By Jude Atupulazi
The above headline is something that has become a sing song among ordinary Nigerians, those who are at the receiving end of the bad policies of governments across board – be it state or federal. It encapsulates the hopelessness of Nigerians in their country, the total lack of faith which has led to a desperation by many to flee from their country. Yet, amid all the chaos caused by bad leadership, those at the top continue to plead that the rest of us should take it easy and to believe in the country. What a painful irony!
As Nigeria marks the 65th Anniversary of her nationhood, rather than cheery, the mood is that of sadness and it is not helped by the trending story of the tragic death of a vibrant Arise TV reporter, Somtochukwu Maduagwu, who died in a robbery operation in her place in Abuja. One of her last social media posts which went viral was, ”May Nigeria never happen to us”. Yet, Nigeria happened to her shortly after.
How did she die? Although reports vary, the kernel of the story is that she was left wounded after the robbery and seeking for help. Part of the story had it that the police officers who arrived at the scene of the robbery refused to take her to hospital despite her pleas.
They were said to have told her that they had no fuel in their car. Another part of the story had it that she was taken to National Hospital in Abuja where they refused to admit her because they could not get clearance. And the girl died. No doubt, the Nigeria she prayed against not to happen to her eventually located her and happened to her in a most brutal fashion. Welcome to a country where lives don’t matter.
Somtochukwu has just swelled the number of Nigerians who suffered from Nigeria. Her tragic story was coming at a time when the social media had gone viral with a similar story. It was that of a woman who was an accident victim in the eastern part of the country. She had been taken by her people to some hospitals which lacked the facilities to take care of her.
They were eventually referred to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital in Enugu where the callous behaviour of the medical personnel there led to her death. They had kept refusing to do the needful and when they agreed, kept delaying until she gave up the ghost.
It was even said that they had met a doctor who refused to attend to her because he said he was done for the day and about to go home. Yet, these are people who took the Hippocratic Oath and the Nightingale Pledge (I’m talking about doctors and nurses).
The Hippocratic Oath requires doctors to do no harm, respect their teachers and keep patient’s information confidential, among others; while the Nightingale Pledge requires nurses to provide care with compassion, loyalty and integrity.
Yet, while the woman and her family ran around to make efforts to get her treated, some nurses were staying aloof and trading banter among themselves! That is Nigeria for you. When it doesn’t concern them or their own people they stay aloof.
Nigeria is such a bad place to live in. She is a mother that does not care a hoot about her children but would rather profit off the sweat of her children, milk them dry and leave them to die.
In fact, if care is not taken, she may even eat their carcass. Any wonder that many are doing everything, including selling their property, to escape from the country? Nigeria is indeed a country where the leaders have contrived to make life short, brutish.
I’ll let you read the experience of the family in the eastern part of the country which Nigeria happened to their own member.
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University Of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu: the Killer Den
…True Life Experience by Phina Unachukwu Ezeagwu
An SOS call came across that my sister, Charity Unachukwu, was involved in a vehicle accident and was receiving first aid at a hospital here in Enugu.
My husband and I rushed out to the hospital and were asked to take her to orthopedic hospital. Immediately, we drove down to orthopedic hospital. And on observation of a blood soaked bandage around her abdomen, we were asked to take her immediately to Park Lane (Hospital) as they suspected spleen rupture which they could not handle.
We sped off to Park Lane where we were told that their emergency unit was temporarily at the New Market Road extension due to renovation.
On getting to the extension, we were told that two accident victims were awaiting the arrival of doctors that had been called since 6pm. This was after 10pm.
We raced to Memphis Hospital, Trans Ekulu, where head and neck CT scan revealed no neurological issues. The HCV read 9.0 and they were divided here. Whether to conduct cross-matching and transfusion for another 30 minutes and transfuse her since she was in an ambulance. Another group said no, that time was enough to get to UNTH and start complete treatment. After some first aid, we were asked to take her to UNTH.
