicals, he had an attachment to that,” he said.
“It was not that he was disrespectful of Nigeria’s medical practice or that he didn’t believe.”
Shehu also highlighted the presence of Nigerian-trained doctors working globally, noting that their competence is recognized worldwide.
“For most people who also travel abroad and they need to see doctors — I have experienced this in America — you go into the office of the doctor and you find that it’s a Nigerian surgeon, it’s a Nigerian doctor,” he noted.
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President Muhammadu Buhari died on July 13 in a London clinic after a prolonged illness. He was buried at his residence in Daura, Katsina State, on July 15.
