The Lagos State House of Assembly has urged the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo Olu and the Lagos State Government to support Amina Alege, a 12-year-old student of the Adam Yakubu Memorial High School in Lagos State, who suffered an eye injury after she was, allegedly, tear-gassed by the police.
The incident occurred on Friday, February 9, 2024, in front of a mosque near Adam Yakubu Memorial High School in Iloro, Cement, Agege, Lagos.
The House called on the Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, and the Ministry to offer necessary support to the young girl, who is billed for surgery.
The matter was brought to the attention of the House by Hon. Abiodun Orekoya, chairman of the House Committee on Sports and Youth Development during a plenary session on Thursday presided over by Deputy Speaker Mojisola Lasbat Meranda on behalf of Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa.
Orekoya said he received the information through a human rights organisation, adding that the incident happened when two schools were embroiled in a clash and the police intervened with tear-gas.
He said the student’s parents have been borrowing money to pay for her treatment and that she is currently admitted to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).
Orekoya pleaded with the House to call on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to offer support to the parents and help save Amina’s life before the situation worsens.
Supporting Orekoya’s appeal, Hon. Kehinde Joseph (Alimosho 2) emphasised that since the student attends a government-owned school, it was necessary for the governor to step in.
Joseph further requested that the House investigate the incident to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
Deputy Speaker Meranda directed the Chairman of the House Committee on Education (Secondary) to summon the management of both schools involved in the clash and investigate what led to the clash.
Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has directed the Managing Director of Imo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (ISOPADEC), Hon Chief Charles Orie, to take custody and carry out proper inventory of all official vehicles assigned to his former political appointees.
This directive affects all former Principal officers to the Governor, all former Commissioners, all Special Advisers, all General Managers of Agencies of Government, among others.
Orie was further urged to ensure that no former political appointee, no matter how highly placed, refuses to surrender his or her official vehicles.
On January 16, 2024, when Governor Uzodimma dissolved his expanded Executive Council, he had directed that the Commissioners should hand over their official vehicles to the Permanent Secretaries in their ministries while the Special Advisers should submit their official vehicles at the Office of the Chief of Staff.
While some former political appointees complied to the directives, others are yet to do so, raising concerns they may have ulterior motives.
Poised to ensure that government directives are respected by all and sundry, Governor Uzodimma has mandated Orie to use all means lawful to extract compliance from the former appointees.
Those Governor Uzodimma expects Chief Orie to take custody and inventory of the vehicles assigned to them as former appointees are his former principal officers, his former Commissioners, his former Special Advisers, former General Managers of Agencies of Government, among others.
Compliance is said to be immediate and non negotiable.
I was going through some old files in my closet the other day when I saw some documents and receipts that absolutely cracked me up. Among the browning, time-worn papers was the receipt from a private primary school for the payment of my first daughter’s fees.
It was a middle-class school that charged N5,000 naira per term. Attached to the fading receipt was a thank you note by the bursar. I rocked with laughter. This was in 1995 when, after nearly seven years of working, my monthly salary was around 60k or so. I will not forget how my mother reacted when she found out how much I was paying for her granddaughter’s termly fees. “Did your university tuition cost that much?”, she asked despairingly.
Of course, it did, but not by a lot. As I held that rusty receipt in my hand on that day, the shock and despair in my mother’s face about how prices had gone up and how things had changed, for the worse, flooded my mind.
Yet, within three decades of my mother showing concern, the joke was on me. By this time, it was no longer a laughing matter.
“Ilu le o…!”
I had somehow managed to find out how much my daughter was paying for my granddaughter’s school fees in a school certainly more upscale than the one she attended, but by my reckoning, unlikely to be among the A-List schools in her part of town.
What she was paying for my granddaughter’s kindergarten per term was roughly ten times my salary after seven years of working. I couldn’t help wondering what my mother would have said or done if she had lived to see the school fees of her great-granddaughter, a kid enrolled barely out of her diapers! And this was only three years ago.
