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Foreign media ridicule Buhari’s ‘medical tourism’ in UK

Published

8 years ago

May 9, 2018

President Muhammadu Buhari recent trip to London for medical checkup has drawn the ire of international media organisations who described his actions as hypocritical.

According to the New York Times, President Buhari during his campaign in 2015 had promised to stop medical tourism, the practice of Nigerian politicians receiving medical treatment abroad even as most Nigerians are forced to rely on underfunded state medical services.

The paper said for someone who promised to end medical tourism, and who has also reportedly urged politicians not to go abroad to seek medical care, his frequent visit to London for medical checkup smirk of hypocrisy.

Similarly the CNN in a report stated that the money used to fund Buhari’s medical trip abroad could be used to develop the country’s health care system which it said is in dire straits.

President Muhammadu Buhari left for London on Monday, May 7, for a four-day visit, setting off renewed concerns about his health.

For nearly two years, President Buhari has been receiving treatment for an unspecified illness, which he has repeatedly refused to discuss.

Buhari’s latest trip also comes after three weeks of strikes by health care professionals who are calling for better working conditions and more funding.

President Buhari is scheduled to return to Nigeria on Saturday, May 12, at which point he will have reportedly spent more than 170 days in London on official medical leave since becoming president in 2015.

Meanwhile, Femi Adesina, one of the spokespersons for President Buhari, on Tuesday, May 9, declared in an interview that the president remains the only person who can reveal details about his health challenge.

He declared that the president’s health is private and personal.