Odinkalu Blasts Nigerian Leaders as Buhari Dies Abroad: ‘Nigerian Leaders Will Keep Returning as Cargo Unless They Fix Our Hospitals’
Prominent human rights lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, has issued a scathing critique following the death of former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in a London hospital on Sunday.
Reacting on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Odinkalu condemned Nigeria’s political elite for their persistent dependence on foreign medical care, warning that their refusal to invest in local healthcare infrastructure would leave them destined to “return as cargo.”
CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE BELOW AFTER THESE IMPORTANT NOTICES
Log in to primsol.lawpavilion.com and store.lawpavilion.com to enjoy the best E-journals, textbooks, and many more. For further enquiries/assistance, send an email to customercare@lawpavilion.com or call 08050298729
He wrote, “#Nigeria’s current rulers may need to be reminded: Those who die in foreign hospitals only get to return to the country as cargo. They don’t pass through @immigrationng. Rather we clear them through @CustomsNG as import. If you don’t want this, build a hospital that can work for you.”
Odinkalu’s remarks have reignited public outrage over the prolonged deterioration of Nigeria’s healthcare system—a sector many blame on years of government neglect and misplaced priorities. Buhari’s death in a foreign hospital, though unsurprising to many, has become yet another symbol of the ruling elite’s abandonment of institutions they were entrusted to build.
Further deepening concerns, reports indicate that another former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, is also critically ill and undergoing treatment in London.
In the wake of Buhari’s passing, Nigerians have taken to social media to echo Odinkalu’s frustration, condemning a pattern where leaders escape the very healthcare crisis they presided over—only to die far from the suffering they left behind.
“They never built hospitals for us, yet they run abroad to die in peace,” one user lamented.
“Why is London their favourite place to die?” another asked.
Critics argue that decades of underfunding, poor leadership, and corruption have rendered Nigeria’s health sector unsafe, even for basic treatments. As a result, the country’s elite routinely seek medical care overseas, sidestepping the very systems they imposed on ordinary citizens.
“They never trusted the healthcare system they oversaw. They never planned to be part of the suffering they allowed,” read one widely shared comment.
“Nigeria has become the cemetery of the common man, while London remains the hospice of the elite.”
Buhari’s death has once again drawn stark attention to the deepening healthcare divide in Nigeria. Odinkalu’s warning serves as a bitter but timely reminder: if the nation’s leaders continue to ignore the need for domestic healthcare reform, their legacies—and their bodies—may be remembered not with dignity, but in silence, as cargo.
FOR SUPPORT TO BARRISTERNG BLOG, DONATE TO: 1. NAIRA ACCOUNT: 1023046978 - UBA 2. USD ACCOUNT: 5090743566 - FIDELITY BANK PLC
Call Bridget Edokwe Esq on 08060798767 or send your articles to barristerngblog@gmail.com
A Must-Have for Every Lawyer: Order Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye’s Latest Books on Electronic Evidence Today: To order your copies, click the link below and order directly from the author:
https://velvety-cendol-7387ed.netlify.app/
SHOP NOW
The Price is 10k for Hard Copy less freight and 5k for E- Book copy in the Store of the Website. https://buokorie.com/store/ To access the hard copy, Call - 07087622283