Many things in the old files in my closet reminded me of how the times are changing. When I think of Victor Olaiya’s famous highlife song, “Ilu le o!”(literally meaning, Country hard!) released over 40 years ago which was supposed to have captured the misery of men and women complaining about the hard times, I wonder exactly what the moaning was about.
Nuts for the rich
A few days ago, I had a conversation with my local cashew nut seller. I had been buying cashew nuts from her since when a bottle cost N800, which was not up to four years ago. Slowly, but steadily, the price climbed to N1,000, then N1,200, then N1,500 and before you could say, “cashew,” it became N4,000 per bottle – roughly the cost of my daughter’s one-term school fee in the late 1990s.
How do you buy a bottle of nuts for N4,000? Perhaps because I drive a big car – which is a Tokunbo, by the way – the nut seller thought she had me hooked; that I should be able to afford the nut, whatever the price. Well, she was mistaken and I told her so. Of course, she pleaded that it was not her fault that it was – you guessed right – the exchange rate! Dollar or not, I won’t buy cashew nuts now priced as luxury items.
Of course, I know about the fiber, protein and healthy fats that come from cashew nuts, not to mention blood sugar control, heart health and weight loss. But at 72.5kg, and with the gift of a stature that can eat both pounded yam and mortar without them showing, why should I lose sleep over weight? Whatever cashew nut offers, especially in fiber, I will get from sweet potatoes.
But cashew nuts are not the whole story of this cost-of-living crisis. Even potatoes have doubled in price. According to a BBC report, prices in Nigeria are rising at their fastest rates ever in the last 30 years.
This was how the BBC report described it: “A standard 50kg bag of rice, which could help feed a household of between eight and 10 for about a month, now costs N77,000,” that is, about double the price last December. The prices of other staples such as beans, garri, maize and millet have also gone up, costing the average worker two months’ minimum wage for a bag.
Portion control
Portion control was a frequent point of argument in my house. It’s a problem with men, of course, but it’s worse with African women brought up to believe that the proof of spousal care is in the size of the husband’s weight, measured by the amount of food on his plate. It’s considered taboo in many places, especially in the South of Nigeria, for example, for a man’s plate of soup to have only one piece of meat or fish. Or for his dough, famously called swallow, to appear miserly.
This well-intended culture of culinary excess is captured in Chinua Achebe’s Things fall apart, where the story is told of a wealthy man who gave a feast at which guests on one side of the table did not see those on the other side from morning until night when they managed to level the mountain of food set before them during the new yam festival.
If, however, Okonkwo’s guests were living in today’s Nigeria, where a sachet of water in a 50cl plastic bag costs N20, more than twice the price last year, they would be lucky to find enough water to drink after a meal of afafata, chaff of rice grain, which is now a staple in parts of Northern Nigeria.
My point about portion control is that after years of struggling to convince my wife, and often the female domestic staff, that measurements and smaller food portions, including far fewer pieces of protein in my meals don’t mean lack of care, the cost-of-living crisis is finally driving the point home!
As for other things such as the cost of petrol and other energy costs, which increased by 216 percent from N195 per litre after the removal of subsidy last May, I threatened to buy a bicycle to augment my transportation cost before a concerned staff warned me of the risk of cycling nearly 15 kilometres to work across two major highways.
There is, however, one area of adjustment, which after futilely struggling to contain without luck, I have decided to seek “divine intervention”, as we say: my BP medication. In a country where less than five percent of the population have health insurance and the rest pay out-of-pocket for treatment, persons with underlying medical conditions have been badly hit by the current inflation rate of 28.9 percent.
It’s not a laughing matter. Last year, for example, a packet of Co-Diovan 80/12.5mgs, my recommended BP management medicine, cost about N8,000. Now, it is N24,000 and still rising for the same packet which lasts 28 days.
Trouble in the world
Of course, it’s not a uniquely Nigerian problem. From New Zealand to Nepal, countries around the world have been battling with a serious cost-of-living crisis. This crisis is a combination of factors ranging from COVID-19 and the supply chain problems that followed, to the war in Ukraine and extreme climate changes across the world.
In fact, Nigeria is not listed among the 10 African countries with the highest cost of living, a list that features Senegal at the top, with others such as Cote d’Ivoire, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Cameroon and Kenya, among others.
