By Izuchukwu AHUCHAOGU
In recent years, a troubling trend has emerged among Nigerian politicians: a persistent reliance on foreign medical facilities, particularly in London, for healthcare, even as they neglect the crumbling state of hospitals back home. This pattern raises critical questions about leadership, accountability, and the stark hypocrisy of those entrusted with the welfare of millions. The case of Willie Obiano, the former governor of Anambra State, seeking treatment in a London hospital just months after the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari under similar circumstances, is a poignant reminder of this systemic failure.
For decades, Nigerian leaders have jetted off to Europe, the United States, or the Middle East at the slightest hint of illness, shunning the very healthcare systems they are tasked with improving. London, in particular, has become a favored destination, with its world-class hospitals offering a stark contrast to the dilapidated state of many Nigerian medical facilities. Yet, the irony is not lost on the public many of these politicians, despite access to the best care money can buy abroad, still succumb to their ailments. The deaths of high-profile figures in foreign hospitals underscore a bitter truth: no amount of wealth or access can guarantee life, and fleeing to London is no panacea for systemic neglect.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari, who passed away after a prolonged illness in a London hospital, epitomized this trend during his tenure. Despite campaigning on a promise of change and improved governance, Buhari spent significant periods of his presidency receiving treatment abroad, often cloaked in secrecy. His death in London was met with a mix of grief and frustration by Nigerians, many of whom pointed out the glaring irony of a leader who failed to invest in local healthcare dying in a foreign hospital. The funds spent on his treatment could have equipped countless primary health centers in rural Nigeria, where citizens die daily from preventable diseases due to lack of basic medical infrastructure.
Now, just months after Buhari’s passing, news of Willie Obiano, former Anambra governor, battling for his life in a London hospital has reignited public outrage. Obiano, like many of his peers, governed a state where hospitals lack essential equipment, drugs, and personnel. During his tenure, stories of patients dying due to inadequate care in Anambra were commonplace, yet the former governor reportedly spared no expense in seeking treatment abroad when his health faltered. This raises a fundamental question: if Nigerian hospitals are not good enough for our leaders, why should they be good enough for the rest of us?
The trend of Nigerian politicians dying in London hospitals is not just a personal failing; it is a damning indictment of a broken system. According to a 2022 report by the Nigerian Medical Association, over 5,000 doctors have left the country in the past five years due to poor working conditions and low pay.
Meanwhile, the government’s budgetary allocation to health remains abysmally low, hovering around 5% of the national budget far below the 15% recommended by the African Union. While leaders allocate billions of naira for personal medical trips abroad, millions of Nigerians cannot afford basic healthcare. The message is clear: the lives of ordinary citizens are expendable, while those in power prioritize their own survival, even if it means dying on foreign soil.
This hypocrisy is not new, but it is becoming increasingly untenable in the face of growing public awareness and frustration. Social media has amplified the voices of Nigerians who demand accountability, with hashtags like #FixOurHospitals trending each time a politician is reported to be receiving treatment abroad. The anger is palpable, and rightly so. If leaders like Obiano and Buhari had invested in Nigeria’s healthcare system during their time in office, perhaps they would not have needed to seek care thousands of miles away. Perhaps they, and countless others, might have lived.
It is time for a reckoning. Nigerian leaders must be held accountable for the state of the nation’s healthcare system. Policies should be enacted to restrict public officials from seeking medical treatment abroad using public funds, except in extreme, well-documented cases. More importantly, there must be a genuine commitment to revamping the healthcare sector—building modern hospitals, training and retaining medical personnel, and ensuring that quality care is accessible to all, not just the elite.
The deaths of Nigerian politicians in London hospitals should serve as a wake-up call. No one escapes mortality, no matter how far they run or how much they spend. For leaders like Willie Obiano, whose fate hangs in the balance in a foreign land, and for the memory of those like Muhammadu Buhari, who breathed their last far from home, let their stories be a lesson. Nigeria’s healthcare system cannot be fixed from a hospital bed in London—it must be addressed here, on Nigerian soil, for the sake of the millions who have no choice but to rely on it.
Until then, the tragic irony will persist: our leaders flee to foreign hospitals to escape death, only to find that death knows no borders. It is time to stop running and start rebuilding. The lives of all Nigerians, not just the privileged few, depend on it.
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