Saturday, January 24, 2026

One of the best things this administration under the supervision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu can do for Nigerians is to as a matter of urgency declare a state of emergency in the health sector. Nigerian hospitals record more deaths that are unbelievable to fathom.

Regularly, news of deaths, very preventable deaths at that, occur in our hospitals. Hospitals that are meant to treat and cure illnesses but quite unfortunately, in Nigeria, medicare is a big luxury. Deaths occur cheaply in our hospitals like in an environment surrounded by an epidemic.

Some weeks ago, the world woke up to the sad news of the demise of Nkanu Nnamdi, the twin son of one of Nigeria’s renowned writers, Ngozi Chimamanda Adichie.

His death was alluded to the inexperience and negligence of the hospital’s medical team. This case is currently under investigation. The Lagos State Government has instituted a panel of inquiry to ascertain what truly transpired.

The case of Nkanu Nnamdi is not the first time, it has occurred. Yet, nothing drastic has been done by the authorities to check its re-ccurrence. Many Nigerians have been taken to hospitals for minor health issues but were brought out dead. All these happened as a result of bad attitude of medical staff, inexperience, negligence, mis-application of drugs on patients which aggravates the patient’s health conditions and quickened their early deaths.

I remember with nostalgia a story my mother once told me happened in the 1960s. She told me how several women with their new born babies slept on the hospital floor at the famous Massey Children’s Hospital, Lagos Island for lack of bed space.

Just imagine a new born baby and mother on the floor for lack of bed? Yet, there was no war, no emergency when this happened.

She is still wondering why in our so-called development, with all our petro-dollar, education, science and technology, in this twenty-first century, mothers and new born babies still drag for bed spaces in our General Hospitals.

It’s regrettable that Nigerian hospitals have not improved for the better.

Late last year, a priest in the Catholic Church almost lost his life in a hospital because of failure of the medical team to conduct close monitoring, engage in due diligence carrying out their duties.

The young priest according to reports, innocently bounced into a Catholic owned hospital for a minor surgery he had hoped would solve his medical challenges, but he regretted surrendering to the doctor’s knife.

The surgeons and nurses on duty failed to observe thorough medical checks. They failed to ensure that basic medical instructions were adhered to. And, that almost led to something catastrophic. He was rushed to another private hospital. His belly witnessed another multiple cutting to correct the abnormally that has been created by the medical team. It was God’s grace that brought him back to life.

Some weeks ago in Kano state, Nigeria, there was a report of the suspension of some medical personnel by the state health ministry for gross negligence. The doctors during a surgery on a patient forgot medical scissors in the belly of the patient. When it was eventually discovered by scan that a pair of scissors was in the belly of the patient, and before help could come, the woman had already passed on.

This was due to an error of our supposed professionals whom the woman had confidence in to save her life.

There was a similar story of how a medical needle was forgotten in the belly of a woman after operation. The woman began to lose weight and always uncomfortable. She found it extremely difficult to walk, sleep, eat, pass waste out conveniently. She remained in pains for weeks until she was advised to go for scan.

The result of the scan revealed the long strange item hidden in her stomach. She was again operated on to remove the item. That was how she fully came back to life to the glory of God.

Late last year, a man in his early 60s felt a severe pain in his stomach. He complained to his wife and demanded for a quick drive to the hospital. He was quickly taken to the hospital but there was no immediate attention from the hospital medics present. While still expecting attention, he slumped on the wife’s laps and left her and the world permanently.

Perhaps, it is correct to say there is no week deaths don’t occur in Nigerian hospitals in droves. It has been reported that an estimated 50,000 deaths occur in our hospitals monthly.

As a Nigerian, when you are sick and go to the hospital, your chances of making it alive are slim. This is due to several human factors that are real in Nigeria’s hospitals, whether it is federal, state or privately owned.

We have fairly trained personnel, ill tempered staff, no organization, lack of discipline, inexperience, negligence, no commitment, poor salaries and allowances, low morale, mis-application of drugs, that have joined forces to conspire against patients.

The last time it was noticed that a top government functionary used a hospital in Nigeria was in the 1980s and that was, late Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti who served under Gen. Ibrahim Babangida as the Health Minister. He took ill, had every privilege of flying abroad for medical treatment but preferred to be treated in a federal government owned hospital.

Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti arrived the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, at Idi-Araba, Lagos and, was wheeled into one of the wards for treatment. He was handled by Nigerian doctors and nurses trained in Nigeria.

That action of his sent a lot of messages. It brought confidence into our health institutions and personnel. Prof. Ransom-Kuti interacted with the doctors, nurses and other medical staff who attended to him. He identified the needs of the medical personnel and staff, the needs of the hospital and by extension other health institutions.

