medical trips Archives - Leading Reporters

The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu has allegedly undergone another knee surgery at the John Hopkins University Hospital in Maryland, the United States.

It was gathered that the former Lagos state governor returned to the United Kingdom on crutches after undergoing the successful surgery.

According to SaharaReporters, sources revealed that the 2023 presidential hopeful wanted the surgery in Paris, France but changed his plan over rumour of his death.

The source said: “Tinubu had his second surgery at John Hopkins University in Maryland recently. He was accompanied by a popular Nigerian doctor in Chicago.

“He had wanted the surgery in Paris but when rumour was rife about his death, he hurriedly left for Nigeria and went to John Hopkins.

“He left the US for the UK on crutches.”

Recall that SaharaReporters had on July 13 claimed that Bola Tinubu was hospitalised in Maryland, the US.

The former Governor was reported to have had his first surgery.

Tinubu had been away from the political scene for a while, amidst reports of him planning to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.

“Tinubu is hospitalised in Maryland, US. His health is failing. He couldn’t participate in launching his Arewa library, and he couldn’t participate in the Local Government Area elections last week. He could not attend today’s APC congress due to health reasons.

“He had surgery last week,” an authoritative source had disclosed.

Tinubu was also reported sick and hospitalised in Paris, France in January, 2021.

He had earlier complained of exhaustion and had travelled out to rest before the news of his collapse gone viral.

He was flown to Paris for medical attention in the first week of January.

“Tinubu is in Paris, France for a medical checkup. His health is deteriorating. Old age and other stuff, but he still wants to be president. This could mean another medical tourism presidency for our country,” a top source had at that time revealed.

But an aide to the former governor, Tunde Rahman, disclosed that his principal has not been hospitalised.

He insisted that Tinubu has no medical problem that would required hospitalization, saying the APC leader would soon be back.

Rahman said, “His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is fine. He is hale and hearty. He is not in any hospital. He has no medical problem that would require hospitalization. Yes, he is out of the country at the moment. He will be back shortly.

“Anytime he travels out of the country, the next thing some mischievous people would say is he is sick, hospitalized or has died. It is shameful that perpetrators of this evil are not deterred by the fact that each time this fake news has been propagated, they have been proven wrong.

“Who is afraid of Asiwaju Tinubu? Those wishing Asiwaju Tinubu evil or dead should be careful. They should know the matter of life and death is in the hand of only God Almighty.”

Governor Babajide Sanwo of Lagos State had after a recent visit to Tinubu maintained that the APC national leader is in good health.

According to the Governor, Tinubu is well and healthy contrary to some reports about his ill health.

“My going to see our leader was really around the rumours flying around about him.

“He is well and healthy. We discussed happening in our party and country at large. All is well with him as I saw myself and there is nothing to worry about,” Sanwo-Olu declared.

After a year-long break due to the Covid 19 travel restrictions, President Buhari has resumed his usual medical trips to the United Kingdom. This is in spite of the huge annual budget allocations to his official hospital at the Villa. The federal government had budgeted N6.4 billion for the Aso Villa Clinic in the past 6 years.

Analysis of the State House budgets reveal that for every N1,000 to be spent on healthcare for 200 million individuals in Nigeria, the Federal government planned to spend ₦3 on the president’s clinic in the period 2016-2021.

In 2016, specifically, it was N1 to the president’s clinic for every N100 meant for the healthcare of the entire population in Nigeria. Yet, it was in this year that President Muhammadu Buhari began travelling abroad for his medical treatment.

Details of Budget Allocation to State House Clinic (2016 – 2021)

There has been a consistent increase in the amount budgeted for health in the last six years (2016-2021). However, the federal government’s highest budget of N2.83 billion Naira for the state house clinic was in 2016, the same year the smallest amount was budgeted for the health of the general public, estimated at N250 billion.

A budget reveals the priority of an individual, business or government. Nigeria’s budgets over the years show that the federal government of Nigeria prioritises the health of the president, his family and staff, possibly higher than that of the other individuals in the country.

In spite of these huge sums invested in the health of the President’s family, it is not clear why the President’s clinic still cannot cater for his healthcare needs.

At various occasions, the wife of the President and his daughter have registered their displeasure about the quality of service at the President’s clinic. Back in 2017, the President’s wife lamented, “I called the Aso Clinic to find out if they have an X-Ray machine, they said it’s not working.. In the end I had to go to a hospital owned and operated by foreigners 100 per cent…“There is a budget for the Hospital and if you go there now, you will see a number of constructions going on but they don’t have a single syringe there. What is the purpose of the buildings if there are [sic] no equipment there to work with?”

However, it appeared Mrs Buhari’s frustrations concerned political executive families like hers, rather than the two hundred million who grapple with worse or non-existent healthcare facilities everyday in Nigeria: “You can imagine what happens across the states to governors wives if this will happen to me in Abuja,” she had said.

A report by the Cable noted that “the combined N3.1billion budgetary allocation to the clinic in 2016 and 2017 was higher than the combined allocation to all the tertiary healthcare centres in the country!”

The State house medical centre was established to cater to the medical needs of the president, the vice-president, their families and presidential aides. Yet, President Buhari ignores the same hospital. Instead, he travels out of the country for weeks and sometimes for months to get medical attention. A close aide of his too died without finding medical succour at the supposedly model hospital, right at the seat of power. News Source: Dataphyte

medical trips

Bola Tinubu Allegedly Undergoes Surgery In US, Back To UK On Crutches

The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu has allegedly undergone another knee surgery at the John Hopkins University Hospital in Maryland, the United States.

Buhari’s Medical Tourism: FG spent ₦6.4 billion on Aso Villa Clinic in six years