Former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, has disclosed that the late Nigerian leader relied heavily on the goodwill of wealthy friends to cater for his medical needs and personal expenses, including his children’s education abroad.
In an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday, Adesina said Buhari didn’t foot most of the bills himself, adding that his associates often stepped in to support him.
“I doubt if he paid for those bills himself. President Buhari just needed to call anybody, the Dangotes, the Abdusalamis, and they would oblige. This last trip he made, I know the jets of the person he went in,” Adesina stated.
Reacting to past controversies surrounding Buhari’s children schooling abroad, Adesina said the former President once told him that the tuition fees weren’t from his pocket.
“When I asked him about the noise online over the schools his children attended, he told me, ‘I do not know. It’s my friends that pay it.’ He even said I should go and see Modi, his wise brother, who had the details,” he added.
Adesina also addressed speculations that Buhari owned a private residence in London, despite his frequent medical trips to the UK.
He dismissed the claims, stating that the former President mostly stayed at the Nigerian High Commission during his visits.
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“There was a time he was in the High Commission for many months when he went on that eight-month medical vacation. For about three-quarters of that period, he was in the High Commissioner’s apartment. The High Commissioner even moved to a smaller place so the President could stay in his official residence,” he said.
According to him, Buhari’s preference for London medical treatment was based on long-standing trust in his UK-based doctors.
“Before he became President, he had always done his medicals in London, the same set of doctors. Those who knew his medical history continued with him instead of starting afresh,” Adesina explained.
He described the former Nigerian leader as “a man of goodwill” who enjoyed unwavering support from his circle of trusted allies throughout his lifetime.