Just like economic problems imitate physical diseases, countries with underlying structural problems have been the worst hit. The difference from place to place, however, has been in how leaders repaired trust and mobilised resources in response.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu campaigned for his current job knowing full well there won’t be a honeymoon from day one. I’ll need to file something urgently in my closet that my granddaughter might see someday to show that my vote for him was not a mistake.
The Jigawa State Government on Wednesday February 14, 2024, showered love and empathy to the family of a Soldier, Imrana Musa, who lost his life in a ghastly road accident in Dutse, the State Capital recently with a donation of the sum of two million Naira.
Governor Umar Namadi, who made the presentation of the cheque for the donation through the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Malam Bala Ibrahim, said no amount of money will be enough to mitigate the painful loss by the family, noting that the money was only given as one way of showing support and concern by the Jigawa State Government.
The Jigawa State Governor said that the Government and the good people of the State share in the grief of the Nigerian Army and the family of the deceased Soldier who he noted died at a time his services to the fatherland is needed the most .
Alhaji Musa Muhammad, father of the late soldier while appreciating Governor Namadi for the gesture, gave the assurance that the money will be used judiciously and to the benefits of the family.
Garrison Commander of the 26 Armoured Brigade Dutse Colonel D Yakubu ,while thanking the Governor for the support to the Nigerian Army, described late Imrana Musa as a dedicated , committed, and gentle soldier who paid the supreme sacrifice in defence of the country.
In another development, Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State has assisted two working journalists in the State, Yakubu Salisu and Tedd Odogwu of Blazon Newspaper and Punch newspapers respectively.
The two Kano based journalists were gifted the sum of N500,000 and one million Naira respectively by the Kano State Governor to assist them to off-set their medical bills.
While Odogwu of the Punch Newspapers was a victim of a domestic gas explosion, Yakubu of the Blazon Newspapers was involved in a vehicle accident during which he sustained a spinal cord injury . Both of them are currently receiving medical attention in Lagos and Kano.
Auwal Mukhtar of the State owned Abubakar Rimi Television ,another victim of vehicle accident ,also got N500,000 in aid of his medical treatment.
The Kano State Commissioner of Information , a one time President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors , Haliru Baba Dantiye who made the presentation on behalf of Governor Yusuf ,said the administration will continue to partner with and show concern to the welfare of working journalists in the state.
e noted that the gesture is in line with the resolve of Governor Yusuf to alleviate the plight of members of the press as well as appreciate their patriotic contributions to the task of nation building.
Retired teachers in Abia State have called on the Governor, Dr Alex Otti, to wade in and save them from the harrowing experiences and untimely deaths faced by most of the retired teachers,due to non payments of their entitlements and other benefits since 2017.
These entitlements, according to the Abia State Coordinator of Retired Teachers Forum, RTF , Mrs Eunice Egbuna, represents money deducted from the teachers salaries while in service through the Nigeria Union Teachers, NUT, as a form of welfare support package to help cushion the effects of retirement.
At an interactive section with the Media in Aba on Thursday, February 15, 2024, Mrs Egbunna lamented that despite putting in their best in the service of the State, the retired teachers rather than rewarded, are being subjected to extortion, exploitation, and deprivation, particularly by the Abia NUT and relevant government agencies .
The Retired Abia teachers said they are appealing to the Governor to prevail on the Abia NUT and relevant Establishments concerned to take steps and fulfill their obligations to the retired teachers.
“For emphasis, the retired teachers were made to contribute part of their salaries for years ,through the NUT, with the understanding that it would form part of their retirement benefits.
But regrettably, since the retirement of most of us since 2017 nothing has been done by all the concerned bodies to meet their obligations to the retirees some of whom have died out of frustration ” Mrs Egunna stated.
Meanwhile, the Centre For Human Rights Advocacy And Wholesome Society CEHRAWS has condemned the attempt to unjustly deny the retired teachers and or any other groups their rightful entitlements after many years of dedicated service.
