It is no news that political office holders in Nigeria have a thing for seeking medical attention outside the shores of this country. Some of the parts of the world that services Nigeria as it concerns medical tourism include England, Saudi Arabia, India, the United States, and even South Africa which is a full-fledged African country (just like Nigeria).
The problem here is that the habit of trooping out for medical services is because the Nigerian healthcare system is a failed one. For example, I had a close relative that fortunately had just the early stages of cancer.
All that this person needed was radiotherapy and some additional medical services to steer their health back on the right course. Truth is that it took heaven and earth to see the procedure carried out in the nation’s capital. For one, this is because the human and material resources the healthcare system needs are not paid attention to.
Nigeria has become a feasting ground for a foreign nation that needs medical personnel. The height of it was during the Covid-19 pandemic. This medical personnel is used to moving outside Nigeria to practice because the Nation offers them very little.
You can imagine healthcare workers being owed salaries for months and not being supported with the required medical equipment. The whole point being made here is that the Nigerian Healthcare system is a failed one.
However, the truth is that the common Nigerian is not the only one paying the price as we speak. Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, the very political office holders that are supposed to fix the healthcare system are not facing the terrible music.
Senator Ike Ekweremadu is a good example. This man who hails from Enugu state and who has represented the Enugu west District for God knows how long is currently being reprimanded in custody in the United Kingdom.
Like it or not, the reason is down to the failure of politicians like him to fix the country’s healthcare system. The charge leveled against him is that of organ harvesting.
Having listened to all sides, I believe Ike Ekweremadu is innocent of this charge. I believe the other party is pulling a stunt to escape the harsh realities in Nigeria. However, Ike Ekweremadu is not without his faults.
This is because the failure of long-serving political office holders like him has led him to this international mess. How about we ask Senator Ike Ekweremadu if he can boast of a government-funded healthcare center that can handle kidney complications in his district. A district he has held office for all these years.
It is quite a shame, to say the least, and these men deserve what they are getting. Do not forget that the likes of Mallam Abba Kyari – The nation’s past chief of staff; Senator Abiola Ajimobi – Past Governor of Oyo State; and Umaru Musa Yar Adua – Ex-President of Nigeria have all died prematurely. The death of these political office holders is down to the failed healthcare system.
