Barely 10 days after a reliable Aso Rock source told Newsroom president Muhammadu Buhari is ill, the president has now been reportedly confined to a hospital bed.
The president, reports say, has a disease that makes him unable to hear properly. The condition, known as Ménière’s disease, also affects Buhari’s balance — meaning he could fall while trying to walk.
Ménière’s disease is a disorder of the inner ear that usually affects both hearing and balance. It is characterised by episodes of vertigo and by fluctuating or permanent tinnitus and hearing loss. The condition affects people differently. It can range in intensity from being a mild annoyance to a disabling disease.
Vertigo is when a person feels as if they or the objects around them are moving when they are not.
The president is also reportedly complaining of pains.
Aso Rock source had said Buhari, who clocked 73 last December, had a cough that kept ‘going and coming back.’
‘We noticed that when he’s talking these days he coughs a lot,’ our source said.
‘The cough keeps coming. When he treats it, the cough goes and then comes back. When he talks he starts to cough. So he just excuses himself and tells others to continue.’
It’s Buhari’s failing health that apparently kept him from visiting Lagos, and showing up at the historic flag-off of Ogoniland clean-up.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo represented Buhari on both occasions.
The VP will also stand in for Buhari at the 48th Ordinary Summit of Head of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) holding this weekend in Dakar, Senegal, Aso Rock said in a statement on Friday.
Buhari is being treated at the State House Clinic where he’s being closely watched by his personal doctor and other medical experts, reports say.
Reports say Aso Rock sources say Buhari may be flown abroad next week if his condition does not improve.
Buhari’s health reportedly got disturbing about 14 days ago. Yet the president was able to meet dignitaries inside Aso Rock. He even had a closed-door meeting with former president Goodluck Jonathan.
But the president failing health could mean he would be taking a huge risk trying to attend to functions outside Abuja.
Aso Rock, albeit, has denied the reports saying Buhari is “as fit as fiddle”.
