The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has responded to the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari in a London hospital, describing it as a reflection of the nation’s deteriorating healthcare system and a wake-up call to fix what has long been broken
Speaking in an exclusive interview, NARD President, Dr. Tope Osundara, said Buhari’s decision to seek medical care overseas—despite billions spent on local health infrastructure under his administration, shows a deep lack of trust in Nigeria’s hospitals. He noted that the former president’s foreign hospital death wasn’t just personal; it carried national consequences.
“Our condolences go to the Buhari family. May his soul rest in peace,” he began. “But this situation should force us to confront the larger problem—our healthcare system is failing, and the people at the top are sending a clear message that they don’t believe in it.”
He added that such repeated preference for hospitals abroad continues to undermine investment confidence, frustrate Nigerian doctors, and discourage innovation in the sector.
“If people know that the former president or other top officials use our own hospitals, then investors will be more confident in deploying advanced equipment and new technologies here,” he said. “But now, when your own president, or former president, does not trust the system, how do you expect foreign donors or grant agencies to trust it?”
Dilapidated Hospitals and Fleeing Doctors
Osundara described many of the country’s teaching and general hospitals as shadows of what they were meant to be. He said most are stocked with outdated machines and decaying infrastructure, a situation he said was pushing young doctors out of the country.
“Our institutions are filled with antiquated equipment—machines that other countries have discarded,” he said. “These are the tools we are expected to work with. That alone is discouraging, especially for Nigerian doctors under training.”
He warned that the government’s failure to invest meaningfully in the health sector has already triggered a dangerous brain drain. “We are losing the future of our healthcare—our doctors, our nurses, our innovators—to other countries who treat them better.”
Foreign Treatment, Local Collapse
The NARD President argued that continuing to spend public funds on treatment abroad for top officials is not just wasteful, but a betrayal of national interest. He said the money paid to foreign hospitals could be better used to develop world-class facilities at home.
“When these people go abroad, they pay for services. That money could have been used to strengthen our own institutions and pay Nigerian health workers properly. Instead, we are enriching foreign countries while impoverishing our own.”
He said what happened to Buhari should never repeat itself. “It’s a national shame that our own former President died in a hospital overseas. It’s unacceptable.”
He called on President Bola Tinubu to make immediate, bold changes. “The president must ensure proper funding of our hospitals and work with the National Assembly to redirect resources towards revitalising the health sector.”
Osundara stressed that what Nigeria needs now is not another committee or white paper. “Every time someone in power chooses a hospital abroad, they are directly contributing to the collapse of our own system. That cycle must stop.”
The Message His Death Sends
While Buhari’s death has drawn sympathy from many quarters, NARD believes it should also serve as a wake-up call. The organisation said that when a leader who once presided over massive health budgets ends up dying abroad, it signals the depth of institutional failure.
“If a president who approved billions for hospital upgrades during his tenure still couldn’t rely on them in his final days, then we have to ask: where did all the money go?”
Osundara emphasized that this is not just about Buhari. “Other people of former President Buhari’s caliber will simply not trust our healthcare institutions anymore. The damage is deeper than people realise.”
He reminded the public that most Nigerian hospitals were built using taxpayer money. “These institutions were funded by Nigerian money, yet if we do not have our top officials, past and present, patronising these hospitals, then there is a serious problem.”
NARD Reacts to Buhari’s Foreign Hospital Death with a Call for Change
The death of the 82-year-old former president in a UK hospital has once again highlighted the disturbing gap between Nigeria’s healthcare elite and the ordinary According to NARD’s response, Buhari’s foreign hospital death is a national indictment—a reminder that prestige without substance is dangerous.
“This should be a turning point,” Osundara concluded. “We cannot mourn and then move on like nothing happened. We must fix our hospitals. We must invest in our doctors. And most importantly, our leaders must use the same health services as the people they lead.”
Buhari, who ruled Nigeria both as a military leader and a civilian president, made at least 13 known medical trips to the United Kingdom during his time in office. His last journey to London in June ended in silence and sorrow, but NARD insists the conversation about his death must go beyond sympathy.
The group says Buhari’s death abroad should mark the beginning of a serious national reform.
“We cannot keep repeating this. A leader’s final days should reflect the system they built. If they die abroad, what does that say about everything they stood for?”