Chuka Okorie,the Executive Director of CEHRAWS in a statement issued and made available to the press on Thursday urged the Governor of the state ,Dr Otti,and other relevant stakeholders to save the lives of Abia retired teachers by compelling the Abia NUT to immediately address the issues being raised by the retired teachers.
” CEHRAWS stands in solidarity with the retired Teachers of Abia State and will continue to advocate for their right and well being .We will closely monitor the situation and work in partnership with other Civil Society Groups and Anti Graft Agencies to ensure that justice is served.
We implore the Abia NUT to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing the matter ,and or risk legal action .The dignity and welfare of our retired teachers must be up held and respected at all times.” CEHRAWS asserted.
As part of moves to curtail continued soaring prices of food items, President Bola Tinubu has directed State Governments to collaborate with Federal government to increase local food production.
Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, Bayo Onanuga stated that at a meeting with governors in Abuja on Thursday, the President advised against the idea of food importation and price control when local food producers should be encouraged to produce more food.
The President advised Governors to follow the example of Kano State in dealing with hoarding of food for profiteering by commodities merchants, while he directed the Inspector-General of Police, National Security Adviser, Department of State Services to monitor warehouses hoarding food items across the country and stop profiteering by merchants.
He charged Governors to pay attention to livestock development in their states and increase production most especially poultry and fishing products.
Tinubu pleaded with Governors to ensure all salary arrears to workers, gratuities to retired workers and pensioners are cleared as a way to put money into the hands of the people since states are now getting more monthly FAAC revenue stressing “Spend the money, don’t spend the people.”
President Tinubu further implored Governors to create more economic opportunities for the youths in their states to keep them more productively engaged.
The Police Service Commission, (PSC) has announced that a total of 171,956 applicants were successful from the screening exercise for enlistment into the Nigeria Police Force.
Those successful are however will still face computer based test which has been fixed for Tuesday.
The physical screening exercise was held throughout the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The Head, Press and Public Relations of PSC, Ikechukwu Ani in a statement on Thursday said “Candidates for the aptitude tests are applicants for the General duty positions.
“The 43,778 applicants who were successful from the specialists cadre during the screening exercise are expected to go through practical tests at a date to be announced soon by the Commission.
“The Commission, after the Meeting of the Police Recruitment Board on Tuesday, February 13th, 2024 approved that the Joint Admission and Martriculation Board, (JAMB), should conduct the Computer based tests for the Police applicants because of its long standing pedigree in such examinations.
“For the General Duty cadre, 315, 114 applicants were invited for the screening exercise out of which 171,956 were successful and shortlisted for the JAMB CBT. The 171,956 applicants shortlisted are made up of 25,818 females and 146,138 males.
“Kaduna State will be presenting the highest number of candidates for the tests with 12,343 followed by Bauchi with 10,911, Benue, 10,532 and Katsina,10,457.
“Anambra State has the least candidates for the aptitude tests with 343 applicants followed by Lagos, 504 and Ebonyi, 600.
“Successful candidates from the Computer based tests will be required to appear for medical examinations before they proceed for training.
“Dr. Solomon Arase CFR, retired Inspector General of Police and Chairman of the Commission said the Commission is on course to conclude this exercise on time so that successful candidates can be quickly injected into the system to join in the renewed war against insurgency and banditry.”
He commended Mr. President for this rare opportunity to reinforce and reinvigorate the Police Force for improved performance.
Dr. Arase assured that the Commission will continue to seek for citizen oriented and friendly Police, properly trained and equipped to provide inspiring leadership in the nation’s eternal security.”
Julius Abure, the National Chairman of the Labour Party, LP, has dispelled the rumour that he’s working to emerge the
governorship candidate in Edo state.
The LP is one the political parties contesting the governorship election in the state, fixed for September this year by the independent National Electoral commission, INEC.
Recently, Abure has been accused of trying to manipulate the process so that he could emerge as the LP flag bearer.
Reacting, the LP National Chairman disclosed on Arise Television on Thursday that he doesn’t want to end up the party candidate.
“I have no interest in becoming the gubernatorial candidate in the state,” the LP boss stated.
