Garba Shehu, a former aide to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, has stated that Buhari’s frequent medical trips abroad were a matter of personal choice, not an indictment of Nigeria’s healthcare system.
Shehu made the statement during an appearance on Channels Television’s Inside Sources programme on Saturday.
His remarks were in response to earlier comments made by Femi Adesina, another of Buhari’s former spokespersons.
Adesina had previously claimed that Buhari “could have died a long time ago” if he had depended solely on Nigerian hospitals, citing what he described as a lack of sufficient medical expertise within the country.
However, Shehu disagreed with Adesina’s position, insisting that Buhari remained under the care of Nigerian doctors throughout his time in office, suggesting that his foreign trips did not reflect a lack of confidence in local medical professionals.
Shehu said, “I think it is wrong to assume that he fenced himself off from the Nigerian medical system.
“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 stressed that Buhari’s medical team was consistently available to address his 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 regular overseas treatments, Shehu explained that they were based on an existing medical relationship abroad.
“As for his attachment to his past practice abroad for his medicals, he had an attachment to that.
“It was not that he was disrespectful of Nigeria’s medical practice or that he didn’t believe,” he said.
Shehu also pointed out the global presence and competence of Nigerian-trained doctors.
“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.
President Muhammadu Buhari passed away on July 13 in a London clinic after a prolonged illness.
He was laid to rest at his residence in Daura, Katsina State, on July 15.