By Baron Ike
Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, on Monday, October 9 publicly upbraided the Chief Medical Director of the State House Clinic, Dr. Husain Munir, over the poor state of the health facility established to take care of the President, Vice-President, their families as well as members of Staff of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, saying what is on the ground does not correspondent with the amount of money government budgets for the hospital.
She spoke at the opening of a two-day stakeholders meeting on Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa.
Aisha said a situation where constructions were going on in the health facility that cannot boast of a syringe was not good enough for the country.
Mrs. Buhari recalled that she was sick recently and was advised to travel abroad because of the poor state of the clinic, but she refused.
She said she had to go to a private hospital owned by foreigners when she was told that the x-ray machine in the State House Clinic was not working.
She told Munir who was present at the event that the budget allocated to the clinic must be accounted for.
Aisha’s Words: “I would like to be realistic to say a few words concerning health delivery system in Nigeria. It is very poor, sorry to say that.
“I am happy that the MD of Aso Clinic is here. Dr Manir, I am happy that you are here.
“As you are aware for the past six months Nigeria was not stable because of my husband’s ill health.
“We thank God that he has fully recovered now.
“If somebody like Mr. President can spend several months outside Nigeria, you wonder what will happen to a common man on the street in Nigeria.
“Few weeks ago I was sick as well; they advised me to take a first flight to London; I refused to go.
“I said I must be treated in Nigeria because there is a budget for an assigned clinic to take care of us.
“If the budget was N100 million, we need to know the way the budget is spent.
“And along the line I insisted; they called Aso clinic to find out if their X-ray machine was working, they said it was not working; they didn’t know that I was the person that was to be at that hospital at that very time.
“I had to go to a hospital that was established by foreigners in and out 100 per cent.
“What does that mean?’’
“I think it is high time for us to do the right thing.’’
“Yes of course we have (policies) but implementation is always the problem.
“So we need to change our mindset and do the right thing.’’
“There are lots of constructions going on in that hospital but there is no single syringe there; what does that mean? Who will use the building?
“So we have to be good in reasoning; you are building and there is no equipment, no consumables in that hospital and the constructions are still going on.”