Abure spoke amidst the internal crisis rocking the party.
The party on Wednesday suspended its Treasurer, Oluchi Okpara over allegation that she was working with external forces to destabilise the party.
Recall that the Treasurer, had earlier accused Abure of misappropriating over N3.5 billion allegedly realised during last year’s general election.
She also accused Abure of usurping her power as Treasurer.
The national chairman in his reaction to the allegation that he was planning to hijack the LP governorship ticket, said he would not be part of such schemes having fought injustice in the country.
According to him, he is working with the party NWC to ensure that the LP pick the best candidate for the election.
“I’m not interested in the gubernatorial race; I feel that the process must be open, transparent, and competitive,” Abure stated.
“I have fought over the years that we have had leadership failures in the country because other political parties that produced leaders have lacked internal party democracy, and therefore the best cannot come out of the parties.
“Now that I have the opportunity in Edo, I will work with the National Working Committee (NWC) to ensure that the process is free, fair, and credible.
“I have the responsibility to ensure the party gets the best candidate for the people of Edo State. Once again, I have no interest in becoming the gubernatorial candidate in the state.”
The magazine also recalls that one of the allegations against Abure is that he’s currently working with the governing People’s Democratic Party, in the state to sabotage the LP ahead the election in few months.
On January 24, 2024, Nigeria lost a patriotic citizen. It lost Mr Olaleye Franklin Adenibuyan. He died in circumstances that, at once, confounds, breaks the heart, and puts a big question mark on Nigeria’s healthcare system. To not a few people, Mr Adenibuyan’s death was avoidable if only the hospital where he died lived upto its assumed status of a Teaching Hospital.
Let me make a confession upfront so you don’t accuse me of being deliberately emotional.
Mr Adenibuyan was my cousin-in-law. A fine gentleman, he was married to my cousin, Thelma. And we admired and loved both of them “die”, as young people would put it. Theirs was a relationship built on solid foundation; a partnership rooted in time. They loved wearing uniforms, and pranced around like teenagers who just fell in love.
Mr Adenibuyan had served his country, Nigeria, as a Police Officer before he relocated to the United States of America, USA, in 1989. But that relocation never stopped him from visiting his beloved country, his beloved Ondo State, and his more beloved Community, Owo, two times every year. For him, it was a ritual. His love for Nigeria was that strong. And each time he visited, he bought more local fabrics for uniforms for him and his beloved wife Thelma. In their local fabrics, they promoted Nigeria’s culture, Nigeria’s fashion.
So, this year, 2024, as usual he set out from his Dallas, Texas, USA base for Nigeria and arrived Lagos on January 14, 2024. Each time he and his wife came home, either together, or separately, they usually checked into a Hotel at Ajao Estate. The Estate is close to the Lagos Airport. For the Adenibuyans, it was convenient as it saves them from the, atimes, punishing Lagos traffic (we call it go slow) to the Airport for a flight to Akure, Ondo State, en route Owo.
So, on this January 14, Mr Adenibuyan arrived Lagos and checked into the usual hotel. A luggage did not arrive from the US and so, he needed to buy something from a shop opposite the Hotel. That done, as he climbed up the staircase back to his room, the devil stepped in. Tragedy struck. He missed a step. And fell backwards.
As he fell, the family was told, he hit his head on the floor or wherever. The impact was grave. He lost consciousness. And was quickly rushed to a nearby hospital. I cannot confirm what attention he got there. Obviously, his state was beyond what a small private hospital could handle. So he was quickly referred to the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital, LUTH.
Established in 1961, LUTH is a Tertiary Hospital affiliated to the University of Lagos College of Medicine. It is a 761 bed Hospital established to be a Centre of Medical Excellence. To its credit are some of Nigeria’s best brains in Medicine. Many of its products are those “making waves” worldwide. They were trained there. It used to be Nigeria’s pride. As were the University College Hospital, UCH, affiliated to the University of Ibadan, and the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, OAUTH, affiliated to the Obafemi Awolowo University, former University of Ife. And some more.
