Issues
Responding Quickly To Accident, Gunshot Victims
Sometime in December last year, a car swerved off the Isolo-Egba road in Lagos and rammed into a motorbike with riders.
A lady on the bike was badly wounded in the accident. In fact, her stomach was virtually ripped open with the intestines coming out.
The hapless woman was rushed to a nearby clinic by sympathetic passersby but she was denied medical attention by the nurses on duty.
Miss Iyabo Ogunbamiwo, a 25-year-old undergraduate, who witnessed the scenario, recalls that the woman’s rejection by the nurses could not be justified under any guise.
Obviously, the lady’s rejection by the clinic could have stemmed from past experiences with security agents and other factors relating to issues such as bills’ settlement.
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), the umbrella body for Nigerian doctors, has repeatedly described such rejections of patients as very unfortunate.
The NMA, nonetheless, attributes the reluctance of doctors to promptly treat accident and gunshot victims to misunderstandings between doctors and security agencies.
A recent forum on “Emergency Response to Victims of Gun Violence and Road Accidents in Nigeria”, jointly organised by CLEEN Foundation, the Lagos State branch of the NMA and the Lagos State Police Command, sought to address the problem.
Dr Adedamola Dada, the Chairman of the Lagos State branch of the NMA, blames avoidable deaths from accidents and gunshots on “buck passing between security agencies and medical practitioners’’.
He says that some doctors had complained about harassments by security agencies after they treated gunshot and accident victims without security clearance.
“There are instances where doctors have been arrested for performing their duties in treating gunshot victims.
“On their own part, the security agencies have blamed medical practitioners for demanding money before treating accident victims,” he says.
Dada, however, says that more lives can be saved if such misunderstandings are duly resolved by all stakeholders.
He adds: “It is, therefore, obvious that we need to forge a new relationship with the police on this issue – a relationship that will entail mutual respect and good cooperation with a good system of communication and witness protection policy.’’
Dada, nonetheless, stresses that doctors have a responsibility to render efficient services, just as patients are obliged to pay for their treatment to enable the clinics to remain in business.
Mr Azubuko Udah, an Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), stresses the need to arrive at a consensus in solving the “misunderstanding” between security agencies and doctors since anybody can become a victim of road accident or gun attacks in robberies.
He says that part of the orientation given to policemen relates to how to handle matters relating to homicide, gunshot wounds, while rendering emergency services.
“The police have established procedures on how to handle these matters professionally,’’ he says. Udah, nonetheless, stresses the need to fully equip the country’s hospitals to motivate doctors, while the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) should be provided with requisite logistics to enable them to effectively manage accidents.
“The Police Highway Patrol is still in existence but there is hardly any police division that has ambulances to attend to road accident and gun shot victims,’’ he says.
The police chief believes that if the police are properly equipped, they will not be found wanting in the performance of their duties.
The FRSC Sector Commander, Mr Jonas Agwu, bemoans the difficulties which his men encounter when ferrying accident victims to hospitals.
He says that most hospitals often reject accident victims, insisting that a certain amount of money has to be paid before the commencement of any treatment.
Agwu, nonetheless, insists that the FRSC Act makes it unlawful for any hospital to reject accident victims, adding that such offence attracts a fine of N50,000.
He recommends stiffer penalties for offenders, saying that the current fine is too paltry and cannot serve as a deterrent.
“Some hospitals, especially private hospitals, usually give one excuse or the other: either there is no vacancy in the mortuary or some money should be deposited before the commencement of treatment,’’ he says.
Agwu pleads with members of the general public to always stop and render help whenever an accident occurs, adding that the victims could even be their relations or friends.
Dr Mike Ugbeye, a Consultant Trauma Surgeon, estimates the rate of trauma deaths in the country as 1,320 per 100,000 people.
“Most deaths occur within the first hour of injury; often before the patients arrive at the hospital. The causes of death in these cases include severe brain and cardiovascular injuries, for which treatment is of limited value,’’ he says.
Ugbeye says that system deficiencies in the Nigerian environment are largely responsible for the high incidence of trauma in the country.
“Most roads and highways are regarded as death traps, as they are poorly maintained. Pot-holes, black-spots, debris on either side of major expressways are the norm on Nigerian roads,’’ he says.
Ugbeye, who is also the Head of Training, Research and Education, National Orthopaedic Hospital, recommends the introduction of a trauma management programme for the citizens, while road users are mobilised to be more careful.
“There must be information dissemination to the general public, while a trauma management programme should be incorporated into the curricula of primary, secondary and tertiary institutions,’’ he says.
Besides, Ugbeye calls for a review of traffic laws in the country to enhance safety on the roads.
He calls for a total ban on the use of motorcycles for commercial transportation, saying that commercial motorcycles account for most of the accidents on the roads.
He recommends the re-introduction of rail services to help out with transportation of goods, while keeping heavy-duty trucks off the country’s major highways.
Moreover, Ugbeye proposes the production of radio programmes in local languages to educate the people on safety precautions.
“Occupational health and safety requirements must be enforced in all institutions, while the certification of safety in the workplace should be revised at regular intervals to ensure compliance,’’ he says.
