News

Nigerians Spent Over $3.6bn Annually On Foreign Healthcare Under Buhari

Published

2 months ago

July 21, 2025

Editor

Nigerians spent at least $29.29bn on foreign medical expenses during the eight years of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, according to The PUNCH. This translates to an annual spending of about $3.6bn during the review period.

This is according to a detailed analysis of data from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s quarterly statistical bulletins. The sum, recorded under the “Health-Related and Social Services” category, reflects cumulative outflows of foreign exchange from June 2015 to May 2023 — precisely covering the duration of Buhari’s two-term presidency, which spanned from May 29, 2015, to May 28, 2023.

The data, reviewed by our correspondent, shows the depth of Nigeria’s dependence on foreign healthcare services, with the CBN’s record showing a year-on-year movement of funds abroad for medical purposes amid economic downturns or dollar shortages at home.

It also highlights the irony that, despite repeated declarations by the administration to revamp the health sector and reduce capital flight, health-related foreign exchange outflows remained significant and even spiked dramatically during the latter years of Buhari’s presidency.

A close review of the spending pattern shows that the first year of Buhari’s presidency recorded the single highest amount spent on medical tourism. Between June 2015 and May 2016, Nigeria spent $7.81bn on health-related services abroad.

This figure alone accounted for over a quarter of the total medical tourism expenditure under his administration. Notably, September 2015 stood out as a month of exceptional outflow, with $3.20bn disbursed — the highest for any single month throughout the eight-year period.

That spike occurred during Buhari’s first few months in office and was followed by elevated monthly figures in October, November, and December of 2015, which further raised questions about whether the expenditure reflected a backlog of deferred medical bills or a broader trend among elites seeking healthcare abroad immediately after the administration took office.

In the subsequent year, between June 2016 and May 2017, the figure dipped to $2.76bn, although substantial sums were still recorded in months such as March 2016 ($0.96bn) and April 2016 ($0.67bn).

Spending continued to decline in Buhari’s third year in office, falling to $1.72bn between June 2017 and May 2018. By the fourth year of the first term, which ran from June 2018 to May 2019, Nigeria’s medical tourism bill had dropped sharply to just $0.44bn — the lowest across all eight years.

However, a closer examination of the second term reveals a different picture. After a relatively low fifth year, when Nigeria spent $0.92bn on medical services abroad between June 2019 and May 2020, there was a slight increase in the sixth year, with foreign exchange outflows reaching $1.57bn.

This modest recovery coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, which imposed global travel restrictions and temporarily subdued international medical travel. The data during the lockdown period between April 2020 and June 2021 reflected lower figures, but it also hinted at pent-up demand that would soon be unleashed.

Indeed, from June 2021, medical tourism experienced a surge once again. The seventh year of Buhari’s administration — between June 2021 and May 2022 — recorded $6.96bn in health-related foreign exchange disbursements.

June 2021 alone accounted for $3.02bn, almost matching the record set back in 2015. April 2022 saw another massive jump with $1.28bn spent, suggesting that Nigerians, particularly the affluent class and public officials, resumed international travel en masse to seek healthcare that remained inaccessible or underdeveloped at home.

The eighth and final year of the administration recorded the second-highest annual expenditure, with $7.12bn spent between June 2022 and May 2023. January 2023 was a particularly costly month, accounting for $2.30bn in medical outflows — the third highest monthly figure during Buhari’s presidency.

With this late surge in medical tourism spending, the second term of Buhari’s government, which initially appeared more conservative in terms of health-related foreign exchange usage, ended up outpacing the first term.

A total of $16.56bn was spent in the second term, compared to $12.73bn in the first term. This shift suggests that, despite earlier constraints, the underlying drivers of medical tourism — including poor local healthcare infrastructure, lack of trust in domestic medical services, and the elite’s preference for foreign treatment — remained unaddressed and may have worsened.