I don’t know about others, but LUTH has lost its status as a Centre of Medical Excellence. It is now a shadow of itself. A shame to Nigeria. It has deteriorated. With Mr Adenibuyan admitted there, we experienced, first hand, the shadow LUTH has become. And our hearts broke.
Mr Olaleye Franklin Adenibuyan
The injury Mr Adenibuyan sustained to the head needed URGENT attention. It was a medical emergency. So, obviously, he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, ICU – private wing, no less. Meaning the attention was expected to be top-notch. When one pays millions of Naira, even as Naira has lost its value, the least one would expect would be a first class attention. But not here. There was nothing special. Patients were kept in what I choose to call “an open mini ward”. No privacy. No screen. When the question of some privacy was raised, the answer was: “it is because there is no general monitor.”
Once Thelma heard of her husband’s situation, she began to make arrangements to come home. She works in one of the biggest and best Government-owned hospitals in Texas where she has risen to the position of a Director. So, once she was briefed of the prognosis, she knew she had to rush back to Nigeria. Her mission was to take her husband back with her to the USA once he was stable enough to fly.
Meanwhile, from the US, before she was able to secure a seat on a plane, she and the family rallied round to pay every kobo required, every kobo directly and indirectly demanded, officially or unofficially. No expense was spared.
But what did the family see at LUTH.
LUTH had no equipment. Nothing. After the millions of Naira deposited, one still had to pay, separately, for soap and gloves. For a scan to determine the extent of damage to the head, Mr Adenibuyan was taken to a private facility outside LUTH. Why? LUTH said its own scan machine was not in “a working condition.” A Teaching Hospital? The scan showed a lot of blood in the skull. Nothing was done. A couple of days later, LUTH declared triumphantly that the “bleeding has stopped”. The question we, as laymen, asked was: What about the blood already accumulated there? Our elementary understanding was that the blood “has caked there!” If true, we were nervous about the implication.
More surprises were afoot.
On January 17, three days after he was admitted, LUTH said Mr Adenibuyan needed an Intracranial Pressure (ICP) monitoring machine. But this Teaching Hospital does not have the machine. When needed, it was explained to us, it is rented from outside. Cost: N400,000. The family paid. But the machine was not delivered until January 19th. And when it was delivered, it was left by the corner of Mr Adenibuyan’s bed for days, unused.
Perhaps, it was a coincidence, but the ICP Monitoring Machine was used only on the day Thelma arrived (24th) and began to ask questions. This was 10 days after he was referred to LUTH, and perhaps, 10 days after it should have been used.
Thelma arrived Nigeria at about 9.40am on Delta Airlines, and went from the Airport to LUTH to see her husband. She waited for about three hours before she was allowed to, after she incessantly requested to speak with his medical team. She wanted to know why the ICP had not been put in place as was revealed to her by Lekan, her step son, who was in Nigeria for a short vacation, and her husband’s younger brother, Deji. She wondered why the machine was just lying down there. When one of the doctors finally arrived, he tried to explain. But given Thelma’s background, and where she came from, the explanation made no sense to her. She hinted so in many ways, but was, at once very disciplined and too distraught to argue. But finally, she was told another doctor who would do that was being expected.
The doctor, an unassuming guy, competent, calm and collected finally arrived. We were sitting at the ICU waiting room when he walked past. Instinctively, and I guess, from his carriage, I knew he was the one, and I told Thelma so. She sent a message across that she would want to speak with him. Over an hour later, the Doctor came out from the ICU, and asked for Thelma. We followed him. And Thelma had a lot of questions and complaints. He listened, said he had just returned to the country the previous day, and was seeing Mr Adenibuyan for the first time, but quickly added “he is being attended to by a good team.” He explained to us where he thought he should, and apologized where he thought he should. For example, he agreed with Thelma that it was not right to intubate her husband without informing the family. He apologized it was wrong not to have carried the family along every step of the way. And then, calmly, he told us what the situation was, and the way forward.
