President Muhammadu Buhari has had the most serious health challenge in his life, as he mentioned himself some time ago. Prayerfully and thankfully, after a series of medical trips abroad to London, where he consulted severally with his Doctors, and got treated for his ailment for a substantial part of the 2 – 3 years of his first term, he has now apparently recovered and recuperated from his ailment, or at least he is now in a good enough condition of health.
However, for subsequent health challenges of Nigerian Presidents, Vice Presidents; Governors, Deputy Governors; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation; Ministers, and other highly placed Nigerian politicians, top government officials, and top staff of the Presidency; it is best if they stay put and remain at home, for their medical consultations and check-ups, and medical treatments. This can be done as soon as possible after an interim period of building and equipping a hospital of the highest possible international standards, with the international best practices; in the Presidential Villa at Aso Rock, Abuja, to cater for their needs and the needs of their respective families. For the State Governors, Deputy Governors, and other top politicians and top government officials at the State levels, such model hospitals should be replicated, built, and equipped concurrently, at the same time the Presidential Hospital is being built for the Presidency and other Federal top politicians, officials, and executives.
Such a well-built and well-equipped hospital of international standard and with the international possible best practices, upon completion and equipping, can then cater for the needs of all these categories of Nigerian leaders, and more.
This hospital must, of necessity, have the best possible medical equipment, facilities, and infrastructure, as is available, and as obtains anywhere in the world, especially in the developed countries. This hospital must also be maintained constantly, and in fact around the clock, 24 hours a day and 7 days per week (24/7), including sweeping, cleaning, and virtually daily continuous maintenance. And it should never ever be allowed to degenerate, deteriorate, or fail in anyway whatsoever. The hospital should also always have well-stocked ready supplies of drugs and medicines, and medicaments (including all necessary and relevant available injections) at all times. As well as quality furniture and furnishing at any given period of time; which should be kept very neat and very tidy, and replaced every two years at least, if not yearly, where necessary. The furnishing and the hospital itself, including its buildings, should be always kept clean and sanitary by ample enough employed cleaners, who should work 24/7 and round the clock, discharging their cleaning duties and responsibilities in thrice-daily 8-hourly shift duties. Obviously, likewise for all the medical personnel in the hospital, including medical doctors, nurses, consultants, specialists, and medical experts in all medical fields; which should include both Nigerian and foreign experts.
All the medical doctors, experts, specialists, and consultants in all fields of specialization in medicine from both Nigeria and abroad, can then be brought together to handle all medical cases, consultations, and check-ups, etc, for these Nigerian leaders. Some of the Nigerian medical specialists and experts could be sourced from the Nigerian diaspora abroad in different countries worldwide.
This hospital to be initially established at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa (to be replicated in all the 36 State Capitals and FCT, Abuja) should of course obviously be superior to the current embarrassing and scandalous now controversial “Aso Rock Clinic.” This initial model hospital of international standard replicated in the States and the FCT, will cater for the Governors, Deputy Governors, State Legislators, State High Court Judges, and other judicial officers, and their respective families. It should also cater for the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and the Minister of State of the Federal Capital Territory, and their respective Chiefs of Staff, Special and Personal Assistants. As well as Federal Permanent Secretaries of Ministries; Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and his Executive and Non-Executive Directors and General Managers and their Deputies and Assistants; and Directors-General, Executive and Non-Executive Directors, Executive Secretaries, General Managers and their Deputies and Assistants, in all other Extra-Ministerial Departments and Agencies (MDA’s) being mostly based in Abuja, the Nigerian Federal Capital City. And the respective families of all these top politicians and top government officials would be served by this replicated model hospital in Abuja City, which is for Abuja and the FCT.
The building and equipping of the initial “Presidential Hospital” and the ones to be replicated in all the States, can be done within a reasonable period of two to four years. This is much better than continuous globe-trotting overseas for medical treatment, and even for just medical check-ups, when we can all do it here at home in Nigeria with much lesser costs and expenses. With the commissioning and commencement of the use of this hospital and the other replicated model hospitals in all the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, in Abuja City, and all the afore-mentioned arrangements elaborately put in place, there would no longer be the need for globetrotting abroad by top politicians and top government officials for medical tourism and medical treatments, consultations, and check-ups, which constitute a drain on the nation’s scarce finances in the public treasury.