Throughout his presidency, Buhari was frequently criticised for seeking medical care abroad. He made multiple trips to the United Kingdom for undisclosed treatments, sometimes staying for extended periods.

Buhari, during his eight-year reign, spent at least 225 days outside the country on medical trips, visiting no fewer than 40 countries since 2015. Eight months after assuming office, the former President embarked on his first medical trip to London, United Kingdom, on February 5, 2016, spending six days.

His second medical trip followed four months later, on June 6, 2016, during which he spent 10 days treating an undisclosed ear infection. On January 19, 2017, Buhari embarked on his second-longest medical trip to London, spending 50 days away.

In May of the same year, barely two months after his last trip, he returned to London for what became his longest medical stay, lasting 104 days. He did not return to the UK for medical purposes again until May 2018, when he spent four days on a follow-up review.

In March 2021, Buhari departed for London once again, on what the Presidency described as a “routine medical check-up,” which lasted 15 days. His departure came amid a labour crisis in the health sector, during which members of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors commenced an indefinite strike over unpaid allowances.

Almost a year later, on March 6, 2022, the ex-President travelled to London again for medical reasons. This time, he spent 12 days. On October 31, 2022, Buhari departed from Owerri, the capital of Imo State, to London for another medical check-up, which lasted approximately two weeks. He returned to the country on November 13, 2022.

Former presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, consistently defended Buhari’s foreign medical trips, stating that he “has used the same medical team for about 40 years.” In a recent interview following Buhari’s death, Adesina argued: “If he had said I’d do my medicals in Nigeria just for show off or something, he could have long been dead.”

In total, Buhari undertook 84 trips to 40 countries during his tenure in office.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Medical Association, the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors earlier criticised political leaders for consistently seeking medical care abroad while neglecting the country’s healthcare system.

The President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, Dr Tope Osundara, described the trend as not only disheartening but an indictment of Nigerian leaders’ investments in the sector they are expected to strengthen.

Osundara expressed disappointment that Nigerian leaders continue to patronise foreign hospitals despite annual budget allocations to domestic medical facilities like the State House Clinic.

“It’s more like building a company, investing resources in it, then refusing to use the product and telling others to trust it. It tells you that something is fundamentally wrong with the system, with the people entrusted with managing it.

“There was a time when the former president, Muhammad Buhari, made some utterances that they should abolish this medical tourism. But unfortunately, before he died, he was even at the forefront of going abroad for treatment. Even a former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, disclosed that he and Buhari were admitted to the same hospital in London shortly before Buhari passed away. This tells you that Nigeria’s healthcare system is in bad shape.”

On his part, the President of the Nigerian Medical Association, Prof Bala Audu, noted that while individuals are free to seek care wherever they choose, the consistent reliance of public office holders on foreign hospitals despite Nigeria’s budgetary allocations to domestic healthcare speaks volumes about misplaced priorities.
(PUNCH)

News

SUBEB Urges LG Chairmen To Sack Absentee Teachers In Bauchi

Published

1 hour ago

September 5, 2025

Editor

The Bauchi State Universal Basic Education (BASUBEB) has called on all the 20 Local Government Chairmen in the state to sack absentee teachers.

Alh. Adamu Mohammed, the Executive Chairman, BASUBEB, made the call on Friday during the official flag off ceremony of the 2025/2026 state wide enrolment campaign in Kirfi Local Government Area of the state.

Mohammed, who said that the move would serve as a deterrent and make others to be up and doing, added that the chairmen only need to inform SUBEB about the decision.

He also expressed the commitment of the Board to reward teachers who are diligent, committed, punctual and dedicated to service so as to encourage them.

The SUBEB boss who lamented the lack of enrolment of school aged children in schools across the state, said the development is detrimental to the future of the children.

According to him, the state government was doing everything possible to improve the quality of education at the Basic level, saying that members of the communities were not supportive of the efforts by not sending their children to school.

