Following the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari, renowned Nigerian human rights lawyer and activist Chidi Odinkalu has issued a powerful rebuke to political leaders, urging them to invest in the nation’s crumbling healthcare system.
In a post shared on Sunday, July 13, shortly after the news of Buhari’s death in a London hospital broke, Odinkalu criticized the recurring pattern of Nigerian leaders seeking medical treatment abroad while neglecting healthcare development at home.
“Nigeria’s current rulers may need to be reminded: Those who die in foreign hospitals only get to return to the country as cargo. They don’t pass through @immigrationng. Rather, we clear them through @CustomsNG as import. If you don’t want this, build a hospital that can work for you,” he wrote.
Odinkalu’s comment has since gone viral, sparking intense public debate and renewed scrutiny of the state of Nigeria’s public health sector. Many Nigerians echoed his sentiment, pointing to decades of underfunding, brain drain, and dilapidated infrastructure that have rendered public hospitals ineffective, especially for the average citizen.
Buhari himself spent extended periods receiving treatment overseas during his presidency, a decision that drew criticism from civil society groups and medical professionals who consistently called for better investment in the country’s health system.
Odinkalu’s message serves as both a warning and a call to action for those in power: that no position or privilege can protect them from the consequences of a broken system.
