Buhari might have died earlier if treated in Nigeria, says former aide Adesina

Femi Adesina, former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, has defended Buhari’s long-standing decision to seek medical treatment in the United Kingdom, stating that relying solely on Nigeria’s healthcare system could have cost him his life years earlier.

Buhari, who passed away in a London hospital at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 13, had been receiving medical care in the UK long before and throughout his presidency.

Speaking on Channels Television on Tuesday, Adesina responded to criticism about the former president’s death abroad, arguing that survival must come before reform.

“He always had his medicals in London even when he was not in office, so it was not about the time he was president alone,” Adesina said.

“And then you have to be alive first to get certain things changed or corrected in your country. 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.

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“But he needed to be alive to be able to lead the country to a point where we would have the expertise. So, those who talk of going abroad, they don’t know that a man needs to be alive first before he can effect a change.”

Buhari, who served as Nigeria’s civilian president from 2015 to 2023 and previously as military head of state from 1983 to 1985, had faced consistent scrutiny over his frequent medical trips to the UK during his time in office.

His remains left London on Tuesday morning for Daura, his hometown in Katsina State, where he is scheduled for a state burial.

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