He also stressed that Girl child education is important to the development and growth of the society, calling on parents to send their girl children to School.

“I want to call on all the Local Government Chairmen in the state to take responsibility of supervising and monitoring schools in their respective areas because SUBEB can’t be everywhere at the same time.

“The Board will not rest in its oars until Basic education becomes the envy of others in line with what UNICEF and UBEC set as guidelines,” he said.

Also speaking, Dr Mohammed Lawal, the state’s Commissioner for Education, said the aim of the enrolment campaign is to mobilise traditional institutions to support enrolment drive in the state by sensitising parents and guardians on the need to send their children to school.

He added that the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) would also support whatever the traditional institutions are doing to achieve greater enrolment as well as continuity in education.

Earlier, Dr Nuzhat Rafique, the Chief of Field Office, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bauchi, recalled how the number of out-of-school children was reduced from 1.5 million to 500,000 through the effort of the governor with support from traditional, religious leaders, communities and parents.

“This is a huge progress but still, having 500,000 children out of school is one of the main goals for us to bring them also into schools.

“Education is the right of every child. No child should be out of school and that is my humble request that as the government is putting in policies, steps and strategies to bring these children back to school, everybody should key into it.”

While assuring UNICEF’s commitment and support to the development of basic education in the state, she called on all stakeholders to work together and ensure that every child is back to school.

News

UNILAG Honours Bayelsa Gov, Diri

Published

1 hour ago

September 5, 2025

Editor

The University of Lagos has completed a book project on the leadership qualities and governance style of Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri.

The Managing Director of the UNILAG Consult, Prof John Oyefara, who disclosed this on Thursday during a courtesy visit to Government House, Yenagoa, said the institution has also proposed a public lecture as well as endowing a Professorial Chair in the Department of Political Science in his honour.

UNILAG Consult was established in 1983 and incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matters Act in 2013. It serves as the consultancy arm of the institution, providing research-driven, cross-sectoral technical services via access to the university’s academic expertise and facilities.

Diri’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Alabrah, in a statement on Friday, quoted Oyefara as saying that the university had a track record of assessing the performance of various leaders in Nigeria and that the book titled “Leadership Chronicles of Governor Douye Diri” focuses on his exemplary leadership and achievements.

He said, “At the University of Lagos, we have a tradition of assessing leaders in Nigeria. We use our own templates and standards that are global to measure the leadership in Nigeria.

“We identified Your Excellency to be a leading star in Nigeria, based on leadership and governance. We decided to put together all your achievements. The purpose of our visit was to inform you about our project in three thematic areas. One, is on the publication of the book we have been able to put together about His Excellency’s achievements in the state.

“We also propose a public lecture where renowned leaders in Africa will deliver a lecture on leadership and governance to exemplify the achievements of the governor. The third one is for the Department of Political Science in the University of Lagos to see the possibility of endowing a professorial chair in the name of His Excellency.”

The Lead Editor of the project, Prof Hope Eghagha, also stated that the idea was an independent assessment of the governor’s performance in office, either in infrastructure or human capacity development, through interviews that were conducted.

Responding, Diri said he was pleasantly surprised by the gesture of the institution. He welcomed the idea of documenting his achievements, saying he had been nursing the idea of establishing a leadership institute to groom those with an interest in politics and political offices.

The governor said, “It is really interesting when people, without your prompting, decide to do a thing for the purpose of posterity. A lot of the time, we do not document these events and activities, as we look at them as not too important. But they are.

“I have toyed with the idea that if I had the resources, could I establish a leadership institution in Bayelsa State so that before anyone thinks of becoming a councillor, council chairman, commissioner, special adviser or even governor, he knows what he is coming to do in office?

“If you are not prepared for it, then we are bound to fail as a country and as a state. So, I have been pleasantly surprised by the University of Lagos, and I think it is a good thing. Let me also state that the success in Bayelsa is not all about me. It is actually about our team. We have a dedicated team of commissioners, special advisers, technical advisers, and everybody contributing their quota to the whole.