It was here in Nigeria, at the same hospital, LUTH, that Nigerian doctors handled the emergency case of a former Nigerian football star, Etim John Esin. Etim Esin was treated by Nigerian doctors after he was shot by armed robbers somewhere in Surulere.

Nigeria was preparing for a major football tournament. As usual the players were all camped in a guest house at Surulere from where they go for trainings at the National Stadium.

As it was characteristic then of Etim Esin, he drove himself out of the camp unannounced and without permission. But, was unfortunately shot by the robbers while they dispossessed him of his car.

He was rushed to LUTH by some good Nigerians. The medical team on duty attended to him urgently. The bullet lodged in his thigh was extracted and the wounds treated. Etim Esin later joined his mates for training and played in that competition after about two weeks of that incident.

As long as our leaders and their families don’t use our hospitals, there would never be any improvement in the sector. All through the years of late President Muhammadu Buhari, he did not patronize any of the Nigerian hospitals not even the so-called Aso-Rock clinic meant for federal government officials in and around Abuja.

He was always out of the country for medical treatment, same with all his appointees. That trajectory is continuing in this government. President Tinubu has travelled out of the country more times for medical attention than for any other reason.

It is same with the President of the Senate, Godswill Obot Akpabio. Nearly all the times, Senator Akpabio has travelled outside the country, it was basically on medical grounds. But, the question many Nigerians are asking is, what laws, what works have been done or are they doing to establish a befitting health care system for the teeming population?

Most countries of the world vote more money and prioritize their health industry to promote, defend and protect the lives of her people and ensure good living standard. But it is not so in Nigeria. Our wickedness, selfishness and avarice have not allowed us to think and plan on how to get things right to our favour.

When our leaders deliberately allow our hospitals to malfunction, when there are no government laws, policies adhered to, when government does not ensure simple ethics, when government fails to pay adequate attention to the cries and complaints of the doctors, then expect increase in the death toll in our hospitals.

In two years, I had the privilege of visiting some government owned hospitals in different parts of the country. It is the same rotten system. I keep wondering why the privileged class treat the lower class with ignominy and absolute cruelty.

Every department in the hospital has symptoms of corruption. From the administrative department to the records, emergency & accident, dentistry, mortuary, surgery, maintenance, just name it, it is a zig-zag affair. There are no modern facilities in place. The facilities available are obsolete possibly more than 25 years old.

When you arrive the hospital for the first time as a patient, whatever sickness you came with to the hospital triples. This is because of the inhuman treatment staff on duty accord patients. You may have to bribe someone or have a staff or higher official by your side to be speedily attended to. The system has been completely corrupted by officials enabled by government’s neglect.

In a random survey conducted by a group in selected Nigerian General Hospitals, it was mentioned in the report that more deaths are recorded among patients rushed in for emergencies. What this simply signifies is that, most emergency patients are not usually attended to urgently and, as such they die or are permanently disabled.

There is urgent need for improvement in the health sector. Efficient services are required, pre-hospital care, discipline, professionalism, well organized emergency system, new guidelines and improved protocols.

A Chief Medical Director in one of the country’s general hospitals confirmed to me in a private discussion that majority of deaths are caused by health workers’ unpleasant attitudes. He affirmed that, despite their trainings and work ethics, they still do not take their jobs seriously.

Health workers, of course, not excluding doctors and nurses, he continued, are most times unpleasant to patients. Staff come late to work, exhibit nonchalant attitude to work; they are more interested in financial gains and, are not sympathetic to patients pains.

Of course, he posited that, the greatest challenge and threat is government’s insensitivity to the plight of health workers in Nigeria. The pay and allowances are poor and, they are usually owed. Again, lack of facilities to work hinders their work. He noted that when patients are rushed in for emergencies, the things required for immediate treatment are usually not available hence patients’ families are mandated to provide such items. In some cases, before families finish gathering the items, the patients may not make it alive.

In Nigeria, the health doctors/workers and university lecturers/staff witness more strikes than any other country in the world. These frequent strikes have contributed negatively to the development of this very important sectors. It is baffling that despite government after government, no serious mechanism to correct the mistakes in those sectors have been put in place.

Again, we notice professional rivalry and disagreements among various strata in the hospitals that have caused Nigerian patients more pain. We have the doctors, nurses and para-medics fighting independently for their own selfish interests resulting in strikes to press for their demands to the detriment of the patients.

A country’s health sector is supposed to be a place of succour both for the rich and poor but, it is now a place of wailings, gnashing of teeth and deaths.

In all these, it is the Nigerian people that suffer the worsening health institutions.

It shows the world our real identity: a country that cares less about its citizens. And, of course, you don’t expect any country to have regard for us with this jaundiced attitude from our leaders as far as our health institution is concerned.