Sowore carpets Buhari for wasteful spending
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has carpeted President Muhammadu Buhari over his latest medical treatment in London, now being emulated by President-elect Bola Tinubu even though his handlers spin it.
Sowore – publisher of Sahara Reporters and strident Buhari critic – ran for President in the February 25 ballot on the platform of African Action Congress party (AAC).
Buhari’s spokesman Femi Adesina announced in a statement on Tuesday his principal would extend by one week, his travel to the United Kingdom to attend the coronation of King Charles III.
Adesina explained the President would stay longer “on dentist’s instruction” – presumably to fix his teeth.
Tinubu jetted out to Europe on Wednesday with the explanation that he went to parley with investors, but Nigerians on social media do not believe him, saying he sneaked out yet again to treat his failing health – two weeks after he returned from one medical treatment abroad.
Sowore in a post on his official Facebook page took a swipe at Buhari for failing to build medical facilities that could take care of his ill health.
“In his 8 years of misrule, @mbuhari didn’t build a dental clinic that could cater for 32 pieces of his dentition,” he said, per reporting by Daily Post.
“He didn’t build an ear care clinic that could cater for his two ears, not a molehill to climb to see the stars at night like he started his failed regime with London doctors, he’s ending disastrously on the streets of London in search of doctors to treat indigestion.”
By the end of 2021, Buhari had gallivanted 131 times to 37 countries where he spent 312 days, according to a tally by Daily Trust in an editorial on 10 December 2021 which still echoes widespread criticism of his wasteful travels.
From January to July 2022, Buhari went to 13 countries where he spent 54 days. He has since gone to more countries and spent more days.
The UK has featured prominently in his junkets, because he has undergone several medical treatments there since he became President in 2015.
In 2022 alone, Buhari spent 13 days – between March 6 and March 18 – attending to his health in London.
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Buhari’s wasteful medical tourism
Nigeria’s health sector bleeds from multiple problems, one of which is underfunding, which averaged 4.72 per cent of budget allocation in the 10 years to 2011.
Inadequate funding leads to poor pay for healthcare personnel, a point driven home yearly by the exodus of medical doctors to foreign countries.
Nigeria’s healthcare system grapples with massive drawbacks but countless of its citizens excel in the medical profession abroad.
Nigerian-born medical doctor, Professor Iyalla Elvis Peterside, was named as one of the best physicians in the United States in 2020 by the US National Consumer Advisory Board.