Activist Deji Adeyanju of Concerned Nigerians has said that
medical tourists to the United Kingdom including the President, Muhammadu Buhari , will be most affected by the travel restrictions
slammed on Nigeria by Britain.
He stated this in a chat with The PUNCH, adding that the
travel restriction by the Boris Johnson administration, as well as other
nations, was baseless as there was no need for panic.
Britain had on Saturday banned Nigerian travellers after it
said it discovered 21 cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant in people who
recently visited Nigeria, saying the measure was a temporary measure aimed at
protecting its public health.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed,
subsequently said the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 would respond
to the travel restriction, describing the measure as discriminatory, even as
Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the UK, Sharafa Ishola, described the
restriction as apartheid.
Speaking with our correspondent, Adeyanju said, “The people
who will be most affected are not just the bourgeoisie – the leaders – but real
people; so many people travel to these destinations for Christmas.
“I believe that Nigerians will be most hit by these
policies. Some of the people who are travelling for medical tourism among the
political elite like the President who is a perpetual visitor to the United
Kingdom will be affected but Nigerians will be most hit by this action.”
In recent years, the UK has become a choice destination for
the Nigerian elite including the President; and National Leader of the ruling
All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu; who frequent London for medical tourism
while perpetual industrial actions, lack of modern equipment, failure of
government to pay doctors’ salaries, amongst others, mar Nigeria’s health
sector.
In 2021, Buhari had been to London for medical check-up a
number of times and had spent a total of over 200 days on medical leave in the
UK since his regime began on May 29, 2015.
Despite Buhari’s preference for foreign medical care, the
Federal Ministry of Health has consumed a total of N2.3tn from 2016 to date,
while the State House Medical Centre has received N6.2bn, according to the
respective appropriation acts available on the website of the Budget Office of
the Federation.
The presidential clinic caters for the President, Vice
President, their families and members of staff of the Presidential Villa,
Abuja.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com