Buhari’s Medical Trips Abroad Were Not a Snub to Nigerian Healthcare – Garba Shehu

Garba Shehu, former media aide to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, has clarified that Buhari’s frequent medical trips abroad were a matter of personal preference and not a rejection of Nigeria’s healthcare system. Speaking during an appearance on *Inside Sources*, a Channels Television programme, Shehu addressed recent remarks made by Femi Adesina, Buhari’s former spokesperson, who suggested the former president might not have survived had he relied solely on Nigerian hospitals due to a lack of expertise.

Shehu countered that view, stressing that Buhari remained under the care of Nigerian doctors throughout his presidency. “I think it is wrong to assume that he fenced himself off from the Nigerian medical system,” Shehu said. He explained that Buhari had a Nigerian chief personal physician and was attended to by a medical consultant at the State House Clinic. This team, he noted, was always available to meet the president’s immediate health needs.

While acknowledging Buhari’s consistent trips abroad for treatment, Shehu said this was tied to longstanding relationships with medical professionals overseas. “As for his attachment to his past practice abroad for his medicals, he had an attachment to that,” he said. “It was not that he was disrespectful of Nigeria’s medical practice or that he didn’t believe.”

Shehu further highlighted the global reputation of Nigerian-trained doctors, pointing out that many are highly regarded in countries like the United States. “You go into the office of the doctor and you find that it’s a Nigerian surgeon, it’s a Nigerian doctor,” he said, reflecting on his own experience abroad.

President Muhammadu Buhari died on July 13 in a London clinic after a prolonged illness. He was buried at his residence in Daura, Katsina State, on July 15.