Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari recently visited the United Kingdom. The reason for his visit was unclear, leaving many Nigerians to speculate that he was on another media visit.
There were concerns in Nigeriaabout President Buhari’s latest trip, with complaints and murmurs of dissatisfaction over the prevailing economic challenges facing the country.
Buhari has previously been on medical vacation in the UK, and in all the cases he extended the visit. He travelled to the UK in June 2016 to treat an ear infection, but failed to return on the scheduled date. President Buhari visited the UK again in January 2017, he was expected back in Nigeria on 6 February, but failed returned to the country on that stipulated date.
Despite his pledge in the past to halt medical tourism in Nigeria, President Buhari has sought medical assistance in the UK, prompting questions from Nigerians about the president’s sincerity. Nigerians spend more than USD1 billion a year on medical tourism, and Buhari’s trips to the UK for vacation and medical screening is grave testimony to the inadequacies of health care and facilities in Nigeria, which need attention.