At the Marigold Hospital, Surulere: The Limitations of Foreign Policy Intellection

Bola A. Akinterinwa

Marigold Hospital is about good health while foreign policy intellection has the challenge of limitations in the absence good health. On Wednesday, 30th September, 2026 I delivered a lecture on The Evolving Global Order and the Future of International Law: Robotics Diplomacy as a New Definiendum. The lecture was delivered within the framework of the Foreign Policy Lecture Series at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA). During the delivery of the lecture, I was having difficulty in breathing in adequately. It appeared I had secretions on my air way system.

Should I stop the lecture or continue to take the risk of medical complication? I opted to take the risk. I accepted to die on active service. And true, I had not slept adequately in the previous one week because of the lecture and particularly because of daily breaking news relating to the lecture topic which I wanted to reflect in the lecture. Coughing and drinking of water was a major feature of the lecture delivery. I managed to finish the lecture delivery but was immediately faced with seasoned inquisitive journalists who wanted expatiation on several points of observations and thrusts of my lecture. The many questions asked prompted another deeper process of intellection. With the press interviews, the difficulty in breathing was momentarily forgotten. I went home and was given a sumptuous dinner by my wife, Fehintola, who wanted to congratulate me for the courage I summoned and still delivered my lecture.

Then came Thursday, 1st October, 2026 at about 6.30am, I wanted to monitor the national and international current affairs, especially the newspaper reviews on Arise News.  I began to feel a sort of uneasiness. While trying to listen to the media analyses, I decided to quickly check my blood pressure and sugar levels. And true enough, the blood pressure first read 170 for systolic and 92 for diastolic. I never bothered to check for the sugar level before my wife and Francis Ademola Olowu, my son-in law, took me to the nearest hospital: the 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital Yaba (68NARHY), located at number 10 Hussey Street, Jibowu, Yaba, Lagos. The 68NARHY was less than 5-minute drive from my house. 

From 68NARHY to Marigold Hospital

The 68NARHY is a 500-bed top-tier medical facility which not only serves military personnel and their families, but also civilians. However, for me, the 68NARHY was more of a problematic than a solution. I was already on the path of death by the time I arrived at the Emergency Department of the 68NARHY. I went there with high hopes that I would be given the best of treatment. I strongly believed, but wrongly, that military people who are permanently mobilized to defend the Nigerian State and people against external threats and who fight in wars and protect the country’s international borders on land, at sea, and in the air merit special priority and attention at the time of sickness. Imagine people who have responsibility to help maintain peace and security, imagine people who are mobilized to assist in the containment and management of disasters, and help rescue people during humanitarian crises not being given a conducive environment. What I saw in the 68NARHY was most unbefitting, particularly for soldiers who patriotically accept to die in defending Nigeria. For people who accept to maintain the territorial integrity of Nigeria, who are not politicians and who defend Nigeria’s political sovereignty, their hospital should be very befitting in service delivery, medical equipment, and environmental cleanliness. It was a very shameful experience.   

The toilet in the emergency unit had no running water to flush. No water in the reservoir drum in the toilet. I could not use it. At the reception, One Dr. Agbu and another medical officer received me. Very polite gentlemen. They gave different medical prescriptions to go and acquire and pay for. Several medical drugs were required from the Pharmacy department but they were asked for one-by-one, implying going away and coming back many times. Going away to pay for one thing involves queuing up every time. I was asked to buy an oxygenation equipment as my oxygen saturation was low. The 68NARHY only had the equipment for children and not for adult. Basic things needed were not available. What prevented being given a list of whatever was needed at once to save time? Going to the same pharmacy many times to buy drugs under an emergency situation raises questions on the quality of hospital management in Nigeria. 

And perhaps more shamefully, I wanted to urinate. I was given a urinal. But where should I do so? I was asked to stand by the wall in the open. Well I did urinate in the open.  What could a dying man do? 

