Yusuph Olaniyonu’s Dreaded Journey 

As a diagnosed hypochondriac, this story killed me. At 55, the fear for my health coupled with the “rubbish” we have as healthcare delivery systems makes my life a continuous journey in fear. The deaths that hit me about four years ago — my wife, mother, father-in-law, and two mothers-in-law — all contributed to making mortality stare me in the face. So, when I stumbled on my brother’s story, my worst nightmare hit me. How could someone drive into a hospital by himself for a routine procedure scheduled to last for just 30 minutes after which he would go back home and make love to his wife to test if the “thing” is still working, only to end up fighting for his life all over the world with his health destroyed and millions of naira spent to regain a fraction of what used to be his life?

As I read this thing, I was numb. The doctors had made major mistakes, destroying organs, leading to loss of movement, brain scourging, vitals destroyed and life almost taken from him. Oh my God! A routine procedure oooo that should never have even taken place in hindsight because as he said, the thing could have been sorted by oral treatment o.

My people, you see why the mortality rate is now 55 years of age. It is no longer us dying from debilitating illness but our half-baked medical personnel are killing us too. If you see the number of Nigerians dying in the hands of our doctors you will scream. If my brother did not have the kind of support he had which led him to as far as Egypt, we would all be singing another song o.

Nothing do am o. He just went for a routine checkup o and they said they saw the beginning of something, just cut it off o. that was it o. Today, the once healthy and vibrant Yusuph that I have interacted with over time is now struggling and fighting. Let me thank his wonderful family, especially his wife who according to him has been very diligent, and his son who has dropped everything to be by his side. Let me also thank Bukola Saraki for standing firmly by his friend and so many others who have stood by him because without them and Almighty God…

If na me this kind thing happen to, na to sing “till we meet again for Shomolu ooo,” abi, where will one get the kind of funds needed to literally buy back life due to the negligence of some very errant doctors who will still be arrogant as they cut your life into pieces?

This further confirms my assertion that any Nigerian above 55 who falls sick in Nigeria today with anything outside of malaria or headache is facing certain death. If you earn less than N20m per annum, write your will now o, because if you are sick, you will die. It’s that simple and fatalistic. You will DIE. This is not a country. Thank you.