Nigeria: A Disappointing Nation at 65

The Advocate

By Onikepo Braithwaite

Onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive.com

Happy 65th Independence Anniversary? No, Not With Somtochukwu’s Death

The tragic death of Arise TV’s beautiful 29 year old Somtochukwu Christelle Maduagwu, is an indication that 65 years post- Independence, things are not the way they should be for Nigerians. As a mother of children who are her age mates, her death hit me like a bolt of lightening. May our learned colleague, Somtochukwu’s soul rest in perfect peace. Amen. I express my condolences to her Parents, Mr & Mrs Ifeanyi Maduagwu, her Siblings, the Chairman of Arise TV, Prince Nduka Obaigbena, CON, and her colleagues. Similarly, I express my condolences to the family of Mr Barnabas, the security guard who was shot by the armed robbers in this same incident, and also lost his life. 

When Arise TV featured Somtochukwu last Tuesday, I cried as I saw what was an already promising life cut short, as a result of the failures of the Nigerian system, 65 years on. I cannot deny the fact that, globally, the world, and not just Nigeria, has become a more dangerous place to live in – today, in London, people are knifed on the streets, robbed on Oxford Street, even in Knightsbridge, the Apple Store in Brent Cross Shopping Mall robbed in the full glare of customers in broad day light, while in USA, numerous shootings and killings of students in schools by their fellow students, have almost become a regular occurrence. 

But, still, Somtochukwu jumped to her death, out of fear of 15 armed robbers in her compound. Who wouldn’t be afraid, particularly after hearing gunshots? Gunshots meant that the intruders weren’t ordinary burglars, but violent criminals who were quite prepared to kill and maim. Imagine young Somtochukwu having to make such a hard decision, literally between a rock and a very hard place? If she stayed, the armed robbers were likely to harm her as they did Mr Barnabas; if she jumped, she could be seriously injured or die. Either way, her life was at risk. 

Somtochukwu being put in such a position shows the failure of Government to fulfil its primary purpose – the security and welfare of the people (see Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended)(the Constitution). Secondly,  Somtochukwu and Mr Barnabas, were denied their right to life guaranteed by Section 33 of the Constitution, due to Government’s failure to secure their lives. 

What then, is happy about Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary, if people cannot go to bed safely, even in such an urban area in the nation’s capital? To put it into visual context, the Gishiri/Katampe area is a very short distance from Maitama/Maitama Extension. Just a short bridge at the end of Maitama/Maitama Extension divides them, like the Falomo/Victoria Island Bridge that divides Kingsway Road, Ikoyi and Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, if not shorter.  

Scenarios of Failure

If anything, Nigeria has regressed in practically every sphere possible, and the country appears to have begun this downward spiral since we attained independence in 1960, but the deterioration which was previously steady, became more rapid and pronounced with the inception of the Fourth Republic (1999). Today, the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy and the Fundamental Human Rights contained in Chapters II & IV of the Constitution respectively, do not appear to be worth much more than the cost of the paper the Constitution is printed on!

Even though there have been different accounts of “How Nigeria happened to Somtochukwu”, whether it was that she was constrained to jump down to avoid armed robbers, thereby sustaining serious injuries therefrom; whether she died on the spot, or in the hospital that was alleged to have failed to provide she and Mr Barnabas with emergency care because their identification wasn’t readily available (pray tell, who in such dire circumstances, would remember to take their passport or driver’s licence, while trying to jump for dear life?); or there was no adequate emergency care available at the Maitama Hospital they were taken to; or it was that the Nigeria Police who could have intervened and possibly saved the day, but allegedly failed to respond to the distress call of the residents of Somtochukwu’s building timeously, contrary to the mandate of the Police to protect the lives and property of the people as provided by Sections 214 of the Constitution and Sections 2 & 4 of the Police Act 2020 (PA); or the fact that armed robbers even attacked their building – every conceivable scenario in this circumstance, points to failures in the Nigerian system.

 The healthcare system in Nigeria, has also deteriorated badly 65 years on, due to lack of adequate funding of the sector amongst other factors, and is more or less a failure today. Many Medical Doctors and Nurses started leaving the country in the 1980s, first to places like Saudi Arabia, UK and USA, seeking greener pastures to practice their profession, since the working conditions in Nigeria weren’t conducive for them. 

Ironically, in the 1960s, the Saudis came to UCH, Ibadan for treatment. Today, UCH is a dump, said to lack adequate electricity supply and running water. A hospital that is supposed to be the epitome of cleanliness and sterilisation, without running water? Yuk! So, those who can afford good treatment travel abroad for medical tourism; high on the list of medical tourists are top Nigerian Government officials who should be concerned about restoring our hospitals to their former glory, but, instead, have sought medical care outside Nigeria, including our Presidents – President Babangida – France; President Yar’Adua – Saudi Arabia; President Buhari – UK; President Tinubu – France. 

I feel particularly pained that, unlike King Faisal of Saudi Arabia (and other members of the Saudi Royal Family) who came to receive treatment at UCH Ibadan, and took a cue to improve upon the medical facilities in his country, Nigeria let hers deteriorate to ground zero, to the point that today, the tables have turned and we are now seeking medical assistance in Saudi, and even other African countries like Egypt and Ghana, instead of being way ahead of them in this regard considering our head start. 

Admonition 

To every Nigerian hospital, hospital worker, and Nigerian, for the avoidance of doubt, I state unequivocally thus: 1) Sections 1 & 2 of the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act 2017 (CTCVGA) provide inter alia that, every victim of a gunshot wound shall be accepted and received for treatment with or without a Police clearance, and with or without an initial payment deposit, and not be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment (see Section 34(1)(a) of the Constitution); and 2) Section 20(1) of the National Health Act 2014 (NHA) prohibits the denial of emergency medical treatment to any person for any reason. 

