Coronavirus: Nigerian elites now faced with poorly funded hospitals - Report
- For a few months now, Nigeria has been battling with the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus
- A report by a newspaper publication asserts that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced Nigeria's elite to seek treatment within the country
- The outbreak has infected a number of prominent Nigerians including four governors and the president's chief of staff
A report by Bloomberg indicates that Nigeria’s elite has been forced to seek medical treatment in the country following the outbreak of the global pandemic called coronavirus.
For years prominent Nigerians have been seeking medical treatment abroad thus ignoring the government’s failure to invest adequately in the healthcare system.
Since the index case of COVID-19 was reported in Nigeria back in February, the country’s elite can no longer escape the poor healthcare in the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari in reaction to the first coronavirus case closed the borders and later imposed a lockdown on two major cities and one state.
Now that commercial flights and private jets have been grounded in Nigeria as a result of the pandemic, a good number of the elite, even the affluent middle class can no longer fly to India, U.K, or France to see a doctor.
Source: UGC
So far, the deadly virus has infected over a hundred people including the president’s chief of staff, Abba Kyari, and four state governors.
Others in the elite circle that have been infected are Suleiman Achimugu, who was the first COVID-19 casualty and a son of former vice president Atiku Abubakar.
Amid the fear of contracting the virus or exposure to infected persons, many government officials have gone into isolation.
According to Francis Faduyile, the head of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), if they get sick, the officials will have no choice but to rely on a weak system that is at risk of falling apart under the weight of a global outbreak.
Faduyile said: “The health system is not strong enough. Over the years, it’s been denied normal funding and things are not where they’re supposed to be. If the burden of the coronavirus is added, it may be too heavy; it may actually cause a total collapse.”
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Legit.ng previously reported that Abba Kyari, the chief of staff to the president on Sunday, March 29, confirmed that he had tested positive for coronavirus.
Kyari in a statement published through the twitter handle of the presidency, @NGRPresident, said he was proceeding to Lagos on Sunday for further tests based on medical advice.
The chief of staff noted that he was feeling well and pointed out that he was yet to experience any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19.
Similarly, Muhammad Babandede, the comptroller-general of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Babandede made the disclosure in a WhatsApp message on Sunday, March 29. The immigration boss said he had been on self-isolation since his return from the UK on Sunday, March 22.
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Coronavirus: The govt cannot force us to stay at home | Legit TV
Source: Legit.ng
