A grieving family has raised serious concerns over the state of Nigeria’s health emergency services following the death of a school headmistress, Mrs. Fajuyigbe Ajayi Omowumi, who reportedly died after being turned away by several hospitals in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Mrs. Ajayi Omowumi, a teacher and Headmistress of the Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives Association (NAOWA) Model Nursery and Primary School, Letmuck Barracks, Mokola, was said to have been taken in an ambulance from a military hospital to several public and private health facilities across the city on the night of Monday, Jan. 13, before she eventually died.
In a personal account made available to the media, her sister, Mrs. Olawore Helen Opeyemi, described the experience as traumatic and emblematic of the failures within Nigeria’s health system, particularly emergency medical services.
According to her, the patient was moved overnight from one hospital to another within Ibadan, including facilities in Mokola, Odogbo, Adeoyo, Oluyoro, Basorun and other areas, but was allegedly denied admission on various grounds.
“She was taken from one hospital to another, only to be told that doctors were on leave, that only one doctor was on duty, or that there were no facilities to handle her condition,” Olawore said.
The family said the seventh hospital, a private facility—Molly Specialist Hospital in Idi-Ape, Ibadan—eventually admitted the patient at about 1:00 a.m. after what they described as the payment of a substantial sum of money.
However, Olawore alleged that despite the admission, the urgent surgery required was not carried out before her sister went into a coma and later died.
“It is painful that hospitals appear more interested in money than in saving lives. Someone was brought in alive and died just hours after admission,” she said.
The incident has renewed public debate on the absence of effective emergency response systems in Nigerian hospitals and the growing shortage of medical personnel, largely attributed to the ongoing exodus of doctors and other health professionals from the country.
Olawore questioned why hospitals would turn away emergency patients at night and expressed concern that silence over such experiences would only allow avoidable deaths to continue.
“This is unacceptable in Ibadan, a city often described as a pacesetter. My sister’s life could have been saved if she had received prompt attention,” she said.
She further called on government authorities to urgently address gaps in emergency medical care and tackle the manpower crisis in the health sector.
Many Nigerians, she noted, have since shared similar experiences, reinforcing concerns about the deteriorating state of healthcare delivery in the country.
“Will this trend continue?” she asked. “Which way Nigeria?”