A female patient came at the very time I wanted to complain about the slowness of action. She was asked if she was a soldier. She responded yes. That answer quickly gave me the impression that she might merit priority of attention even if she met me there and was visibly quite younger than me in age. In a nutshell, we have very good people working in an inefficient system. That was the situation at the 68NARHY on October 1, 2026. It is against this background that I was compelled to leave the military hospital for Marigold Hospital in Surulere. I was nearer death by that time but I was frequently remembering the assignments to carry out at the Achievers University, Owo: assignments at the level of the Convocation Ceremonial Committee, fate of the students of diplomatic practice, inability to attend Senate Meeting, my music lessons by Mr. Emmanuel Famurewa, etc.  My wife and Ademola Olowu reminded me that I would soon recover, those obligations would be done. Their concern was first to rush me to the Marigold Hospital.

Marigold Hospital’s full name is Marigold Hospital and Critical Care Centre (MHCCC). It is located at number 12/14 Adeniyi Adefioye Street, Kilo, Surulere 101241, Lagos. The MHCCC is a tertiary care hospital with a 25-bed multi-specialty acute care centre that provides a wide variety of specialised surgical and acute care services. The hospital was founded by seasoned medical professionals, including Professor Emmanuel Jeje, a prominent urologist and Chairman Board of Directors; Dr. Chizoba Peters, Director of Medical Services, and a Consultant Anesthetist and Critical Care Physician; and Dr. Adewole Adebobola, a  Consultant Family Physician and Medical Director.

Entering the emergency unit of the hospital is less than a minute on coming out of the car. I was still able to trek in by myself with the support of Ademola and my wife. I was not the only patient under emergency as at the time of my arrival. Fortunately there were already several critical care specialists and consultants on ground. The renowned urologist, Professor Emmanuel Jeje was on ground. Other consultants like Dr. Abraham Oladimeji, an urologist consultant, Dr. Jesujoba Adepoju, Dr. Yusuf Adelabu, a Consultant Physician, Clinical Haematologist and Oncologist, etc. were also on ground to attend to me. I was quickly placed on movable bed. Dr. Yusuf Kamiyo, an Anesthetist Consultant was there to force me to sleep and to provide the foundation for further medical inquiries. What I can still remember was the question asked: what is the problem? Very high blood pressure, I answered. I was told to raise up my hand. I did. Raise your legs up, I did. I thought the purpose was probably to ascertain that I had not suffered stroke. Whatever was the situation, I was given injection and that was what I could remember thereafter when I came back to life.

I was placed on Bed Three at the Intensive Care Unit on the second floor. During the handing over of responsibilities to the night duty nurses, I asked what was responsible for my ill health. The head nurse, whose name I cannot remember now, replied that the consultant on duty was in a better position to tell and explain. And true, the ward round took place 30 minutes thereafter. The anesthetic consultant, Dr. Kamiyo first came in company of some consultants and specialists, including Dr. Olufemi Ayodele. Dr. Kamiyo asked me how I was feeling. ‘I thank God that I am still alive,’ I answered. My wife and my bosom in-law, Ademola Olowu, had told me, before the arrival of Consultants Kamiyo and Ayodele, that my case was more of divine miracle. Observers saw my case as a lost one. I learnt my wife was no longer her real self but she never stopped praying, wondering whether the end has really come. On a more serious note, is it possible for a patient of miracle to die? The answer can be yes and no. But dying in the Lord can be great. A child of God neither dies on earth nor in heaven because Jesus is alive for ever. 

