Should Nigerian presidential candidates undergo compulsory medical fitness test?

This is a million dollar question. On the face of it I will say YES, it is desirable.  However, how feasible is it? Recently, on May 13, 2018 Sunday PUNCH published the report of a survey it conducted on whether there should be a law that will require presidential candidates to submit medical test reports before contesting the 2019 election. The poll went live at midnight on Friday, May 11. As of 5pm on Saturday, May 12, out of the 2,288 participants who took part in the poll, 89 per cent (2,037 respondents) indicated that they were in favour of a law demanding the medical status of candidates for the 2019 election. Conversely, up to 250 people, amounting to 11 per cent, said NO to the idea of such a law.

According to The PUNCH, it ran the survey based on the frequent travel of President Muhammadu Buhari for medical treatment in the United Kingdom. The newspaper chronicled the president’s medical tourism since assuming office as follows: “Since assuming office on May 29, 2015, Buhari had on several occasions, travelled abroad for medical reasons. He embarked on a six-day vacation in the UK between February 5 and 10, 2016. On June 6, 2016, he departed for another 10-day vacation to attend to what the Presidency described as “a persistent ear infection.” Buhari returned to Nigeria on June 19, 2016. The 75-year-old leader again left the country on January 19, 2017, for a medical vacation. He returned to the country on March 10, 2017, after a 49-day medical sojourn, admitting that he had never been that sick in his life. The President, on May 7, 2017, travelled back to London for medical consultation only to return to the country on August 19, 2017.”  The president just came back from a three day medical trip to UK from May 8 – 11, 2018. Amid the numerous medical trips, controversy continues to trail the refusal of the Presidency to reveal Buhari’s physical status, as well as the nature of and payment for his extensive medical treatments. So with five medical trips spanning over 170 days in three years of being president, there is indeed cause to be worried about the president’s health.

Litany of deaths of Nigerian Governors and Presidents while in office

On January 15, 1966, a number of Nigerian political leaders were murdered by coupists. These include Prime Minister, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, Premier of Northern Nigeria, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, Premier of Western Nigeria, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola and a host of others. In 1966 also Nigeria’s Head of State, General JTU AguiyI- Ironsi was murdered in a counter coup on July 29, 1966 alongside with Col. Adekunle Fajuyi, Military Administrator of Western Region. On February 13, 1978, Head of State, General Murtala Mohammed was murdered. 

Alhaji Muhammadu Shehu Kangiwa was a Second Republic governor of Sokoto State. He died on November 17, 1981.  He died as a result of injuries he sustained on his head after he fell down from his horse at a polo tournament in Kaduna. General Sani Abacha was a former Nigerian Head of State from November 17, 1993 – June 8, 1998. He died of an undisclosed ailment while in office. Former Governor of Yobe state, Senator Mamman Bello Ali, died on January 26, 2009 while in office. He was a member of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and was allegedly receiving medical treatment for leukemia in a Florida hospital when he died. Former Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai was a Nigerian pharmacist and politician. He was governor of of Taraba State. Governor Suntai was involved in a ghastly plane crash which he personally piloted on October 25, 2012. Though he survived the crash, he never fully recovered from the injuries he sustained in the ill-fated accident. He eventually died on June 28, 2017. 

There was also former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who died on May 5, 2010 while in office. President Yar’Adua’s death after a protracted illness that saw him being in and out of hospital abroad nearly destabilised the country  owing to the fact that he did not hand over power to his then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan while on medical tourism abroad. More recently, former Kogi State Governor, Prince Abubakar Audu died of an undisclosed illness while recontesting for governorship election on November 22, 2016.  Therefore given the scenarios painted above, it clearly shows that more of our leaders have died of unnatural deaths than via sickness. Nonetheless, it is highly desirable to elect people who are physically and mentally fit into political offices. In fact, there have been suggestions in the past that our elective officials should be subjected to psychiatrist test in order to ascertain their mental balance and fitness.

Operationalising the demand for medical fitness for presidential candidates

Legal Hurdles

There is a legal challenge to realising this desire for medical report. Section 131 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, (as amended) did not list medical fitness as part of the four requirements for running for the office of the president. The four requirements are: (a.) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth; (b.) he has attained the age of 40 years; (c.) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by the political party; and (d.) he has been educated up to at least the School Certificate level or its equivalent. Be that as it may, there is something that is health-related that forms part of the grounds for disqualification of a presidential candidate as enunciated in section 137 of the Nigerian Constitution. The grundnorm in s. 137(1)(c ) says : “under the law in any part of Nigeria, he is adjudged to be a lunatic or otherwise declared to be of unsound mind”. In my own estimation, since this is a ground for disqualification of a candidate, if this can be operationalised by having a section in the Constitution or at least Electoral Act demanding for certificate of mental fitness to establish that the candidate is not a lunatic or of unsound mind, this will serve the course of election and indeed governance well.   

There are also those who are of the opinion that even if the law permits submission of certificate of medical fitness as part of requirements for contesting presidential election, such medical certificate can be forged. They point to such practice as being rife in some corporate organisations where such is made mandatory. On the other hand if the test will be done by government, let’s say by Independent National Electoral Commission, the presidency or Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the outcome of such test can be manipulated to screen out unwanted presidential candidates, especially those in opposition parties. Thus, controversies that will trail the adoption of this requirement may end up distracting the conduct of elections due to likelihood of litigations.  There are also those who argue that the demand for medical fitness is needless in as much as section 144 of the Constitution has comprehensively stipulated how a president and vice president who are permanently incapacitated can be removed from office.

A school of thought also believed that demanding such report will be an infringement on the right to privacy of such candidates especially if the report of such medical fitness test is to be made public. Furthermore, some people are of the opinion that being medically fit at the point of running for an office does not mean such a person cannot be terminally ill while in office and that the best safeguard is already to be found in section 144 of the Constitution earlier referenced.

Mere academic exercise; what can be done in the absence of legal reform?

While the debate on the propriety or otherwise of medical fitness report for presidential candidates rages, I think it’s merely an academic exercise now as the legal framework for our election does not currently make it a requirement and if such will be made mandatory ahead of the looming 2019 elections, then amendment to the Constitution and Electoral Act have to be sponsored either as executive bill or private member bill. The feasibility of this happening in the immediate period seems unlikely.

If any presidential candidate or any candidates for that matter want to demonstrate their faith in accountability and transparency by fully disclosing their medical records, it is left for them to decide. After all, though section 140 of the Constitution makes it mandatory for elected president to declare their assets and liabilities before assumption of office, such declarations are made secretly. However, former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and their vice presidents as well as few governors have of their own volition decided to make their asset declaration form public.

Conclusion

To my own mind, it boils down to individual contestants for political office to be truthful to themselves by not contesting elections if they are unwell, especially, if they are terminally sick. If any contestant does not want to toe that honourable path, it behoves electorate to keenly follow the campaigns, properly screen the candidates on the ballot and refuse to vote for anyone who they perceive is not physically and mentally fit to govern. Governance at all level is a serious business that should not be entrusted to misfits and invalids.

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Jide is the Executive Director of OJA Development Consult.