Punishment 

Section 20(2) of the NHA prescribes a punishment of 6 months imprisonment or a fine or both for any worker found guilty of denying emergency treatment. I would go further to say that, Section 20(2) should also provide that where the denial of treatment results in the death of a patient the punishment should be more severe, as this kind of denial of treatment that results in death contains elements of involuntary manslaughter such as criminal negligence – reckless or negligent behaviour resulting in the death of another. See Sections 222(7) & 224 of the Penal Code Act 1960 (PCA) and Sections 317 & 325 of the Criminal Code Act 1916 (CCA), on culpable homicide not punishable with death and involuntary manslaughter respectively, which carry upon conviction up to life imprisonment or fine or both under the PCA, and life imprisonment under the CCA. See Adebayo Adeyemi v State (1991) LPELR-172 (SC) per Uche Omo, JSC. In Mebele v State (2022) LPELR-57156(CA) per Obande Festus Ogbuinya, JCA (as he then was), the Court of Appeal defined Involuntary Manslaughter thus: “Involuntary manslaughter occurs where a person causes the death of another under such circumstances that he did not intend to kill and did not foresee death as a probable consequence of his conduct but there is some blameworthiness, such as gross negligence, in this conduct….”. In the circumstance of denying a gunshot victim treatment, can we really say that death wasn’t foreseeable as a probable consequence? I think not, unless of course, maybe the bullet just grazed the victim and didn’t penetrate any organs. What kind of injuries did Mr Barnabas sustain from his gunshot wound? How many days later, where are the Police and Autopsy Reports from the incident? Have they been released? 

Even if a hospital took on an emergency patient, they may not have the facilities to save them, and this may be a reason to insist that a Patient is taken to another hospital, if the first port of call hospital doesn’t have the equipment to offer proper medical care to a Patient. Would this be an exception to the interpretation of Section 20(2) of the NHA’s “any reason”, seeing as the lack of adequate facilities in many medical institutions may unfortunately, be a reason to reject patients. 

In July 2017, I had written an article titled “And Nigeria Kills Elijah”, in which Elijah had been hit on his head by an assailant and rendered unconscious. His Parents had rushed him to the General Hospital nearest to their home, but the so-called General Hospital lacked even basic medical facilities, so, they were referred to LUTH. LUTH’s CT Scan machine was out of order, and Elijah, though admitted to LUTH, was referred to a private hospital in Gbagada for the CT scan. By the time Elijah was taken for the scan, 3 hours had already been wasted. He was then returned to LUTH, but unfortunately, he died overnight. At the time, I had asked myself if Elijah would have survived, had he been in Dubai or UK where immediate emergency treatment would have been administered using modern medical equipment, instead of the 4-5 precious hours that were wasted ferrying Elijah between 3 hospitals. This issue may not always be straightforward. But, a General Hospital like the Maitama Hospital that Somtochukwu and Mr Barnabas were allegedly taken to, has an emergency department and would have no reason to reject either patient for any reason. 

Section 11 of the CTCVGA prescribes upon conviction a punishment of a N500,000 fine or 5 years imprisonment or both to any person, Authority, Police Officer or other security agent who allows the unnecessary death of a gunshot victim by standing by and failing to perform their duty. It is arguable that, even if a person who denies treatment to the victim of a gunshot wound or one who sustains serious injuries didn’t set out to kill them, only a fool wouldn’t have seen death as a probable consequence, and therefore, five years imprisonment upon conviction or an option of fine, cannot be enough punishment for such negligence coated with active wickedness that results in death. 

Conclusion 

Using the unfortunate incident that resulted in Somtochukwu’s death as the basis of this discussion, we see that, 65 years on, Nigeria has definitely not become a better place – if anything, life here is worse. Most of the milestones set in Chapter II of the Constitution remain a mirage, while using most of the available indices of measurement of development, particularly those related to Somtochukwu’s incident – security and medical care, shows that Nigeria has been on a downward spiral for ages. Corruption has become endemic, and instead of cohesion, the level of division amongst Nigerians, appears to be unprecedented. Nigeria became the poverty capital of the world in 2018, and though South Sudan may have taken over that position today, Nigeria still has one of the highest number of people living in extreme poverty, and the highest number of out-of-school children in the world.

As a child, I remember when our houses had no fences or gates. In the 1970s, when I was between age 10 and 12/13, we got our first short brick fence with barbed wire on top, followed by a full brick mind-your-own-business fence. Then we got a generator, and life continued to go downhill thereafter. 

In the last decade and a half, insecurity in Nigeria appeared to have reached its peak. The level of Industrialisation has also declined over the years, turning Nigeria into an import dependent country. And, now that businesses such as Dangote Refinery are trying to not only put Nigeria on the map of industrialisation, but reduce the price of fuel for Nigerians, instead of encouragement, it is facing incessant obstacles, challenges and resistance. How will Nigeria attract FDI, if this is what local investors are facing? 

Though I cannot absolve President Tinubu from all responsibility since the buck stops at his table, blaming him for all Nigeria’s woes seems rather unfair, seeing as Nigeria has been on this negative trajectory for decades and he assumed office about 2.5 years ago, with these failures already firmly entrenched in the system. Most importantly, not much can be achieved if the Governors do not play their part, as much of what affects the daily lives of the people are in the hands of the State and Local Governments.

Whether or not Nigeria has potential, if that potential isn’t matched with performance, we will continue to regress. Disappointing 65th Independence
Anniversary! (Renewed) hopefully, Nigerians expect a better 66th.