He recommends the Basic Trauma Life Support (BTLS) course for all officers and men of the uniformed services, including the police, the FRSC, the military, the Customs Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
The citizens certainly expect that all stakeholders will pool resources to ensure safety on the country’s roads, homes and workplaces, while the hapless victims of accidents should be promptly attended to, as part of efforts to save lives.
Ngwakwe writes for NAN
Lydia Ngwakwe
This is an open letter to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike.
Your Excellency,
Sir, ordinarily, I would not be writing an open letter to you, but like a wise man once said, “Silence would be Treason.” So I prefer to stay alive than face the consequences of silence in the face of crime. With each passing day, and as the socio-political tides continue to turn, it has become more pertinent that more people speak up in a concerted MANNER to prevent the death of our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as we appear to be, in the words of W. B. Yeats, “turning and turning in the widening gyre” heading for an end where the falcon will no longer hear the falconer
It is unfortunate that since losing control of the Federal Government, with the loss of President Goodluck Jonathan at the poll in 2015, our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has continued on a downward spiral. It is much more painful, that where it is expected that leaders within the party should rise to the challenge and put an end to this decline of our great party, some have instead taken up roles as its undertaker.
It will be hypocritical to claim aloofness to what I believe is your grouse with the PDP and I am not a hypocrite. It will be uncharitable on my part to discountenance the role you have played in strengthening the PDP from 2015 up until the last Presidential primaries of the party. It is my belief that your grouse against certain members of the party who you perceived worked against the party and abandoned it in 2015 and then came around much later to take control of the party, is justified. Also know that your decision to remain in the Party and stifle its progress on the other hand, as a sort of payback, stands condemned. For a man of your pedigree and stature, it is a dishonorable act, highly dishonorable and stands as testimony against all you claim to stand for.
At least, it can be argued that those who you hold this grudge against, abandoned the party completely and did not sit back while actively working to destroy it from within. But what then can be the argument on your own part, seeing that those you are currently working with against your party are the same people who set in motion, and executed surgically, the plans that not only ended our Party’s leadership at the centre, but ended up dislodging the first Niger Deltan to occupy Aso Rock as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Is this not akin to “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face?” That will be worse than folly. Let us not throw away the baby with the bath water because we do not like the soap used in bathing the baby. It will be a grave mistake.
Honourable Minister, sir, it is rather unfortunate that of all people, you have also decided to play the role of an undertaker not only for our party, but for our dear Rivers State.
I will like to take you down memory lane a little. Let me remind you of your emergence as Guber candidate of the PDP in Rivers State, against all fairness and justice in 2014. You will remember that despite the reality being that you as an Ikwerre man was poised to replace a fellow Ikwerre man in Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in our multiethnic state, Rivers people overwhelmingly stood by you and pushed for your emergence as Executive Governor of Rivers State in 2015. I dare say that your popularity in the entire Niger Delta region was at an all-time high at this point.
I want you to understand why you were loved across board leading to your eventual emergence as Governor of Rivers State in 2015; it was because when it looked like all were against the second term ambitions of the first Niger Delta man to emerge as President of Nigeria, you became not just a pillar but a beacon of resistance by standing for Goodluck Jonathan. Rivers people, as grateful and rewarding as they can be, paid you back by ensuring your electoral victory against the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC) led by your predecessor. On your emergence, where there were second term Governors in the region, you, a first term Governor, was seen by the people as not just the leader of the PDP, but the leader of the entire Niger Delta region. You earned it, and no one could dispute it.
In 2019, when your re-election bid was being challenged ferociously, Rivers people once again stood solidly behind you. Many were killed in the process of defending your votes. Do you remember Dr. Ferry Gberegbe that was shot and killed while trying to protect your votes in Khana Local Government Area? There are many more unnamed and unrecognised sons and daughters of Rivers State who sacrificed their lives so that you could emerge as a second term Governor of Rivers State.
In 2022/23, Honourable Minister, you oversaw a party primary across board that saw some candidates imprisoned and internal party democracy jettisoned for your wishes, leading to the emergence of flag bearers of our party all singlehandedly picked by you. You have on more than one occasion publicly stated that you paid for all their forms. Even those shortchanged in this process licked their wounds and continued to play their roles as party members to ensure the success of the party at all levels. In what will go down as one of the most keenly contested elections in recent Rivers history, with formidable candidates like Senator Magnus Abe of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mr Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the vibrant youth driven Labour Party (LP), PDP emerged victorious across board except for Phalga Constituency 1 that was lost to the Labour Party. (Not that you did not loose in some other LGA’s but let’s stick to the official figures declared by INEC).
It begs the question, why then do you want to burn down Rivers State, when everyone who now holds political office emerged through a process designed and endorsed by you? Is it that you do not care about Rivers people and you are all about yourself? If so, I am forced to believe that those around you are not telling you the truth. The truth being that in a state where your words were law; where houses and businesses could be demolished or closed down without any recourse to legalities, where Executive Orders could be deployed to stifle the opposition, that your popularity is now at an all-time low. Probably because they are afraid of you, or of losing the benefits they gain from you, they fail to tell you that what you might perceive as a battle against your successor, has slowly but gradually degenerating into a battle against Rivers State and Rivers people. You know, there is a popular saying that, a man can cook for the community and the community will finish the food, but when a community decides to cook for one man, the reverse is the case.