We zoomed off to the infamous kidnappers and armed robbers’ road at about 12 midnight. I had before now thought that at the sight and sound of an ambulance, medics/caregivers would rush out, but no. We rushed into the emergency unit and met Dr Eze Ik who refused to admit us or even look at the blood soaked patient outside, stating that there was no bed. Time was 1am on 20/9/25.
My husband and the ambulance driver ran helter-skelter looking for a bed and came back with a mattress. The doctor refused, even when the ambulance driver offered an extra pillow in the ambulance since the doctor said her head must be elevated before he started treatment.
It was all to no avail. My husband and the ambulance driver rushed out again and came in with a bed and she was admitted at 3am. Lab forms were filled and the most important to us was hematology.
On getting to the lab, miles away after rigorous payment procedures were made, my husband was asked to come back by 6am. They did not listen even when my husband pointed out that it was an emergency case, showing ”very urgent” written on the form. We complained, but no one had control over anyone, even the porters.
Treatment commenced. On getting back to the lab at 6am, he was asked to come back by 7am. On getting back by 7am, the lab staff snapped back at him that did he not know that work started at UNTH by 9am.
At this point, we had been termed quarrelsome people. While forced to wait for 9am, we went for ultrasound. Dr Okoli asked that the patient be wheeled in. To get the porters triggered another quarrel as they were chatting and laughing at their office behind the nurses’ counter, even after we got a doctor three times to get them.
No one had control or authority over another. The porters removed the oxygen from her without recourse and angrily wheeled us to the Radiography Unit. Dr Okoli who asked us to bring the patient was called and he retorted that he had closed and that we should wait for the morning duty doctor.
My husband saw a phone number on the wall and called to report. The voice at the other end asked us to take her back, promising to act. We took her back to the ward, we had no other option.
We were grateful she even responded as the numbers we had earlier called before then were rejecting our call, giving us number busy. At 9am, my husband went back for the bottles for blood samples and collected them. The ultrasound was finally done, with us wheeling her as the porters had closed. The only porter we could find, had guts to insult my husband about the oxygen roller he shifted, not knowing he brought it out for the cylinder.
Even the doctor threatened to leave us. The x-ray group came and had thought that we were the ones disturbing them from collecting blood samples. The chest X-ray was done but no X-ray for the fractured bandaged leg, the machine was bad, they told us. We went to the doctor, this time a female doctor, and asked if she was not worried that by now, some minutes to 12 noon, that blood transfusion had not started for someone who had lost blood.
She had earlier told us that the lab was a different department from hers and she had no control over them. Eventually, the blood sample was taken and before you know it, they came back that they could not work with the sample as the blood had coagulated. And I asked what had happened to their EDTA bottles, no response. More blood was taken from someone who had not enough! Another set of blood was drawn from a patient who had lost much blood.
At about 1:30pm, she had started having respiratory distress, with sweat all over her forehead, but yet, no transfusion.
I called the female doctor’s attention again, who asked for a new oxygen mask which we procured. She demanded for the chest X-ray report but it had not been delivered. We went back to the Radiograph Unit and snapped with our phones as they said they were writing the report, of course for hours unending. She looked at it and said she had accumulated fluids in her ribs.
At this point, I asked that she be transferred to the Intensive Care Unit to which the doctor said she was yet to write a report. Twice I went to ask her to move us to ICU and she said we had to wait for her report.
At 1:45pm, my sister, who entered UNTH at 1am, but admitted 3am, gave up the ghost. The blood hematology lab result was still not ready!!!! No transfusion was done for more than 12 hours.
The daughter who had gone back to the lab was coming back to hear the doctor saying she had called ICU and no one responded. If she had told us, we would have gone there ourselves like all other cases.
UNTH killed my sister with negligence of duty.
Nothing is working at UNTH, not even control of junior staff. The conveniences are a complete write of, an eyesore in a health facility.
Good night Chinwe, my sister, my confidant my meek and humble sister, my husband’s good in-law. We did our best but Nigeria happened to us, a country where our leaders go for medical tourism for even a headache but citizens perish with dearth of Medicare.
Sleep tight, Chinwe, Ezinwanne, till that resurrection morning when the trumpet shall sound. I will see you in His glory. I have told your children that I will always be there for them, God helping me.
