It’s Risky for Buhari to Be Treated in Nigeria – Dr Wale Omole Raises Alarm

A leading medical expert has sounded a note of warning to President Muhammadu Buhari not to allow himself to be treated in Nigeria.

President Muhammadu Buhari

 

A Nigerian medical doctor, Dr Wale Omole, the founder of Tai & Sheila Hospitals and the Non-Government Organisation, National Problems and Solutions (NPS), based in Lagos has said it is better for President Muhammadu Buhari to seek medical attention outside the country.

 

According to him, because of the bad role of politicians, nothing is working in the country especially in the health sector. While speaking in an interview with The Tribune, he said it would be risky for Buhari to seek medical attention in Nigeria considering the risks.

 

"It is true that Nigerian leaders prefer to seek treatment abroad, but not because they lack confidence in Nigerian medical experts. Instead, they lack confidence in the country’s poor medical system which they have politically put in place through the years. Many a time when Nigerian leaders run to India, England, Germany, USA, they still go there to meet their own Nigerian trained medical experts who are performing wonders in these countries that value Nigerian doctors who are lost to brain drain syndrome. Nigerian-trained doctors constitute one of the world’s best trained doctors. We are soundly trained. Kudos to our teachers and professors.

"Nigerian leaders go out to foreign countries because they are afraid to be victims of the systems they have created. For instance, President Mohammadu Buhari recently received treatment in London, not because he doesn’t have confidence in Nigerian medical experts, but because he knows too well that: functional equipment are lacking in all our teaching hospitals for the experts to work with. While receiving treatment, power may go off; drugs to be administered on him might have lost potency due to poor storage as a result incessant power outages; fake drugs abound in the country.

"These are some of the factors driving political leaders away from Nigerian hospitals, not lack of confidence in our medical experts. So, their going abroad is to primarily seek safety and then treatment. These cannot be blamed on Nigerian experts, but on the political systems that have failed through the years.

"One could view President Buhari’s treatment abroad as a big slap on the face of Nigerian medical experts and a big shame to Africa. But no! I cannot blame the man because it would be a big risk for him to be treated in Nigeria under these highlighted conditions. President Buhari could not be directly fingered as one of those who contributed to the political failure of our health sector and the country as a whole. He has come to power two times to correct the political misdeeds of his predecessors. Incidentally all the contributors today go abroad for simple headache and cold. Ironically many of those who are afraid to die in Nigerian hospitals go out to die in the cold and their remains are flown back home. How many of such well-to-do people can we count?

"I cannot blame the serving senators, ministers, governors and the affluent people like Dangote, Otedola, Adenuga, Alakija, and so on, who do not want to take the risk of their lives, since they are all aware that our medical system suffers poor funding and political insecurity." Omole said.