BBC mocks Buhari over London treatment

The British Broadcasting Cooperation BBC has slammed Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and other African leaders who have penchant for a medical trip overseas.

The report said that ‘Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, is the first among equals’ of those who have spent time abroad seeking medical treatment and that Buhari apparently lacked faith in Nigeria’s health systems.

The report reads in part: The Nigerian president has spent more than four months in London this year getting treatment for an undisclosed illness, causing considerable disquiet at home. Unlike one of his predecessors, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who went to Saudi Arabia to see a doctor, Mr Buhari did leave his deputy in charge, but this has not dampened the criticism.

Buhari’s unhealthy start to 2017 19 January:

Leaves for UK on “medical vacation” 5 February:

Asks parliament to extend medical leave 10 March:

Returns home but does not resume work immediately 7 May:

Travels to the UK for further treatment 6 June:

But Aisha Buhari says he is “recuperating fast”.

“In 2013 he estimated that Nigerians were spending $1bn (£770m) abroad on medical treatment and reckons that figure could have doubled by now. By comparison, the federal government’s health budget for 2016 came to $800m.

Dr Enabulele, who is vice-president of the Commonwealth Medical Association, says that the money taken out of Nigeria could be invested in the health system at home.

“The whole ambition to have state-of-the-art facilities will remain a mirage if people keep going abroad for medical reasons.”