A former presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, has said that late President Muhammadu Buhari consistently used the services of Nigerian doctors throughout his presidency, despite frequent medical trips abroad.
Shehu made the clarification on Saturday during an appearance on Channels Television’s programme.
His statement comes in response to recent remarks by another former aide, Femi Adesina, who had suggested that Buhari might not have survived without foreign medical attention, citing what he described as inadequacies in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
Contrary to Adesina’s claims, Shehu insisted that Buhari’s overseas medical visits were driven by personal preference rather than a rejection of local medical expertise.
Shehu stated that Buhari was under the care of Nigerian doctors, adding that the former president had full trust in the abilities of Nigerian healthcare professionals even while receiving treatment abroad.
Buhari, who led Nigeria from 2015 to 2023, died on July 13 in a London clinic after a prolonged illness. He was buried on July 15 at his private residence in Daura, Katsina State.
According to Shehu, “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 said the president’s medical team was always on hand to attend to his immediate health needs.
“In terms of the immediacy of his own medical needs, they were always present to administer to his own needs,” Shehu added.
Meanwhile, acknowledging Buhari’s frequent medical trips abroad, Shehu explained that they were the result of the president’s long-established healthcare arrangements with foreign doctors.
“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.”
Shehu also emphasised that Nigerian-trained doctors are practising around the world, with their expertise widely acknowledged and respected internationally.
“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,” Shehu added.
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