Abdulsalami Abubakar’s Hospital Stay

The Nigerian public has continued to cry out against leaders, including sitting and former presidents, who opt to seek medical care outside the country.

The issue was once again brought to the fore after videos surfaced on social media showing an Indian hospital using images of Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar’s care and stay at the hospital for marketing purposes.

Abdulsalami reportedly underwent knee replacement surgery at Krishna Shalby Hospital in Ahmedabad, India, and was even visited by Vice President Kashim Shettima, who also appeared in the promotional video posted on the hospital’s social media.

The debate over the former head of state’s decision to go to India instead of a local hospital came at the same time that President Bola Tinubu was on a working vacation in France and was rumoured to have sought medical care at the American Hospital of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine.

While he was president, Muhammadu Buhari visited Princess Grace Hospital (HCA Healthcare) in the United Kingdom at least five times.

READ ALSO: Abdulsalami Tells His Own Story

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is more secretive about hospital visits. But he has been linked to an unnamed hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

All that is known about Ibrahim Babangida’s hospital stays is that it is in Germany. Yes, it’s all an indictment of the country’s leadership for failing to invest in its health services and medical personnel.

So, why do they keep doing it, and why do other rich Nigerians and the not-so-rich choose to travel out?

While reliable data are hard to come by, an estimated 50,000 to 150,000 Nigerians seek medical care abroad each year.

And according to the CBN, Nigerians spent $643m on medical travel in 2024. Other reports put the travel expenses for 2025 at $685m.

Various studies have shown that reasons Nigerians engage in medical tourism include a lack of facilities and expertise in the country, and the unavailability of treatment in Nigeria.

There are other personal testimonies from Nigerians about how they were misdiagnosed or couldn’t even get the needed diagnosis in local hospitals.

There is also the recent experience of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who lost a son due to medical negligence. Worse than the negligence itself, the health authorities, the federal government, the NMA, and the MDCN have treated the case with levity.

But here is the most surprising part of some studies on why Nigerians choose foreign hospitals. In virtually all the cases, the patients were referred to foreign hospitals by the same Nigerian doctors that many are trying to defend.

The referrals mostly come from doctors in government hospitals, and India is usually their first choice. While Indian hospitals, which sometimes pay for such referrals, have the support of Nigerian doctors, patients are increasingly finding their way to other countries like the UAE, Turkey, Egypt, and Israel.

With the new competition, Krishna Shalby Hospital wasn’t going to let the opportunity of publicising Abdulsalami Abubakar’s time at the hospital go to waste.

But instead of increasing the number of foreign patients, specifically Nigerians, the hospital may have achieved the opposite, because rich and powerful Nigerians have a culture of keeping that aspect of their lives private.