Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, Emir of Kano has said that Nigerians travelling abroad for medical tourism are making a mockery of the nation’s health system.
Sanusi, while speaking at the commissioning of Tristate Heart and Vascular Centre at Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, said “It is really shameful that as endowed as Nigeria is, it can hardly do anything for itself.
“We have a population of well over 167 million people, yet the country is incapable of doing things for itself. Why are Nigerians embarking on medical tourism to Egypt, Dubai, India, among others. Is that not a mockery of the health system?
“We are the largest producer of petroleum on the continent, yet we are the largest importer of refined crude. We have a section of this country that produces tons of tomato, yet we import tomato from China. We are the largest producer of cassava, yet we don’t produce starch.
“The question then is why do we keep importing what we have and exporting what we don’t have? A classical case was when Nigeria under military government organised a democratic election in Liberia. We didn’t have democracy at that time but we exported it.”
Former governor of Osun State and former acting National Chairman of All Progressive Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande who is also the Chairman of the Tristate Heart Foundation (THF) said “The statistic is quite frightening, especially when you realise that one in every two persons you meet today is prone to this deadly disease.
“The worst part is that, the victim may not even know that he or she has it. Research has shown that the strongest driver of heart failure is undiagnosed and untreated hypertension.”