By Olayinka Latona
As the nation mourns the passing of former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, His Grace, Alfred Adewale Martins, has called on the government and stakeholders to urgently reform Nigeria’s ailing healthcare system.
In a statement issued on the day of Buhari’s burial, Archbishop Martins expressed deep condolences to the late president’s family and the Nigerian people. He used the occasion to spotlight 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.
Recalling the public outcry by former First Lady Aisha Buhari over the poor state of the State House Clinic during her husband’s tenure, the Archbishop described 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,” he said. “His death brings into focus again the need to develop healthcare delivery and facilities in our country to stem the tide of medical tourism.”
Archbishop Martins noted 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 decried the inequality in access to healthcare, saying the wealthy can seek treatment abroad while ordinary citizens are left to die from preventable diseases.
“This does not only drain the purses of those who can afford it, but deepens the pain of those who cannot. They are left with the feeling of abandonment, even in the face of treatable illnesses.”
The Archbishop also addressed the deepening brain drain affecting the country’s health sector, lamenting the mass exodus of doctors and nurses seeking better opportunities abroad.
“Nearly every healthcare professional is waiting for an opportunity to Japa and use their expertise elsewhere. Ironically, many Nigerians travel abroad only to be treated by the very same professionals who left our system.”
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.
“May the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari be the catalyst for bringing about the long-needed improvement in healthcare delivery across our country.”
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