Femi Adesina, a former spokesperson to late President Muhammadu Buhari, said the former Nigerian leader could have died long ago if he had used Nigerian hospitals for medical treatments.

“If he had said I’d do my medicals in Nigeria just for show off or something, he could have long been dead,” Mr Adesina stated on Tuesday when he featured as a guest on a Channels Television programme.

Mr Adesina, a former editor-in-chief of the Sun Newspaper, was discussing the funeral for Mr Buhari, who served as Nigerian President from 2015 to 2023.

Mr Buhari died in a London clinic on Sunday at the age of 82, after a prolonged illness. His body arrived Nigeria today, Tuesday, 15 July, for burial at his hometown, Daura, in Katsina State.

The Nigerian government has declared today a public holiday in honour of the former president, as friends and political associates are expected to travel to Katsina State for the burial.

The federal government has also ordered that flags be flown at half-mast in honour of the former president.

Many Nigerians have expressed concerns that the former leader died in a foreign hospital whereas he had the opportunity, while he was in office, to build a hospital that could have handled his medical needs.

Mr Adesina argued that there may not be medical expert in the country that would have attended to Mr Buhari. In addition, he said the former president had always had his medical treatment in London even before his election in 2015.

“He always had his medicals in London even when he was not in office. It was not about the time he was president alone. He has always had it in London.

“You have to be alive first to get certain things corrected in your country. If he had said I’d do my medicals in Nigeria just for show off or something, he could have long been dead because there may not be expertise needed in the country. But he needed to be alive to be able to lead the country to a point where we would have that expertise,” Mr Adesina said.