RETIRED 80’s-era military General, Muhammadu Buhari, on Sunday returned to Nigeria from a foreign medical trip, which prompted a visit from a few public persons who included the current Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal.
General Buhari ran for president in last April’s general elections. The latest news of his medical trip has got tongues wagging about how fit a ‘President Buhari’ would have been, coming so soon after the unfortunate experience under another president whose health situation undermined the stability and functionality of the Nigerian statecraft.
It would be recalled that former President Umaru M. Yar’Adua’s health challenges near-of brought the affairs of government to a stand-still, as he was ferreted every now and again for foreign medical attention before his eventual demise in power.
At the height of the drama surrounding Mr. Yar’Adua’s ill-health, he was bedridden in Saudi Arabia for an extended period without any exchange of hand-over formalities with his number-two man, now President Goodluck E. Jonathan, even as a cabal of desperate loyalists of the late president manipulated his unfortunate situation for selfish gains.
Sharpedgenews.com had learned from reliable sources during the last presidential election, in which Mr. Buhari participated, that he was struggling with certain ailments which made his candidacy, much less his presidency, an unsafe choice. But the retired general went ahead with his campaign before losing to the incumbent president.
An unsatisfied General Buhari would later wage a legal battle through his CPC party against the ruling PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to address what he believes was a stolen mandate – a posturing which no doubt emboldened vagabonds in Northern Nigeria to go on an orgy of arson and mass murder.
Evidently, General Buhari is amongst the tiny clique of privileged Nigerians who enjoy world-standard health intervention that the masses of Nigerian citizens do not have access to. The draconian military government that General Buhari headed is not known to have demonstrated any vision for improved healthcare in Nigeria while it lasted.
Visiting the retired general on Sunday, Speaker Tambuwal said he was in Kaduna to see Buhari after receiving medical treatment abroad and to wish him well on his recovery.
According to the speaker, “I came to Kaduna to see General Buhari on his return to the country from his medical trip abroad and to wish him well and speedy recovery.”
General Buhari thanked the Speaker for his visit and wished him well in his duties as Speaker of the House, enjoining him to maintain that brotherly spirit regardless of political affiliation.