When former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was confirmed useless on Sunday, July 13, 2025, at a hospital in London, it closed a chapter in Nigeria’s fashionable historical past—however opened new questions. The announcement from the Nigerian presidency was transient. Particulars concerning the particular hospital, reason behind demise, or ultimate moments had been conspicuously absent.
Days later, the UK, a rustic Buhari visited incessantly for medical remedy throughout his presidency, has but to subject a condolence message from the Prime Minister or the Overseas Workplace. Solely the British Excessive Fee in Abuja acknowledged his passing with a brief social media submit expressing sympathy to the Nigerian folks.
This silence on the highest diplomatic stage has triggered not solely shock however renewed public hypothesis about long-standing conspiracy theories that surrounded Buhari’s presidency. Amongst them: the persistent declare that the actual Buhari died in 2017 and was changed by a physique double.
A Lacking Gesture of Diplomacy
Worldwide protocol typically dictates that when a former head of state dies, significantly whereas on international soil, it warrants an official condolence message from the host nation. In 2022, Nigeria formally mourned Queen Elizabeth II; Buhari himself signed the condolence register on the British Excessive Fee. Many anticipated an identical gesture in reverse from the UK.
The absence of a proper tribute from No. 10 Downing Avenue or a press release from the UK Overseas Workplace has left many Nigerians perplexed. Whereas there isn’t any authorized obligation for such messages, in diplomatic phrases, silence can converse volumes.
A global relations analyst, based mostly in Imo notes, “In diplomacy, acknowledgment issues. The absence of a press release from the British management, contemplating Buhari’s lengthy medical historical past in London, may very well be interpreted as a symbolic distancing.”
The Legacy of a Silent Presidency
All through his time in workplace from 2015 to 2023, Buhari was identified for lengthy medical leaves, lots of which had been spent in London. One such absence in 2017, when he was gone for over 100 days, sparked wild hypothesis about his well being. The shortage of standard updates on the time fueled the now-infamous “Jubril from Sudan” principle, suggesting that Buhari had died and been changed by a look-alike.
Though extensively debunked, the idea took maintain within the nationwide creativeness, partly as a consequence of opaque communication from the presidency. Buhari finally addressed the rumors, calling them “ridiculous,” however for a lot of, the reason got here too late to reverse public doubt.
Now, together with his demise and burial however with no public picture, or medical report launched, some Nigerians are asking once more: Was it Buhari who died in 2025, or had he died lengthy earlier than?
Medical Tourism and Its Irony
Buhari’s demise in a international hospital underscores a deeper subject—Nigeria’s dependency on international healthcare. Regardless of pledges to reform the well being sector, Buhari turned the face of elite medical tourism. Critics argue that his authorities failed to speculate sufficiently in native hospitals, leaving the common Nigerian to deal with under-resourced services.
A Lagos-based public well being advisor, Ogidi Jones, describes the symbolism as painful. “A sitting president who sought care overseas, and in the long run, died overseas. It’s a mirrored image of our systemic failure—not simply in healthcare, however in management accountability and self-reliance.”
Throughout his time in workplace, Buhari promised to finish the tradition of medical tourism. But, beneath his watch, many high authorities officers, together with ministers and lawmakers, continued to fly overseas for primary medical wants. Buhari himself reportedly spent over 200 days cumulatively within the UK for health-related issues between 2015 and 2023. That he died in the identical nation solely reinforces the sense of irony.
Past symbolism, the {economic} implications are stark. Nigeria loses an estimated $1 billion yearly to medical tourism, a lot of it going to India, the UAE, and the UK. For extraordinary residents watching a former president spend his ultimate moments overseas, the message is obvious: even on the highest stage, Nigerian healthcare stays untrusted.
The Return of Mistrust
Within the days following Buhari’s demise, social media platforms have grow to be a digital city sq. of grief, doubt, and debate. Whereas tributes poured in from throughout Africa and components of Asia, many Nigerians discovered themselves wrestling not simply with the fact of his passing, however with the persistent feeling that key details had been once more being withheld.
The hashtag #Buhari2025 trended alongside older conspiracy-linked tags like #JubrilOfSudan and #WhoDiedInLondon. Memes, voice notes, and speculative threads flooded WhatsApp {groups} and X (previously Twitter), many echoing sentiments like, “We could by no means know the reality.”
To Nigeria’s political elite, these theories could appear absurd. However for hundreds of thousands of extraordinary residents, they’re a byproduct of years of half-truths and silence from authorities channels.
READ ALSO: Buhari’s Love for Nigeria Formed Each Resolution He Made — Tinubu
“It’s not likely about believing Buhari was cloned,” says Valuable Ekechi, a political psychologist. “It’s about believing that the federal government hides the reality as a matter of tradition. In such an atmosphere, folks start to imagine something—or every little thing.”
Silence as a Assertion
The absence of a transparent response from the UK authorities raises diplomatic and moral questions. Was it an oversight, or does it replicate a extra calculated choice to keep away from entanglement in Nigeria’s home sensitivities?
Worldwide relations consultants counsel that the UK could have opted for subtlety to keep away from showing as if it had a particular curiosity in a person who was typically criticized for autocratic tendencies and human rights issues. Others imagine the silence could point out that Buhari’s worldwide legacy was not held in as excessive regard as some in Nigeria might need believed.
“It’s attainable the British authorities merely assessed the state of affairs and determined to let their Excessive Fee deal with it quietly,” mentioned a senior fellow on the Royal Institute of Worldwide Affairs (Chatham Home). “That in itself is telling.”
A Remaining Reflection
Ultimately, Muhammadu Buhari will probably be remembered by many as a president of paradoxes: a person who promised change however was typically absent; a frontrunner who championed integrity however whose administration was tainted by opacity; a president who dominated from Abuja however typically recovered in London.
His demise, very similar to his presidency, is shrouded in questions. And within the silence from international capitals and the hypothesis at residence, Nigeria is as soon as once more pressured to reckon with the worth of secrecy, the fragility of belief, and the lengthy shadows of unresolved doubts.
Because the nation has now buried one among its most controversial leaders, the actual mourning could not solely be for Buhari—however for the reality, which Nigerians concern they might by no means absolutely obtain.
