In reaction to the tragic death of 25-year old Ifunanya Nwangene after she was bitten by a snake in her Abuja house because no hospital she was taken to had the right anti-venom to give her, former First Lady of Ondo State, Dr Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, PhD, mourns the fate that befell the young lady, and concludes that Ifunanya was killed, not by a snake bite, but by the Nigerian system.
She wrote:
“It is heartbreaking to lose a young, gifted soul like Ifunanya Nwangene. A rising star full of promise, gone, not because snakebites are new, but because our system failed her.
“Across the world, snakebites are medical emergencies that are routinely treated. People survive. Antivenom is stocked. Protocols exist. Ambulances run. Referral systems work.
“But in Nigeria, in 2026, a young woman was taken from hospital to hospital while time slipped away because life-saving antivenom was unavailable.
“Let us be honest with ourselves: the snake did not kill Ifunanya, Nigeria did. This is not an isolated tragedy. A few weeks ago, Chimamanda Adichie lost her son to alleged negligence in a private hospital.
Countless unnamed Nigerians die daily from treatable conditions such as malaria and asthma.
“We have reached a breaking point. Nigeria must choose life.
“If we do not raise our voices now, we are complicit in the next preventable death.
“Rest in peace Ifunanya.
May your passing awaken a nation.”
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