Except a Miracle Happens … These People May Never Leave Igbobi Hospital – Part 2
G WARD
The G Ward was the only hall where music was blaring from a mounted colour television behind the door of the hall in the otherwise quiet and deserted health community. Umoru, the first name Daily Times had picked up as the new acclaimed No. 1 landlord in Igbobi did not deny he was going to be here for a very long time. A native of Kagarawa Vllage in Bengua Local Government Area of Bornu State, Umoru is the second hot water case on record with nowhere to go and no one to help.
Speaking in the typical security guard pidgin English, Umoru told Daily times he was brought to do security work for his master whose name he doesn’t know, but he has worked for a long time before the incident that sent him to hospital. From his pidgin narrative, Daily Times was able to piece together the incident.
“I wash motor for oga and madam every day; that time rain dey fall early morning so I put water for fire early morning and laid down and I don sleep go.” The water had boiled and completely dried out and Umoru was still asleep. While it was still early morning, the place caught fire and spread to the hand-woven mat he was sleeping upon. This was how he described what followed:
“Fire enter my trouser, and my shirt. When I wake up I try to stand up but I fall three times and only me I dey inside the security house. I shout and call oga! Oga! But my oga no hear me.”
The only thing in his favour was that the rain increased about that time. As he still fought to get out of his burning clothes, a food vendor who heard his shouts came on time to help. “The woman help me to pour water on my body; she tear away my trouser and my shirt but by that time all my body don burn too much. After my oga hear and he tell driver to take me to general hospital.”
Umoru remained in that condition for many hours without attention before doctors came to work. The driver had gone, and neither his master nor his wife came to see Umoru afterwards. “Doctors treat me and they tire to treat me because nobody come see me, nobody come pay any money.
When I carry myself like this go see oga, he shout for me and say I want to burn his house.” Even in his pains Umoru told Daily Times he was surprised by what his master was saying and he responded by reminding him how many months he had stayed in the house without burning it down.
The man from his village who had brought Umoru to serve his master heard of the incident and visited him at the hospital. “The man come only one time; he say he would go and gather money and come back but he never come back since six months.”
Umoru’s emergency treatment and subsequent dressings before doctors downed tools was borne by the hospital, but preliminary surgery and subsequent tests before skin grafting can be contemplated was estimated at N70,000 — before the strike. Umoru looked helplessly at our correspondent and asked: “If I no get money pay for ordinary N70,000, where I go gettam money pay for operation? “That man from my village collect money but he no come back. I send somebody to see my oga, to bring all my money he owe me for my work; my oga only giam N800.”
The money required to commence his treatment is in the neighborhood of N500,000. Umoru has had to live with pain every moment; but apparently, lack of help and treatment and the hopelessness of his situation have become part of life for him. “Wetin make I do? My leg, my hand, my body, all dey pain me, but wetin I go do? If I want die self, die no gree to come.” About the youngest in G Ward is 29-year-old Sulaimon Ahmed. He was knocked down by a trailer at Ota, Ogun State, he told Daily Times.
His total treatment bill owed to the hospital had hit N160,000 before doctors stopped giving him attention — and that was many months before the strike. According to him, his discharge bill waiting to be cleared is N60,000, while cost of Plaster of Paris (POP) is put at N10,000. Opaleye Peter of 1, Lamidi Street Agbudo, Ogun State, is a young police officer. He told Daily Times he was crossing the express when he was hit by a vehicle. The required operation involves grafting, taking flesh from his left foot to graft onto his right leg.
The first operation, he said, had cost him N167,000, excluding cost of drugs, and he needs about N282,000 to continue further treatment. The list is endless and the hopes of G Ward residents seem to deem with each passing day. It is not like prisoners that the state governor or the president or a judge may one day visit and set free.
It is ironical that while politicians raise billions of naira in one sitting for political campaigns, a good population of the electorate have their lives hanging in the balance for lack of the same money which politicians are squandering in the name of elections and re-elections.
*this was published in the Daily Times newspaper dated Monday, December 29, 2014
