Nigeria is indeed a country of huge contradictions and contrariness, constantly parading a paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty. Unarguably, it is a country where helplessness in almost all circumstances inspires despondency which ultimately culminates in death without sympathy from a society that cannot guarantee the protection of the weak and vulnerable as a result of poverty and corruption.

 

While some few Nigerians reportedly confess that they do not not know what to do with humongous amount of money in their possession , some Nigerians are dying of hunger, wallowing in poverty, selling their children to ensure that they stay alive! In fact, to say the least, poverty level in the country has reached a crescendo, thus, underscoring a possibility of a revolution. After all, Aristotle says poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.

 

Recently at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, some patriotic health workers in the Otunba Tunwase Pediatric ward sought to arrest a symptom of a systemic debility when they approached an Ibadan- based philanthropist, Prince Adeniyi Oladeinde alias “Ladsom” to help save lives of children by donating essential drugs and medical equipment to the ward. Hitherto, the nurses and doctors had been contributing money to assist poor parents to buy drugs for their dying children. Persuaded to assist in saving the sick infants whose parents could not afford the cost of drugs, Prince  Oladeinde who is always giving to putting smiles on the faces of those who come his way got the list of the essential drugs and medical equipment and bought them and donated them as a way of marking his recent

 

birthday. However, it was at the donation ceremony that the level of the nation’s poverty was fully advertised. “Ladsom”, who naturally does his own philanthropic gesture in a rather noiseless manner had invited a coterie of his friends , including this writer to witness the occasion.

 

The UCH team, led by the Head of Department, Hospital Services, Mrs Grace F. Logun soon arrived at the Otunba Tunwase Seminar room , the venue of the occasion where items to be donated had been neatly arranged. But before the commencement of the programme, this writer had engaged the Chief Nursing officer in the children ward, Mrs Ronke Bello on why a reputable hospital such as UCH should go cap in hand in its healthcare delivery services.

 

Listening to a graphic, crispy heart rending account of poverty-induced calamities in the ward from who should know, one was absolutely stream rolled to see the rate at which poverty accounts for the high rate of infant mortality in the hospital.

 

According to Mrs Bello “children die cheaply here as a result of poverty. Their poor parents rush them here at a terminal stage with little or nothing in their pockets .

 

Can you believe that parents rush their sick children to this place with one hundred or two hundred naira in their pocket? When we ask them to go and buy basic drugs that can save the lives of their children, they say they have no money. Nurses here have always been contributing to save lives of these infants when we could no longer afford to see children die cheaply.”

 

But why it is that the UCH cannot provide the drugs so as to save lives? Mrs Bello was asked. She retorted , “UCH management is putting forward its best, but you know that there is no way the Hospital can provide everything we need. The resources are limited. We are overstretched and overburdened. That is the more reason we have contacted the like of Prince Oladeinde to give a helping hand. And, we thank God that the chairman of SS Ladsom Engineering Construction Company limited is meeting our needs today. His donation will go a long way to assist many indigent parents and their sick children”. While receiving the donations, the Head of Department of Hospital Services corroborated

 

Mrs Bello’s assertion, saying that UCH has more than enough indigent patients who could not afford to buy drugs for their survival cited poverty as a major impediment to quality health care delivery service.

 

Responding, Prince Oladeinde who bemoaned the level of poverty in the country said he was touched when he was told that children were dying like chicken in the hospital because their parents could not afford the cost of drugs. He recalled that he once lost a child in the hospital, not because he could not buy the drugs, but because the drugs were not available. While calling on government to revamp the health institutions by providing necessary wherewithals,

 

Ladsom challenged Nigerians to be more concerned about the welfare of their fellow human beings.

 

His words: “you don’t have to be so rich before you can assist the poor. If you can organize a birthday party where people eat and drink, you can as well donate a syringe that can save life. Prince Oladeinde warned the health workers against diverting the donated drugs to other wards, saying those drugs and medical equipment should be solely used for the Otunba Subomi Peadiatric ward.

 

He gave assurance of his continuous assistance once the drugs are used for the purpose they were meant for. The creeping epidemic poverty is indeed affecting every stratum of society with the common man bearing the heaviest brunt.

 

The pauperism level has now forced poor parents to adopt a carefree attitude towards their sick children. How does one explain a situation in which parents now say “ if this one dies because of our poverty, we will give birth to another one.” It is a dangerous reality that must not be allowed to fester.

 

As the former South African President, Nelson Mandela noted, “there can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” Children are our most valuable resource. They are vulnerable; therefore they must be protected, not only by their biological parents but also by the society. This is where one must commend Prince Oladeinde for his prompt response to the distress call by the nurses. Ladsom’s gesture should be a wake-up call for all well-meaning Nigerians to rise and work for the salvation of others. People are really suffering under the excruciating and inclement economic condition in the country. A situation in which poverty compels parents to sell their children for survival is unacceptable neither a situation in which poor parents watch their sick children die on account of their poverty. Government should be ready to retool UCH and other health institutions for greater efficiency. A country whose yesterday is always better than today is retrogressing.

 

BY SUNDAY SAANU

Saanu is with the University of Ibadan.

Sun