After these hospitals in the Presidential Villa and the model replicated ones in the States have been built, equipped, and well stocked with drugs and medicines, and are successfully put to use, these model replicated hospitals should be further built, equipped, and stocked in all the local government headquarters nationwide, though of lower grades than those at the Presidential Villa, States, and the FCT. One such hospital should be built, well-equipped, and well-stocked, and well established and operated in each local government headquarters; to cater for the Local Government Chairmen, Secretaries, Councilors, and Directors, and their respective families, nationwide.
For the interim period within which this Presidential and other replicated hospitals will be financed, equipped, maintained, and managed, the President himself, and all others in his Presidency, may wish to avail themselves of the use, consultation, and check-ups of a much better equipped, maintained, managed, and financed Aso Rock Presidential Villa Clinic than hitherto and currently. Likewise, for the States and Local Governments, whereby they should use the best possible refurbished available Clinics available to them and their respective families, in their respective locations, pending the completion, equipping, and stocking of their replicated hospitals. This is much better than continuous unending globe-trotting in the name of medical tourism, medical treatments, and mere medical check-ups, which can be done here in Nigeria under this arrangement, and scarce funds saved for development of more infrastructure nationwide.
In the meantime, the State House Clinic (and those in the Government Houses in the States, and in the Local Government Headquarters) should be upgraded. More qualified, experienced, specialized, professional, and efficient medical and other personnel of all cadres, posts, and ranks, should be appointed, recruited, deployed, and posted — mostly nationwide but also from abroad among the Nigerians in diaspora and some foreign medical specialists, experts, and consultants — could be posted to work in the Aso Rock Presidential Villa Clinic especially, initially. But also, in the other model replicated clinics in the States and even Local Governments, in top, middle, and lower grades and cadres; to cater for the respective needs of the Presidency, States, and Local Governments, accordingly. The medical personnel and other hospital staff to be employed obviously includes medical doctors and specialist doctors in all fields in medicine; matrons, nurses, midwives; laboratory technologists/technicians; radiologists and radiographers; physiotherapists, medical consultants, etc.
It is noteworthy that Nigeria has for long and continuously, had many qualified, competent, and professional medical doctors; consultants, specialists, and experts in all fields of medicine. Some of these medical personnel, and others in allied medical fields are even better qualified and with more expertise than many so-called foreign experts from overseas. Many of these Nigerian medical experts and specialists are based in the Nigerian diaspora in many developed and other countries abroad. Still many others are based right here at home in Nigeria.
Therefore, it is clear that we have a lot of the expertise we need and require right here at home in Nigeria! Any shortfall in medical expertise can also be met by the Nigerian medical experts in all medical fields based abroad in the Nigerian diaspora. Still other foreign medical experts can be included among the Nigerians in the afore-mentioned hospitals. This will obviously enrich medical expertise, and the medical experts and specialists will complement themselves, and their onerous medical tasks and responsibilities.
Again, hopefully and prayerfully, such medical infrastructure, personnel, funding, equipment, and facilities, would be devoid of our lamentable and unfortunate national malaise and quagmire of retrogressive, endemic, and pervasive corruption in Nigeria! This is notwithstanding so far modest efforts by this incumbent Buhari administration to deal with corruption, which is in progress, even though apparently handled with levity by the authorities concerned. But at least it is a start, and it can hopefully and prayerfully be better improved and “fine-tuned” by on-coming administrations in the country, at the federal level; but also, at the other two tiers of government of State and Local Governments.
Where there is the political will and wherewithal to do so by the authorities concerned in Nigeria, all the required funding, facilities, and equipment; as well as efficient and effective management of these hospitals, as suggested, could be put in place right here in Nigeria. This can be done devoid of the all-too-familiar corruption, inefficiency, mismanagement, grave lack of electric power supply, non-maintenance and lack of a maintenance culture. All these vices are not really so overwhelming or insurmountable, as to perpetually prevent us in Nigeria from having and owning up to these model hospitals, starting with a proper Presidential Hospital for the Presidency in the Presidential Villa at Aso Rock, Abuja City.
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