In all honesty, I don't think it's fair to expect President Buhari to not avail himself of the best medical care anywhere in the world especially considering that our health system is one of the worst in the world.
How would anyone who wishes PMB well expect the President of the biggest economy and democracy in the black world to allow a group of people who are still embroiled in the vain issues of who earns more than the other oversea his health?
We recently circulated the news of the demonstration of the highest level of humanity, love and selflessness by Canadian doctors.
They went on strike to protest that government was paying them too much and should channel some of what they earned towards paying nurses whom they said were doing a lot but not earning enough .
In Nigeria, our hospitals are shut down because JOHESU, an umbrella body of other health professionals apart from doctors are demanding an improved welfare for their members. Interestingly, the NMA, the umbrella body of doctors and dentists is asking the government to disregard the demands of JOHESU. As a matter of fact , they are threatening a strike action if government should honour their demands, especially with regard to their demand for an improved welfare. They recently got an improvement in their own welfare and want to maintain a considerable gap from the other health professionals.
Healthcare delivery doesn't become of high quality by the mere provision of facilities and man power. The work environment, professional cohesion, teamwork and interdisciplinary respect, love and cooperation are also core elements of good quality healthcare. No house will stand if it is divided among itself. A fundamental question is :why do we not have the kind of atavistic rivalry we see in our healthcare providers in developed nations of the world? What is wrong with the black man?
With the level of bickering and the sickening unhealthy rivalry among our health professionals, it should be clear that there is failure of leadership in the health sector, starting from the ministry of health. If doctors are considered leaders of the healthcare team, they should also accept responsibility that they have failed to show the kind of leadership that engenders and fosters unity, healthy relationship and cohesion among members of the health team. It is the duty of the father of a family to show maturity in handling family affairs and ensuring peace. When a family fails, the father is considered to have failed because every man should handle his home well.
In all this, I think those who don't trust our healthcare system should be cut a huge slice of slack. The health facilities are moribund in most government hospitals and the health professionals in turn are still operating with a stone age mentality of egoism and pettiness while the patient suffers.
Government may be constantly blamed for not funding health care sufficiently in the country, but with the failures of the leadership of the health sector showing glaringly, questions could have been raised by government about how well the management of the health institutions have managed the resources provided to it over these years.
So, I'm exculpating PMB from the frequent excoriation by the Nigerian masses for his fondness of London hospitals. With the delicate nature of his health, only those who don't love him would be wishing him to entrust his life with a set of people who have no love for one another and who obviously places the welfare of patients to the lowest bottom.
Written by Oliver Chuks Orji