Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent visit to London has been met with outcry, with his critics furious over his frequent trips abroad for medical treatment and the country’s weak healthcare system.
Buhari, 78, has made several trips to London since coming to power in 2015 and the leader was re-elected for another four-year term in 2019.
Although his illness has never been made public, Buhari admitted during one of the trips that he had “never been so ill” and that he had received several blood transfusions.
His frequent trips abroad for medical treatment have raised criticism of the government’s openness about his illness and concerns about leadership during some of his longer absences.
During his most recent visit to the British capital on Tuesday, the president said the retired general, who was a military ruler in the 1980s, would be gone for two weeks.
“He is on his way back to the country during the second week of April,” his office said in a statement.
The main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) condemned the trip, saying it was an indication that Nigeria’s health care system had failed.
“It is really worrying that under President Buhari, even the hitherto highly ranked State House Clinic, has become so deadly that it cannot provide a simple medical control service for Mr. President,” the PDP said in a statement.
The party said that Buhari’s frequent trips were a drain on the treasury.
“The PDP is disturbed that while Mr President is traveling for medical treatment in well – equipped hospitals abroad, our hospitals and healthcare staff are in a very sad situation while millions of our countrymen are suffering,” it said.
Both the local media and the Nigerians on social media expressed their outrage over the recent trip.
Members of the Nigerian diaspora planned protests in London against the president’s visit, said activist Omoyele Sowore.
“We are absolutely horrified by that,” he said of the recent medical visit. “He goes to London at the slightest provocation even when he has a headache.”
The latest trip in London came just hours before a threatened strike by doctors at state hospitals due to inadequate pay and facilities.
Last year, a third of Nigeria’s doctors went on strike under the COVID-19 pandemic, which demanded better pay and working conditions.
Buhari’s health became a topic of debate ahead of the last election when the opposition claimed he was not physically fit to govern – but Buhari won a second term.
In 2017, he temporarily handed over power to his vice president to quell fears over government leadership. But his absence prompted demands for him to return or resign.
The president’s health condition became a sensitive issue in Nigeria after the death of former leader Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2010, and it turned out that his illness had been kept secret for several months.
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