By Agboola Aluko
T he passing of former President Muhammadu Buhari on July 13, 2025, in a London hospital struck a deep chord. It brought into sharp focus a painful truth: Nigeria's leaders, entrusted with immense wealth and potential, seek world-class healthcare abroad while our own hospitals languish in neglect. Buhari, who served as military ruler in the 1980s and as president from 2015 to 2023, frequently traveled to the United Kingdom for medical treatment during his tenure. President Bola Tinubu, his successor, is known to visit hospitals in France and the UK, a practice shared by many Nigerian elites. This begs a haunting question: when these leaders experience superior healthcare abroad, do they ever think to replicate it at home for their people? The answer, it seems, is no.
This is not a new story. Former President Umaru Yar’Adua passed away in a Saudi Arabian hospital in 2010. Patience Jonathan, wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, sought treatment in Germany. Olusegun Obasanjo, a two-term president, was known for medical checkups in Switzerland and the UK. Meanwhile, Nigeria's healthcare system is a shadow of what it could be, lacking basic equipment, drugs, and trained staff. Ordinary citizens face a system that too often fails them. Voices on X echo the frustration: “No regular Nigerian can afford the hospitals our leaders use abroad. They don’t care. From Yar’Adua to Buhari, it’s the same.” Another post reads, “If our hospitals worked, why was Buhari always flown to the UK? Tinubu spends more time in foreign clinics than ours.”
This hypocrisy reflects a deeper rot: a culture of greed and self-interest that grips Nigeria’s political class and seeps into society. Nigeria, blessed with vast resources like oil and gas, which account for over 90% of export revenues, remains a paradox. The World Bank estimates that over 80 million Nigerians live below the poverty line, with more than a quarter facing acute hunger. Corruption and mismanagement have squandered our potential, leaving millions in poverty while a few amass wealth.
Greed in the Present Government
Under President Tinubu’s administration, greed continues to cast a long shadow. The controversial Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project, estimated at N15 trillion, over half of Nigeria’s 2024 budget, was awarded to Hitech Construction Company Ltd., owned by Tinubu’s associate Gilbert Chagoury, through a process criticized for lacking transparency. Reports of Tinubu purchasing a private jet and luxury vehicles while urging citizens to “endure” economic hardship have sparked outrage. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has probed Tinubu’s assets since 2021, and in 2024, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project listed him among the world’s most corrupt figures, citing allegations of profiteering and cronyism. These actions fuel public distrust, as leaders prioritize personal gain over public welfare.
Sycophancy and political jobbery further erode Nigeria’s moral fabric. Political jobbers, paid to defend the indefensible, flood platforms like X with propaganda. They justify failed projects like the phantom Nigeria Air or the perpetually “under repair” refineries, despite evidence of mismanagement. Figures like Reno Omokri and Daniel Bwala, known for their shifting loyalties, embody this opportunism, switching sides for profit rather than principle. This lack of integrity is not just a political failing; it reflects a societal willingness to prioritize personal gain over truth.
A Colonial Legacy or Our Own Failing?
Some attribute Nigeria’s woes to its colonial past, which sowed division through indirect rule and the 1914 amalgamation, creating a nation with fractured identities. Yet, more than six decades after independence, we cannot keep blaming history. Nigeria’s leaders and citizens have failed to forge a shared vision. A scarcity mindset drives many to prioritize survival over ethics. Voters accept N20,000 to back unfit candidates. Social media influencers peddle lies for pay, even when they know better. Tribalism and religious divides are exploited to keep us fragmented, while the National Assembly, meant to uphold democracy, often serves as a marketplace for personal enrichment.
The #EndSARS protests of 2020 offered hope, as young Nigerians united against police brutality. But the movement was crushed with violence, and its demands for reform were ignored. This cycle of dashed hopes underscores a hard truth: we are all complicit. Leaders loot, but citizens enable them through silence, bribes, or blind loyalty.
A Call to Serve and Rise Above
To President Tinubu and Nigeria’s leaders: your legacy will not be measured by wealth or power, but by the lives you uplift. Learn from the hospitals you visit abroad. Build world-class facilities here. Invest in schools, roads, and security, not private jets. Serve the people, not your cronies. The National Assembly must prioritize transparent budgets and public welfare over lavish allowances. Power is fleeting; Buhari’s death is a reminder that we all leave this world, but our actions endure.
To my fellow Nigerians: we must do better. Reject the bribe that buys your vote. Speak truth, even when it costs you. Hold leaders accountable, not just at elections but every day. Our greed and silence fuel this broken system. If we continue to fight for scraps, defend liars, or stay divided, our children will inherit the same broken Nigeria.
Building a Legacy of Hope
Nigeria’s resources, from oil to human talent, are enough to create a thriving nation. The World Bank projects 4% GDP growth in 2025, but without tackling unemployment, inflation, and insecurity, this means little. Amnesty International has criticized Tinubu’s government for failing to uphold human rights, with ongoing violence in the southeast and unchecked abuses by security forces. We need leaders who embody integrity, not opportunists or shady figures. We need a society that values merit and justice.
There is nothing wrong with Nigeria itself. Our land, culture, and people brim with potential. But we are the problem when we choose greed over progress, silence over truth, and division over unity. Buhari’s death is a wake-up call. Let’s build a Nigeria where hospitals save lives, leaders serve, and the rule of law reigns. Let’s create a country our children can be proud of, where equity triumphs over exploitation. We know the truth. It’s time to live it.
Agboola Aluko is a concerned Nigerian citizen passionate about justice, equity, and the future of the nation.
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