Garba Shehu, former media aide to late President Muhammadu Buhari, has stated that Buhari’s regular medical trips abroad should not be seen as a lack of trust in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
His comments come weeks after Femi Adesina, another former presidential spokesperson, remarked that Buhari might not have survived had he relied solely on Nigerian hospitals, citing the country’s lack of adequate medical expertise.
Speaking during an appearance on Inside Sources, a Channels Television programme, Shehu clarified that Buhari remained under the supervision of Nigerian doctors throughout his tenure as president.
“I think it is wrong to assume that he fenced himself off from the Nigerian medical system,” Shehu said.
“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.”
Shehu emphasized that Buhari’s personal medical team in Nigeria was always available to handle his needs promptly, dismissing claims that he neglected the local healthcare system.
“In terms of the immediacy of his own medical needs, they were always present to administer to his own needs,” he added.
Acknowledging Buhari’s routine visits overseas for medical attention, Shehu described it as a matter of personal attachment, not a condemnation of Nigerian hospitals.
“As for his attachment to his past practice abroad for his medicals, he had an attachment to that,” Shehu said.
“It was not that he was disrespectful of Nigeria’s medical practice or that he didn’t believe.”
He also noted the global presence of Nigerian-trained medical professionals, citing his own experience of seeing Nigerian doctors practicing in the United States.
“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 said.
President Buhari died on July 13, 2025, in a London clinic after a prolonged illness and was buried on July 15 at his residence in Daura, Katsina State.