He said Adenibuyan required an urgent surgery to release the pressure on the brain. He disclosed that the pressure was 61, far beyond the normal 15. This was what Thelma and Lekan consistently, subtly, suggested and appealed for: a surgery to release the pressure to the brain. It would entail a removal of a part of the skull bone to allow the brain swell and then, compress later to normal size. This should have been done, at most, three days after the unfortunate incident.
Anyway, better late than never, we consoled ourselves.
The time for the surgery was set for 4.00pm. But again, a problem.
LUTH does not have a drill. The family was told “there is only one place to rent it. Cost N200,000. No problem. This was on a Thursday. The surgery was meant to be done immediately. But the rental place said “drill not available until Friday afternoon”. Another vendor was frantically sought. He agreed for N180,000, and promised to deliver it against the 4.00pm surgery time. Great. Our spirit lifted some.
But another problem.
Unbelievably, LUTH does not have more than two functional surgery rooms. So, there is usually a queue. Adenibuyan had to wait. One doctor, obviously frustrated by the situation told us: “Today two are functional. Tomorrow, Friday, only one will be available.”
So, I asked why: He told us: “We have 22, but there is no manpower. Doctors, Nurses, Technicians, most have left. If the 22 are open, there will be nobody to man them. Nobody. So, why keep them open?” We were appalled. Our hearts sank. But we held unto hope.
So, either as a result of the queue, or the unavailability, yet, of the drill, the surgery was shifted from 4.00pm to 8.00pm. I left, and told Thelma I would be back by 7.00pm. But just before 5.00pm when Thelma went in to see her husband again, his health had taken a nosedive. Even then, the man who hadn’t opened his eyes for 10 days, opened them once he heard his wife’s voice. She held his hands tight. “Baby, you know why I came. I came for you. We are going back together. I will put you on a flight. We go back together. Your treatment will be taken care of in the US. And, you will be perfect. We’ll be fine, you and I.” The three Doctors Thelma met, she told them the same thing. “I am going back with my husband. That’s my mission. To take him back to the US with me.”
That was not to be. While Thelma held his hands, and CPR was being performed on him, he gave up. He died. In his wife’s arms. Same day she arrived Nigeria.
Since Adenibuyan’s passing, too many questions remain unanswered about our Country’s Healthcare system. Take LUTH for instance.
It is not that there are still no qualified medical personnel, even with the exodus, but here is the problem. There are no medical equipments. The medical personnel are just managing, barely managing. Or, how does one explain that a Teaching Hospital, LUTH, no less, does not have a functional scan machine; does not have ICP Monitoring Machine, or the equipment for drill?
It is the shame of a Country. Like I said earlier, it is not the problem of the Medical Personnel. I admit that the work ethics of a number of them is zero. Compared to what we see in some other climes, they need a re-orientation. There is no sense of urgency. Atimes there is no empathy. But I also admit that their work a environment is a major problem. It is not inspiring. I admit that their welfare is a major problem. It is depressing. I admit that knowing what to do, and not having the equipment to do it is frustrating. One of the doctors who spoke to us out of frustrations said: “You are talking about the equipment.Where is the manpower? Because of our situation, most of us have left. A number of those remaining are on the verge of leaving.” When I asked if he was on his way out too, he gave a knowing smile. I helplessly shook my head.
Since Adenibuyan’s death, regrets have been our food. Many “ifs”. What if he hadn’t been referred to LUTH? Perhaps he would still have been with us. What if LUTH had used the ICP machine as at, and when due? Perhaps, he would still have been with us. What if the drill was used as at the time it should have been used, perhaps he would still have been here with us. What if some sense of urgency had been exhibited, perhaps, he would still have been here with us.
Mr Olaleye Franklin Adenibuyan
The Federal Government shamelessly laments what negative effect the ”Japa” syndrome has had on Nigeria’s healthcare system. It shamelessly tells us that 42,000 Nurses have left Nigeria in the past three years. Why not? How has the FG treated them? What have you given them to work with? Now, shamelessly, it is putting obstacles here and there to stop Nurses from leaving. Why? My response is in one word: Shame.
