The Chief Medical Director of Afe Babalola University Multi-System Hospital (AMSH), Dr Akinola Akinmade, has stated that former President Muhammadu Buhari could have been kept alive if he had received treatment at the Institution?s world-class medical facility.

Akinmade, who exuded confidence in the hospital?s cutting-edge technology and skilled personnel, said the health facility would do everything in its capacity to keep the late President alive and functional.

The CMD, who said this in Ado-Ekiti, over the weekend, while addressing journalists, lamented the persistent trend of medical tourism abroad, especially among the political leaders and the very rush Nigerians, saying it?s high time for governments to bolster healthcare infrastructure, by taking a cue from ABUAD Hospital which has been described as the best equipped hospital in Sub Saharan Africa, with some of the best clinicians in the country.

According to him, there is hardly any tertiary health facility in Nigeria and Africa that is as equipped, or that can boast of the volume of sophisticated medical equipment, including hordes of cross-border personnel that AMSH parade daily.

All of these peculiarities, he said, were assembled by the visionary and patriotic zeal of the founder and legal icon, Afe Babalola (SAN), all in the efforts to make sure the hospital met global health demands of all classes of people, whether rich or poor, lowly or highly placed.

?Only late last year, the hospital, under the visionary leadership of our founder, went a step further by going into a formal collaboration with Marengo Asia Hospitals, a leading medical group, based in India.

?This partnership was established to deepen surgical excellence and expand the scope of specialized procedures available to patients, right here in Nigeria.

Since the commencement of this collaboration, the Marengo Asia surgical team, working alongside our dedicated Nigerian clinicians, has completed nine kidney transplant procedures here at AMSH.

?In addition to transplant services, our Renal Centre is equipped with 27 modern dialysis machines, including dedicated machines for patients with infectious conditions, such as hepatitis and similar ailments. As we speak, the centre conducts minimum of over 400 dialysis treatment sessions each month, thereby making it one if the busiest and most comprehensive dialysis programmes in the country?.

He noted that the various medical feats of the hospital have earned it an award for ?Redefining Standards in Hospital Management, Clinical Delivery, Patient Experience and Innovation within Nigeria?s Healthcare System?, by the National Healthcare Excellence Awards Group.

Akinmade asserted that Nigeria can only be free from colonisation if it?s able to provide quality healthcare delivery for its citizens without relying on medical tourism.

The CMD made these remarks in reaction to a recent statement by Femi Adesina, the former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Muhammadu Buhari, who said the ex-President would have died years ago if he had been treated in a Nigerian Hospital.

Recall that Buhari died in a London Clinic on July 13, 2025, at the age of 82, where he was receiving medical treatment for an undisclosed ailment and was buried in his hometown of Daura, Katsina State.

Akinmade stated further that his stance has always been that a country that cannot treat its ailments can be considered colonized. We have to be able to treat our ailments.

?Our hospitals have to be able to take care of our people, and we cannot always resort to running outside the country for health care. It is important for us to develop our capabilities, and these things don?t happen overnight.

?In terms of that, ABUAD Hospital has been described as the best-equipped hospital in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond that, our hospital is staffed with some of the best clinicians in the country.

?One thing that is different about us is that we fight for every life. So, I can assure you that if we had been the ones attending to the former president, we would have done everything possible to keep him alive and functional?.

The CMD also called on the government to urgently fix Ado-Ijan road, describing it as a critical access route that poses a threat to emergency patients, transport and hospital partners.

He reaffirmed the Hospital?s commitment to delivering world-class healthcare, training future health professionals and driving innovation that meets the real needs of Nigerians. (Sunday Vanguard)

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