BUHARI: WHAT IS THE TRUE STATE OF HIS HEALTH?

The Nigerian public is awash with varying reports as to the whereabouts of the Nigerian President and his true state of health.

This issue has attracted so many concerns and as such, Nigerians would be forgiven for having a feeling of déjà vu when on Sunday the news filtered in that President Muhammadu Buhari has extended his initial 10-day vacation to an indefinite sick leave.

The country has been here before. In 2010, what was initially supposed to be a short trip to Saudi Arabia turned out to be one long leave of absence that ended in an untimely death for then President Umaru Musa Yar’adua; God bless his soul.

This time around, the official story from the Presidency says President Buhari needs to remain in the UK “in order to complete and receive the results of a series of tests recommended by his doctors.”

Given that, there have been recent denials by the President's handlers that he is not suffering from any health issues and that he is "hale and hearty" plus the lack of a specific return date, means that, the rumour mills that has initially been slowed down following Buhari's death reports, have again gone into overdrive with speculations being the order of the day.

Nigeria has again been thrown into a state of anxiety just as in the Yar’adua era when he passed away in office, at 58, after months of ill health despite repeated assurances by the presidency. Before passing on, Yar’adua did not transfer power to his Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, thus leaving a brief, but tense, period of uncertainty and a power vacuum.

The major issue many Nigerians had, following Yar’adua’s death was the secrecy in which his ill health had been shrouded and less than a decade later, it appears another President is repeating the same mistake. Coincidentally, both men are from the same Katsina state.

Although it is not uncommon for the country's Presidents to go on medical treatments abroad, the current Presidency has failed to manage the narrative of the President's health very well, giving room for wild speculation which will set the narrative and unnecessarily add more flames to Nigeria's already overheated polity.

It is also telling that President Muhammadu Buhari decided to seek medical attention abroad when his administration has been on the forefront of the #BuyNaijaToGrowNaira campaign.

Recall that in April 2015, Buhari’s government announced it would no longer provide allowances for medical trips by government officials. It remains to be seen if the President is bankrolling his current medical treatment from his pockets or from tax-payers money.