Isn’t it a shame that the Nigerian Government, from State to Federal Government which throws money around as if it is going out of circulation, cannot boast of one good Government Hospital except Lagos State. I am reliably informed that Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, affiliated to the Lagos State owned Lagos State University, LASU, is very well equipped by the Lagos State Government. In our doubts at LUTH, one woman called us aside and asked: “Why did you come to LUTH? Why did you not take him to LASUTH? This type of injury is better handled there.”
We spend tons and tons of money, billions of Dollars, trillions of Naira, on frivolities, on things we can do without. How does one explain that $6.2m was spent, allegedly, without authorization, on foreign election observers when LUTH has no medical equipment? Of what use was the presence of the foreign observers to the masses? Did their presence stop us from rigging, from snatching ballot boxes, from doctoring results? Nigeria spent this money when LUTH has no medical equipments, not even a functional scan machine. How does one explain that the sum of one billion Naira was recently requested to enable a Committee fix Workers salaries? Yet, our premier hospitals are empty? Can you imagine what that obscene request could have done for LUTH?
But back to Thelma. We don’t know how to handle her, or what to tell her. She is distraught. Disoriented, almost. Her mission to take her husband home to their “second Country”, US, blew up on her face. “Oh, your husband loved you to death. He waited for you to come back , to see you before he passed on. He even opened his eyes for the first time in 10 days once you arrived”, Thelma is told in a bid to console her. Where do all those leave her?
All she knows is that the Nigerian healthcare system failed her. Her mission to take her husband back to the US with her failed. She was, at a point, making inquiries for an air ambulance to evacuate him to the US. That failed. Ironically, what worked was taking him back to Owo in a body bag! Sad!!
Mr Adenibuyan, as your beloved wife fondly called you, may your soul rest in peace. May you find peace in the fact that you are finally, finally back to your cherished Owo.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu says the federal government could no longer afford paying subsidy on electricity.
The minister made this known on Wednesday during a press conference in Abuja, the nation’s capital, saying the federal government must chose on whether to continue to pay subsidy or allow cost reflective tariff to take effect.
The minister’s remark would likely spark an outbursts from Nigerians who are currently struggling to cope with the government removal of subsidy on petrol which analysts blamed on inflation currently ravaging the country, as the cost of food and other households commodities has spiralled beyond control.
Removing subsidy on electricity will further made the situation worse due to the effect the cost of energy would have on the companies producing essential commodities.
According to Adelabu, whereas N450 billion was allocated in the 2024 Budget for subsidy payment, an estimated N2.9 trillion is actually required to offset electricity subsidy for the year, adding that N1.6 trillion had earlier been projected.
The situation has left a very huge difference which the federal government could not afford at the moment, adding that
country is currently indebted to the tune of N1.3 trillion to generating companies (GenCos) as well as $1.3 billion legacy debts.
With this development, Adelabu said the country must decide whether electricity should be regarded as a social service, or allow Nigerians to pay fully their electricity bill without subsidy from the government.
He said: “What was made provision for in the budget for subsidy was N450 billion. And we require N2.9 trillion for subsidy. So can we afford it? Let’s be realistic.
Can we afford it? N450 billion is less than 20 per cent of the almost N3 trillion that is required for subsidy if we must continue at this time.
“A national discourse on the nation’s perspective to electricity supply, commercial product or social service. There must be an agreement across divides on how we define electricity. Depending on the outcome of the above, either implementation of a cost reflective tariff or a cashed backed federal government guaranteed subsidy funding regime to inject liquidity into the sector.”
Instructively, the minister’s remarks is coming on the crest of bitter complaints by Nigerians that power is not stable in the country, despite huge electricity bill being paid by consumers.
Other Nigerians have also complained of the monthly estimated billings by power distribution companies, DISCOS, which they say has not translated to stable power to electricity users.
The national grid has been on constant collapse, at least six times in the last six months, a situation that has further worsened the electricity problems in the country.
In response, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC recently sanctioned some DISCOS following complains by many consumers over the estimated billings.
Meanwhile, the electricity providers have blamed the erratic power problems on the irregular gas supply to them, the companies also said the dilapidated infrastructure in the sector has hindered them from supplying enough electricity to consumers.
