The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, His Grace, Alfred Adewale Martins, has urged governments at all levels to urgently reform Nigeria’s ailing healthcare system.
This is as the nation mourns former President Muhammadu Buhari, who died in London on Sunday after an undisclosed illness.
Archbishop Martins made this call in a statement on Tuesday, expressing condolences to the late president’s family and the Nigerian people.
He spotlighted the longstanding failures in the nation’s health sector, drawing a link between the late president’s death in a London hospital and Nigeria’s overreliance on foreign medical care.
He recalled the public outcry by former First Lady Aisha Buhari over the poor state of the State House Clinic during her husband’s tenure, describing the situation as indeed a shame.
“If the former First Lady could lament, then one can only imagine the state of clinics and hospitals meant for the common man.
“His death brings into focus again the need to develop healthcare delivery and facilities in our country to stem the tide of medical tourism,”; he said.
The Archbishop explained that Buhari’s death marks the second time a sitting or former Nigerian president has died in a foreign hospital, referencing the 2010 passing of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in Saudi Arabia.
He concluded by urging the government to view Buhari’s death as a wake-up call to make urgent and strategic investments in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