“That is why if anyone says we have done well in infrastructure, it is because down the ladder, those who have been vested with that authority have implemented our policies, projects and programmes to the best of what we expected to be.”

Diri approved the proposals from the delegation and thanked them for recognising him in the midst of others.

Serving as Bayelsa State’s helmsman since his Supreme Court-affirmed inauguration in February 2020, Diri has become noted for his inclusive leadership and development-oriented governance.

Against this backdrop, UNILAG’s decision to document Diri’s leadership style and legacy through a dedicated book, alongside a public lecture series and a named professorial chair, marks a rare scholarly honour reflecting both institutional respect for governance excellence and encouragement of lasting academic inquiry.

News

Lagos Begins Comprehensive Assessment Of Public Primary Schools

Published

2 hours ago

September 5, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Government has commenced its maiden NEEDS Assessment Project for all public primary schools across the state.

According to a statement on Friday by the Deputy Director, Information, LASUBEB, Abe Adunola, the initiative, spearheaded by the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board, was unveiled on Thursday during a stakeholders’ engagement session.

The NEEDS Assessment Project is an evidence-gathering exercise designed to identify gaps in infrastructure, teaching capacity, and learning resources in public schools. It provides government with data to plan targeted interventions and allocate resources more effectively.

According to the board, the project will cover 1,238 public primary schools, vocational centres, inclusive units, and Local Government Education Authorities.

Board member of LASUBEB, Owolabi Falana, said the exercise was a major step in strengthening the foundation of basic education in Lagos.

Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the Deputy Chief of Staff, the Executive Assistant to the Governor on Project Implementation and Monitoring, Mr. Olusegun Sanwo-Olu, noted that the initiative reflected the state government’s resolve to drive education reform with data-driven interventions.

“This project is about clarity and intentionality. By understanding the realities in our schools, we are laying a solid foundation for smart planning, equitable resource allocation, and sustainable reforms. It is a bold step that will ultimately improve the quality of teaching, enhance learning outcomes, and prepare Lagos children to thrive in this fast-changing world,” he said.

LASUBEB Chairman, Dr. Hakeem Shittu, described the initiative as the first in a series of continuous exercises aimed at transforming Lagos public schools.

“This maiden edition of the Needs Assessment Project is only the beginning. It will be sustained as a continuous initiative to ensure our schools, teachers, and learners are never left behind,” he affirmed.

Highlighting the project’s benefits, Shittu explained that the assessment would lead to safer classrooms, improved facilities, empowered teachers, and better learning outcomes for pupils.

“The future of Lagos depends on how much we invest in our children today. This initiative gives us the clarity and direction to act decisively,” he said.

He further stressed that the project was not only about identifying gaps but also about developing practical solutions that would create conducive learning environments, improve teachers’ working conditions, and strengthen administrative capacity across schools.

Shittu also commended the contributions of teachers, administrators, and Local Government Education Authorities, while emphasising collaboration with the Project Implementation and Monitoring Unit for credible data collection.

He urged teachers, parents, and community leaders to support the exercise.

“The success of this project depends on our collective effort. Together, we can build a school system that empowers our children with the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to compete globally,” he said.

The initiative comes against the backdrop of several education reforms introduced in Lagos in recent years. Through the EKOEXCEL programme launched in 2019, the state government deployed digital learning devices and retrained teachers to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes in public schools.

The state has also embarked on school rehabilitation projects, the construction of new classrooms, and the expansion of inclusive education centres to accommodate children with special needs.

Despite these efforts, public primary schools in Lagos have faced challenges of overcrowded classrooms, poor infrastructure, and uneven access to quality teaching.

Education experts have long called for systematic assessments to guide interventions, making the NEEDS project the first coordinated attempt to collect comprehensive data for policy decisions in the state’s basic education sector.