One of my daughters, Temitope Olaghibeye, a Chemical Engineer trained in the University of Lagos, reportedly said I must have been most patriotic. Asked why? She said I had never been hospitalized in my life like this and my first hospitalization occurred on October 1, on Nigeria’s National Day. Olaghibeye reportedly said, on a sick bed, I am still talking about addressing the problems of students graduating at the end of this month at the Achievers University. She may not be faulted, but my main concern was still what really was wrong with my health? I asked. I have four children that are paramedics and they wanted to know. One of them, Tolulope, (DNP, MSc, PMHNP-BC), is a Consultant in Psychiatric Nursing in Texas in the United States. The children never allowed the MHCCC experts do their job by asking too many technical questions that meant nothing to me. They were asking if certain things had been done or not. Gbemisola in London, Folasayo in California, Olufunto in Canada coordinated all their questions through Tolulope. 

If truth be told, competence is never frightened. Competence is self-assurance and dignifying. The Marigold doctors turned the questions into classroom lectures during a special medical briefing session specially organized for them. The children were happy that Marigold Hospital could perform medical miracles in the mania of American hospitals. When the children were told that I had passed through the critical stage, it was prayers galore for all the doctors of Marigold Hospital.

Medical care and Foreign Policy Intellection

Consultant Kamiyo told me that I had had pulmonary embolism and that God almighty took perfect control of it. Without whiff of doubt, pulmonary embolism is about blood clotting in the lungs. It is not only very serious, it can be life-threatening. It is said to be treatable if it is identified and treated early. According to the doctors, usually, a clot forms in a deep vein of the leg or pelvis and this is called Deep-Vein Thrombosis (DVT. The great concern about it is that any part of the clot can break away, travel through the bloodstream, and become lodged in an artery in the lungs. But what was responsible and what are the symptoms? I never stopped to ask.

The consultants have it that the common symptoms can appear suddenly and can include shortness of breath, particularly sudden or unexplained chest pain. I experienced shortness of breath but no chest pain. Taking a deep breath, or coughing, rapid or irregular heartbeat, as well as cough, sometime with blood, dizziness, fainting, or extreme weakness, pain swelling, warmth or redness in one leg are other symptoms. I did not notice all these symptoms. All I knew that happened to me was simply the shortness of breath. 

In order to prevent recurrence, it was still necessary to put me on further observation, the consultant told me, especially in light of the readings of the pulse oximeter. I was moved from the Intensive Care Unit to Room 204 in the general ward. Several doctors attended to me at various times. They included the Medical Director, Dr. Adewole Adebobola, Dr. Opara Chuks, Dr Jesujoba Adepoju, and Dr. Adedapo Adeyemo.

The further observation began with the monitoring of my oxygen level with the use of oximeter. The pulse oximeter measures the oxygen saturation. Normal rate is between 95 and 100. My rating was fluctuating between 90 and 93, which was not normal. I was educated on the importance of accurate reading of the pulse rate and oxygen saturation. I was given a lung  spirometer breathing exercise which has three columns containing each a ball. I was asked to suck it in such a way that each ball will come to the top. I did not succeed in doing it as required. A physiotherapist was brought in to teach me the technique. After putting me through, I was expected to suck and blow one ball up. I did it the first time and the three balls were pushed to the top. It was an exercise for deep breathing, that is, to enhance oxygenated breathing and clear the airway.

Many electrodes, meant to monitor cardiac activities, were fixed on me. The blood pressure cuff for monitoring blood pressure, thermometers to measure temperature and glucometer to measure my blood glucose level were very functional. Without any shadow of exaggeration, the nurses all knew their onions and were always prompt. Every prolonged coughing invites whoever was assigned to me. What was particularly noteworthy was when an equipment malfunctioned and investigative readings were being carried out. The blood pressure cuff was giving a high reading of 168/98. The nurse, Christiana Okeke, told me to take it cool. She left my room to go and look for another blood pressure cuff, this time she brought in a mobile one. The new reading was quite lower. An in-house electronic engineer came in to carry out repairs on the dysfunctional equipment. This type of technical problems was already anticipated and the in-house engineer quickly put the equipment right. This was efficiency at its best.  

