Former presidential spokesperson Femi Adesina has stated that former President Muhammadu Buhari might not have lived as long as he did if he had relied solely on Nigerian hospitals for medical treatment.

Spokeperson Adesina made the comment in response to public criticism over Buhari’s death in a London hospital on Sunday at the age of 82.

Many Nigerians had questioned why the former president, who ruled for eight years, still sought medical care abroad.

Defending his former principal, Adesina said Buhari had always used hospitals in the United Kingdom long before he became president in 2015, noting that the continuity of care by doctors familiar with his medical history was vital.

“He always had his medicals in London even when he was not in office, so it was not about the time he was president alone,” Adesina said.

He further explained that surviving long enough to make changes within the Nigerian healthcare system required staying alive first, something Buhari ensured by seeking treatment abroad.

“If he had said, ‘I’ll do my medicals in Nigeria just as a showoff,’ he could have long been dead because there may not be the expertise needed in the country,” Adesina said.

“You have to be alive first to get certain things changed or corrected in your country.”

The former presidential aide acknowledged the limitations in the Nigerian healthcare system especially regarding Buhari’s medical needs, adding that UK doctors had become deeply familiar with the former president’s case over time.

Buhari died in a London hospital after a prolonged illness and will be buried on Tuesday in his hometown Daura, Katsina State, following funeral prayers at the Emir’s palace.