Take urgent medical leave, Falana, activists tell Buhari

Following mounting concerns over the health of President Muhammadu Buhari several civil society organisations and Nigerian activists have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to proceed on an immediate medical leave.

Among those advising the president to without delay seek medical attention is Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer.

Since the return of President Buhari from a 49-day medical vacation in the United Kingdom on March 10 he has only made few public appearances, and has not stepped outside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

His failures to attend weekly Federal Executive Council meetings, absence at last Friday’s Juma’at prayers as well as not being able to attend the wedding of his adopted son in Kaduna on Saturday have continued to fuel speculations over his health.

Apparently due to these realities, the activists in a statement issued on Monday urged President Buhari to honour the advice of his personal physician and proceed on health vacation.

The statement was signed by Debo Adeniran, an activist; Jibrin Ibrahim, an academic; Adetokunboh Mumuni, executive director of SERAP; Shina Odugbemi, programme manager of the Democracy Vanguard, a non-governmental organisation; Chris Kwaja, a lecturer and researcher and Y.Z. Ya’u, director Centre for Information Techology and Development in Nigeria, CITAD.

Others are: Chom Bagu, a pro-democracy activist; Olanrewaju Suraj, the Civil Society Network Against Corruption, CSNAC; Ezenwa Nwagu, a community development expert; Awwal Rafsanjani, excutive director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC; David Ugolor, an environmental activist, and Mohammed Attah, National Coordinator, Procurement Observation and Advocacy Initiative, PRADIN.

Part of it read, “When President Muhammadu Buhari was recently in the United Kingdom on a medical vacation, which lasted 49 days, many public officers said that he was ‘hale and hearty.’ But upon his return to the country, President Buhari disclosed that he had never been that sick in his entire life.

“Even though the president did not disclose the nature of his ailment, he revealed that he went through blood transfusion. While thanking the Nigerian people for their prayers, the president announced that he might soon travel back for further medical treatment.

“A few weeks ago, the governor of Kaduna state, Mr Nasir El-Rufai urged Nigerians to give President Buhari time to recover from his sickness. The plea was made after the governor had visited and presumably assessed the state of the president at the presidential villa in Abuja.

“However, due to the apparent deterioration in the president’s health condition, he has neither been seen in public in the last one week nor attended the last two meetings of the federal executive council. His absence at the last Juma’at service in the villa has fuelled further speculations and rumours on President Buhari’s medical condition.”

The group added, “Instead of embarking on regular briefing on the actual state of the health of President Buhari, officials of the Federal Government have continued to assure the Nigerian people ‘there is no need for apprehension over the matter.’

“In defending the absence of the president at the last FEC meeting and other state functions, the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Mr Garba Shehu stated that ‘the president’s doctors have advised on his taking things slowly, as he fully recovers from the long period of treatment in the United Kingdom some weeks ago’.

“As we join the Nigerian people of goodwill to pray for a speedy recovery of President Buhari, we are compelled to advise him to heed the advice of his personal physicians by taking a rest to attend to his health without any further delay.”

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