Following reports which would later be dismissed by the Presidency that President Muhammadu Buhari has died in a London hospital after battling an unknown disease, Nigerians literarily had their heart in their mouth.
Buhari had on 23rd January, 2017 proceeded on a 10-day vacation to the United Kingdom where the 74-year-old former military dictator is expected to undergo medical check-up. It was the second time in eight month that the President will make such vacation.
While the President’s medical trip is total embarrassment to our collective sensibilities especially for a government that promised change during the 2015 general elections campaign, it portends greater danger for the future of healthcare industry of Africa’s largest economy.
Despite spending N3.87 billion on capital projects at the State House Medical Centre, according to the 2016 budget, it is worrisome that Government is yet to fix a clinic with facilities to treat our number one citizen. President Buhari is rather setting bad precedence just like his predecessors who went abroad for medicals.
When the fake news filtered in, there was tension in the land but Nigerians are indeed glad that the rumour was dismissed soon enough by the Presidential Spokesman, Garba Shehu. The good news is that Mr. President is hale and hearty as claimed by the Presidency but the ugly is, must the President include medical check-up in his vacation abroad?
The death of a sitting President is the last thing patriotic Nigerians want to hear at this time when the Nation is battling recession, humanitarian disaster in Northeast, drop in power supply and hunger. The dark days of former President Shehu Musa Ya’radua who died in a Saudi Arabian hospital is still fresh in our memory. Development was totally shutdown as Yar’adua created a leadership vacuum after failing to handover to his vice before going on medical vacation.
President Buhari, however, must be commended for abiding by the constitution in ceding power to his Vice, Yemi Osinbajo before the so-called medical vacation.
But the manner in which Mr Shehu dismissed the death rumour calls for concern. It further illuminates how the present Government employ diversionary tactics in things that cast wrong aspersion on it.
Dismissing Buhari’s rumoured death, Shehu said; “He is alive and well! President Buhari is not magical. He cannot be holidaying in the UK and be in Germany, dead or alive at the same time.
He further took a dig at the Buhari’s predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan who was reportedly invited to Trump’s inauguration but visited ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta, Ogun state same day. The presidential spokesman said; “He is unlike a past President who was at Ota, with Chief Obasanjo and attending the Trump inauguration in D.C, being in two places at the same time!.’’
In telling Nigerians the state of health of their President, one wonders why attacking a former president became necessary.
Although, the diversionary tactic succeeded as many Nigerians took to Shehu’s Facebook page to criticise him for attacking Jonathan while death rumour went underground, the statement from the presidency is rather ‘unpresidential’ in any manner especially in dishing out information on the health of a President.
It is hoped that the President recovers and returns quickly to work from his vacation to fulfil his campaign promises of fixing the economy, fighting corruption and insecurity among others. He (Buhari) cannot leave Nigeria in this mess.
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