Citizen Gbola, a member of the Take-it-Back (TIB) movement, displayed placards protesting medical tourism and abandonment of Nigeria’s health care system by political office holders at the trial of Nigerian senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice, in London on Thursday.

“After destroying our healthcare system, Nigerian leaders regularly travel abroad for medical help.

“Buhari, stop wasting Nigeria’s money on medical tourism, you’re a failure,” Mr Gbola’s banners read.

The Ekwerenmadus are standing trial on allegations human trafficking and proposed organ harvesting of acclaimed minor David Ukpo. Although the Westminster Magistrate Court ruled on Thursday that the alleged victim is not a minor, the couple will remain in detention till August 4 when the matter comes up for hearing again.

Speaking to Peoples Gazette on the matter, National Publicity Secretary of the African Action Congress (AAC) – the parent organisation of the TIB – Olorunfemi Adeyeye, says that Nigerians need not pity the Ekweremadus.

“Our people need not be emotional on a case like this. There’s no sympathy for the elite that have ruined this country and in this particular case, the health sector. Had the health sector in Nigeria been working, the Ekweremadus won’t have to travel thousands of miles to fix a medical issue our doctors here are also trained for. This is not mentioning the medical ethics and legal breaches in the case,” Mr Adeyeye said.

Successive administration continues to fail on their promise to revamp Nigeria’s health sector. In the weeks leading to the passage of the 2022 budget, President Muhammadu Buhari was criticised for allocating a paltry 4.2 per cent of the budget to the health sector, falling short of the Abuja Declaration commitment which requires the nation to ensure that 15 per cent of its annual budgetary allocation goes to health.

“The Nigerian government keeps making empty promises to fix the health sector. Even the president treats catarrh in the UK and the wife treats neck pain in Dubai. It’s just sad!

“What’s happening to the Ekweremadus is a testimony to the popular prayer ‘May Nigeria not happen to you’. This is Nigeria happening to the Ekweremadus. A confirmation that even the thieving ruling class are not immune against the ‘happening of Nigeria’,” Mr Adeyeye added.