When he was governor of Katsina State, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua regularly visited Schmidt Klinik (HSK), the prestigious private clinic in Wiesbaden, Germany, that has become a mecca of sorts for the Nigerian velvet class. This practice of using the HSK facilities continued even after he became President, the first call being in July 2008 when he was kept under observation for 11 days. The HSK is, however, not the only hospital the President visits in Germany. During his presidential campaign, President Yar’Adua fell unconscious on March 7, 2007. He was eventually flown in a presidential ambulance to the Uniklinik Mainz (Mainz University hospital) about 10km away from Wiesbaden, where he was treated for the first time. He was discharged from the hospital on Saturday, March 10. Though no official reason was given for a change in the hospital, NEXT investigations show that it was partly because his doctors felt the president might need a kidney transplant and HSK had no facility for a kidney transplant. Kidney problems are part of the symptoms of the final stages of the Churg–Strauss syndrome [CSS].
“The HSK clinic and the Uniklinik Mainz cooperate in a number of projects. Both the HSK and the Uniklinik are specialised in the treatment of kidney diseases, but the Uniklinik is the only place where a kidney transplant can be accomplished. HSK is focused on dialysis and apheresis or in the post-treatment of kidney transplantation, but we do not have the structure to perform a kidney transplant. So, if we see that one of our patients needs to be checked for a transplant, we send him to the other side of the river, to the Uniklinik of Mainz,” said Rainer Roth, head of the Nephrology department and a member of the medical staff that treated President Yar’Adua in the past at HSK.
The other reason, advanced by insiders, for the president’s movement from Germany to Saudi Arabia as the place of choice for his medical treatment is not unrelated to what a presidential insider calls “the nosy and uncomfortable role” of Julius Berger, the major Nigerian construction company with German origins, which has strong ties to some past political leaders in the country. When the President fell ill on March 7 2007, during his election campaigns, he was first rushed to the Julius Berger facility in Abuja where he was treated for free. Julius Berger later handled his passage and logistics for the treatment at the Uniklinik Mainz according to NEXT’s confidential sources.
The Julius Berger/ Wiesbaden Connection
The Schmidt Klinik (HSK) is based in the city of Wiesbaden, which has had over 35 years relationship with Nigeria. Another company with a strong presence in Wiesbaden is Bilfinger Berger (BB) which owns 49 per cent of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc. Though BB is based in Mannheim, about 85km from Wiesbaden, it has seven of its subsidiaries there including Bilfinger Berger Nigeria Gmbh.
Registered on September 6, 2006, the company has a share capital of 500,000 EURO. Its executive director is George Marks, who is also a member of Julius Berger Nigeria board. The HSK, considered one of the best and most expensive private hospitals in Germany, is mainly accessed by German citizens with a strong private health insurance, while being very expensive for foreigners.
Julius Berger in Nigeria, speaking through its spokesman in Abuja, Clement Iloba, declined comments on its role as a presidential health provider, however NEXT found out that it was Julius Berger that first recommended HSK to Yakubu Gowon, head of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975, who in turn recommended it to President Yar’Adua.
Mr. Gowon is believed to be the first beneficiary of the Julius Berger hospitality at HSK. Since then several Nigerian Government officials, including Diepreiye Alamiesegha (former Governor of Bayelsa State who was convicted of money laundering charges two years ago), and a string of businessmen have visited the HSK for treatment.
Additional reporting by Elisha Baba-Gbogbo
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