Indications emerged in the evening of Monday, June 6, 2016 that President Muhammadu Buhari’s 10-day medical trip to London may be extended so he could also treat a terrible cough that has lasted longer than the ear infection.
According to Sahara Reporters, asides the ear infection, the president needs to also undergo treatment for “a terrible cough that has persisted longer than the ear infection.”
Recall that two weeks ago, Buhari had cancelled an official visit to Lagos State following the ear infection.
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Also, last week, he cancelled a scheduled visit to Ogoniland in Rivers State for the launch of a major clean-up campaign also on the grounds of his medical condition.
Sources who preferred anonymity disclosed to SaharaReporters that about 10 persons would accompany Buhari as a support team to London. A source said, “This includes his [Mr. Buhari’s] physician Dr. Sanusi Rafindadi and another [medical] consultant.”
Other members of the team include his aide-de-camp, Lt. Colonel Muhammed Lawal Abubakar; the state chief of protocol (SCOP) Lawal Kazaure; the Chief Security Officer (CSO); his personal assistant, and a cook.
It was also gathered from a source that Buhari would stay in “Abuja House”, the official residence of the Nigerian high commissioner to the United Kingdom during the trip
The presidency has however, condemned the tension created following the announcement of Buhari’s medical trip on Sunday, June 5 2016 by Buhari’s special adviser on media and publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina.
Moreover, shortly before leaving for London, the president in a brief interactive session with newsmen at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, quizzed to know if there’s anyone that doesn’t fall sick.
“Is there anybody that doesn’t fall sick? I have already told Nigerians that I am going for 10 days to get my ear checked,” the president said.
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Meanwhile, Adesina had previously insisted in an interview with journalists that it is a misnomer to say that the President is ill.
According to him, although Buhari has an ear infection, it does not stop him from performing his duties as the President.
“The buzz going round the town is that the President is ill, but ‘ill’ will be a misnomer, it should not be the right word to use,” Adesina told members of the press.
“The President is going for a 10-day rest and during that period he will see specialists who will look at his ear because he has been treating that ear locally for some time.
“Nigerian physicians have looked at it and now they have said ‘you are going to UK, when you get there, let specialists look at the ear.’
“They have treated it locally so it is not a question of whether the President is ill. If he is ill, it presupposes that there are certain things that he cannot do.
“But till the very last minute that he is travelling, the President performed the duties and functions of his office as the President. So illness is not the issue.
“As a human being, yes he can rest. He has been President for one full year, you know that in February he took five days’ leave, he is taking another 10 days now. That means 15 days’ leave in one year.
“You and I take more than that. So, it is natural that the President, as a human being, is taking 10 days’ rest but he is not ill.
“We need to underscore that. Rather than going into a frenzy I will urge Nigerians to just show goodwill and patriotism, they should pray for him and wish him well.
“Things about health, life and death are in the hands of God, but I believe that all is well with our President and God will take care of him and take care of the country.”