When I requested for a bedside table to enable me complete the writing of my column. I was again told I was not yet stable enough to engage in that exercise. When I requested that Professor Omolola Oladunni Irinoye be informed, the immediate question was: Was that really necessary now with your situation? I responded, yes because I report directly to her as Vice Chancellor in my capacity as the Pioneer Director of the Institute of Diplomatic Practice, Culture, and Language Development. She needed to know about my where about, I insisted. I had been given injection for my ailment. It did not take time before I slept and could not know what became of the need to inform the Vice Chancellor. My wife and the doctors had taken my mobile phone. My wife also appeared to have reported me to our children. This was my story. It was the beginning of the limitations to what I have called foreign policy intellection. 

In theory, limitations of foreign policy intellection are about thinking, analyses, and strategic formulations in international relations, all of which are a resultant from cognitive biases, structural blind spots, and systemic constraints that do not allow leaders and analysts to fully understand or control global events. One particular area of limitation is the aspect of structural and systemic constraints. For instance, foreign policy thinking, more often than not, treats complex international systems as linear, missing how intervention trigger unpredictable second and third-order consequences. Besides, there is the question of perceptual gaps, in which case small states, big powers, and target nations frequently misjudge each other’s status, redlines, and soft or smart power capabilities, leading to miscalculated signals.

And perhaps more disturbingly, past commitments, bureaucratic habits, and institutional inertia lock governments into rigid foreign policies even when ground realities shift dramatically. In the face of contradictions and credibility deficits, there is no disputing the fact that juggling competing domestic pressures and international promises create foreign policy contradictions that erode a state’s long-term diplomatic trust and strategic coherence. 

It is against this background that I observed the linkages between good health or lack of it and limitations in foreign policy intellection. Put differently, ill-health is a major obstacle to any foreign policy intellection. One proverbial saying is that “health is wealth.’’ This simply means being healthy is having a treasure. Having a treasure is not simply about having money. Whoever is healthy can work happily and easily, think and remain mentally alert. Good health is better than riches. The truth is that one does not need to be a millionaire to be healthy. Good health begins with being able to be honest with one-self. The likelihood of someone who is not honest with himself or herself cannot be honest with another person. Self-honesty goes with self-appraisal, especially in terms of medical and physical fitness. For instance, a healthy life is more than physical fitness, it involves emotional, social, and mental well-being. Mental well-being, for example, can be enabled by playing musical instruments, games, reading, and giving the brain necessary exercise. Wealth is meaningless if it cannot be enjoyed.

In this regard, while on my sick bed, I tried to listen to the Arise News discussions on the 81st UNGA and particularly why Nigeria’s President, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) did not attend so as to participate in the one week high-level General Debate. I was seeing images on the television screen but my ill-health made a nonsense of the various analyses.

This meant that good health cannot but take precedence over anything else. However, if we admit that good health gives the energy and clarity needed to pursue one’s goals, work productively and care for the family, and if we also agree that financial savings are necessary to stay alive, can there ever be good health if one is not solvent enough to pay for it? Truism it is that money can buy comfort, but it cannot buy back happiness in the face of serious illness. Based on my experience, it has become necessary to place greater emphasis on medical security for all. National Security should be redefined within the framework of human security. Government must pay greater attention to healthcare service delivery. In ensuring this, a law banning any serving public official from going abroad for medical treatment has the potential to compel Government to take the issue of good healthcare delivery more seriously. The Marigold Hospital is good and befitting but quite expensive for a retiree like me. If the goodness of the hospital is to be more constructively impacting costs of hospitalization should be made more affordable. Without my children, the story might have been different. I avail myself of this opportunity to thank once again God almighty, my children, the Marigold Hospital in its entirety, and all those who prayed for me and wished me quick recovery. The messages from friends in ThisDay Newspapers, Achievers University, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Nigerian Society of International Law, and particularly from Professor Akinwande Bolaji Akinyemi, were very inspiring and healing. Let good health continue to be the portion of everyone in the mighty Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.