A former presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, has stirred fresh debate over Nigeria’s failing healthcare system, stating bluntly that former President Muhammadu Buhari might have died years ago if he had chosen to receive medical treatment within the country.
Adesina made the controversial remark during a Channels Television interview on Tuesday, while responding to criticism surrounding Buhari’s death in a London hospital on Sunday, July 13, 2025.
The ex-president, who battled an undisclosed illness, reportedly passed away at about 4:30 p.m. in the United Kingdom, reigniting scrutiny of his long history of seeking medical care abroad throughout his presidency and prior.
“He always had his medicals in London, even when he was not in office, so it was not just about the time he was president,” Adesina said.
Defending Buhari’s consistent medical trips to the UK, Adesina argued that the decision was a matter of survival, not luxury.
“And then, you have to be alive first to get certain things changed or corrected in your country,” he added.
“If he had said, ‘I’ll do my medicals in Nigeria just as a showoff,’ he could have long been dead, because there may not be the expertise needed in the country.”
Adesina’s comments have drawn sharp reactions from Nigerians, many of whom view the statement as a damning indictment of the state of the nation’s healthcare system—particularly under Buhari’s administration, which promised reforms but delivered little in terms of tangible improvement to public health infrastructure.
Critics say it is ironic that a leader who had eight years in office to improve local healthcare consistently opted for treatment abroad—ultimately dying outside the country he once governed.
Buhari, who served as Nigeria’s civilian president from 2015 to 2023, had previously ruled the country as a military head of state between 1983 and 1985.
His body is expected to arrive Daura, Katsina State, for burial according to Islamic rites, with security operatives and government officials already making preparations.
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