LEAVE FUBARA ALONE
You have gone on and on about being betrayed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara. You point fingers forgetting that some of those same fingers quick to spot betrayals point straight back at you. It is not Governor Fubara that has betrayed the PDP by working against it in the just concluded General Election, and working with the opposition at the State and Federal level to destabilise the party. It is you, Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that betrayed Rivers people by instigating a political crisis with propensity to escalate ethnic tensions in Rivers State. It is you Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that has declared himself God over all in Rivers State and has no qualms with burning the state to the ground to prove a point. It is you Honourable Minister. It is you Honourable Minister who told the world that the APC was a cancer and you can never support a cancerous party. It is you Honourable Minister who ended up facilitating the emergence of the same “cancerous” APC that has accelerated the economic decline of this country and further impoverished our people with no remorse. All so you can be a Minister of the Federal Capital Territory? The lack of self awareness is gobsmacking.
Some days back I came across a video where you talked about death and how you do not cry when you hear about the death of some people because you have no idea what might have caused it considering many a politician swear “over dead bodies” and still go back on their words. Those words made me think, and I could see the reason behind them. You see, in chosing to be God in the affairs of Rivers people, you have closed your eyes and ears to reason; you see nothing and hear nothing that can cause you to rethink on the path you have chosen. In your quest to “show Fubara” you have unwittingly united a vast majority of Rivers people behind him, so much that even those who despised him because of you, now like or love him, because of you too. In your scheming, I will advise you not to forget that “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.
Note that the war which you have or are waging against Governor Fubara, has gone beyond being merely political as you might see in your minds eye. It is now one that, fortunately for some and unfortunately for others, has evolved into a war against Rivers people. It is good to point out that no one has taken a stand against Rivers people and won. No one has gone against God and won. In your defiant characteristic manner, it will be unfortunate if you believe your own hubris and that of those around you on the possibility of you being the first to successfully go against Rivers people. It will be a needless gamble; one where if you win you create more enemies for yourself than you can withstand on your political journey, and if you lose, your legacy becomes an inglorious and irredeemable one in Rivers State, the Niger Delta, and Nigeria at large. For your sake as regards posterity, it is my greatest wish that you have a moment of sobriety and a deep reflection and introspection on this path you have chosen.
Honourable Minister, sir, what is left of your legacy is on the brink of being completely desecrated and relegated to the dustbin of our political history, and it will be a sad end to what I will say has been a wonderful political career that many can only dream of. The ball is in your court, and may God Almighty have mercy on us all and forgive us for our shortcomings.
Gabriel Baritulem Pidomson
Dr Pidomson is former Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt and former member, Rivers State House of Assembly.
In 2015, I made a conscious decision to invest my financial resources, my time, and energy into supporting Nyesom Wike’s gubernatorial campaign. I poured my heart and soul into ensuring Nyesom Wike emerged victorious even at the risk of my personal safety.
Again in 2019, I doubled down on my commitment. I invested a significant amount of money to procure campaign outfits for all twenty-three Local Governments Areas of Rivers State. I spared no expense in supplementing Wike’s election efforts in my own local government, and once again putting myself at great risk to safeguard the fairness and transparency of the electoral process.
However, despite my unwavering loyalty and sacrifices, I found myself abandoned and forgotten by Wike. Throughout his eight-year tenure, he failed to acknowledge my contributions or fulfill his promises and agreements. Even as a former Deputy Governor, Wike denied me my severance benefit.
My investment in Wike’s governorship was not just financial – it was a commitment of passion, dedication, and belief in a better future for Rivers State. Yet, his leadership style of dishonesty, greed, drunkenness and rash abuse of senior citizens brought me nothing but disappointment, misery and losses.
By the grace of God, today I speak not as a victim, but as a hero. I have accepted my losses, and I have moved on. And as I reflect on my experience, I cannot help but urge Wike to do the same and allow peace and development to reign in Rivers State.
Nyesom Wike, when you speak of investing in Governor Sim Fubara’s election, remember those like me who also invested in you. Remember the sacrifices I made, the risks I took, and the promises and agreements you left unfulfilled.
It is time for you, Wike, to let go of the past and allow Governor Sim Fubara the breathing space he needs to lead Rivers State forward. Allow him to focus on the challenges of good governance and the aspirations of the people. Spare him these unwarranted and ill-conceived political manoeuvrings founded on personal agenda and not for general good of Rivers State and her people.
I may have lost my investment on Wike, but I have not lost hope in the future of Rivers State. And together, we will continue to strive for a brighter tomorrow.
Long Live the Governor to Rivers State, Sir Siminialayi Fubara!
Long Live the Good People of Rivers State!!
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!
Engr Ikuru is former Deputy Governor of Rivers State.
Tele Ikuru
