One of the reasons given by the military junta when they took over power on December 31, 1983 was that the country’s hospitals had become mere consulting clinics. The late Gen. Sani Abacha, who announced the coup that foisted Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari on Nigerians on radio, said, “Our economy has been hopelessly mismanaged; we have become a debtor and beggar nation… health services are in a shambles as our hospitals are reduced to mere consulting clinics without drugs, water and equipment.
