President Buhari goes to London for another medical check-up

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has left Abuja for London through Kenya to continue his treatment for an undisclosed ailment.

President Buhari, 79, left for Nairobi on March 1 for a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep). He will leave for London after four days in the East African country.

The Unep event takes place from March 3-4.

Buhari’s trip to Kenya followed an invitation from his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta, said Femi Adesina, the Nigerian president’s spokesman

Adesina said Buhari would proceed to London for “routine medical checks that will last for a maximum of two weeks”.

Opposition politicians in Nigeria have speculated that the retired general has a terminal illness, but the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) gave him a clean bill of health.

In the March 28, 2015 presidential election, he received 53 per cent of the vote to defeat incumbent Goodluck Ebele Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

But shortly before his inauguration on May 29 that year, Buhari went for a medical check-up in the UK.

Bubbling with life immediately after he was sworn in, Buhari embarked on trips to over 30 countries to forge diplomatic relations and solicit assistance for the war against corruption and insurgents

Buhari demonstrated vigour and good health on his trips but he broke down thereafter, forcing him to say: “I have never been so sick all my life.’’

On his return from a 51-day medical vacation in London in 2015, Buhari himself confessed that he had not been feeling well.

In what appeared to be a minor health challenge, Buhari travelled to London on June 6, 2016 to have his ear treated for Meniere’s disease.

He had earlier spent five days in Germany for treatment before going to the UK, where he spent over 50 days, generating a hullabaloo in Nigeria. He left Abuja for London on January 20, 2017 and returned on March 10.

Since his return to Nigeria, Buhari has only been able to attend one Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, fuelling fears that his health had deteriorated, though his aides explained he was resting on the advice of doctors.

At the FEC meeting held on April 26, 2017, information and culture minister Lai Mohammed told Nigerians that Buhari would work from home that day.

By the second week of August 2021, Buhari had spent about 200 days in London on official medical trips since 2015.