This development throws a harsh spotlight on Nigeria’s healthcare decay, decades in the making. Despite having had both the financial resources and political authority, these former leaders—whose names are withheld here out of ethical discretion—failed to build or upgrade any medical facility within Nigeria that could cater to the advanced care they now seek abroad.
🔍 The Tragic Irony
The most painful irony lies in the hands administering their treatment. Many of the doctors attending to them in London are Nigerian-trained professionals who were forced to emigrate due to poor working conditions, lack of infrastructure, and inadequate remuneration under successive governments—including those of the hospitalised former presidents themselves.
💔 A System They Abandoned
According to the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), over 12,000 Nigerian doctors are currently practising in the UK alone, with thousands more in the United States, Canada, and Saudi Arabia. The healthcare brain drain has reached an alarming level, worsened by insecurity, unpaid salaries, lack of medical supplies, and poor facilities back home.
🧠 Leadership Without Legacy
While in office, these former leaders had multiple budget cycles and billions of naira at their disposal, yet public hospitals were left to rot, medical professionals went on prolonged strikes, and citizens died from preventable illnesses. Their current medical condition underscores a bitter truth: leadership in Nigeria has too often focused on personal gain rather than institutional legacy.
📉 Healthcare in Numbers
Nigeria spends only 3.75% of its annual budget on health, far below the WHO-recommended 15%.
Over 90% of Nigerians rely on out-of-pocket health expenses.
An estimated $1.6 billion is spent annually by Nigerians on medical tourism.
🌍 UK Doctors, Nigerian Blood
Nigerian doctors have become some of the most sought-after professionals in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), thanks to the rigorous training they received in local institutions like the University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University, and Ahmadu Bello University—institutions now struggling due to poor funding and neglect.
📢 Time for Accountability
This moment should serve as a wake-up call. It is not just about the healthcare system, but a reflection of a broader governance failure. As Nigerians prepare for upcoming elections and civic actions, it's time to demand more than empty campaign promises. Leaders must be held accountable—not only for the state of the nation today but for the future being mortgaged by their indifference.
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