Lack of emergency facilities led to Okadigbo’s death – Wife
Margery, the wife of late former senate president, Chuba Okadigbo, has attributed the death of her husband to lack of emergency facilities in the country.
She stated that all the late senate president needed was oxygen to sustain him for proper medical care but such emergency provisiin is not available in the country.
Recall that December 5th, 2023 made it exactly 20 years that former Senate President, Dr Chuba Okadigbo, was buried in his hometown, Ogbunike in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Chief Okadigbo’s death marked the end of an era in the politics of the nation particularly with regards to the doctrine of separation of powers and the independence of the three arms of government.
While sharing her life experience without the former senate president, Margery stressed that within the past 20 years, she has lost two of her sons.
The former Chairman of the Board and Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited explained that Chief Okadigbo died when doctors were on strike.
She recounted that while rushing her husband to National Hospital in Abuja, he died on her laps.
She added that when the corpse was taken to the mortuary, the attendant, on hearing who was to be deposited ran away and had to be pursued.
She said it took time for her to recover from the shock as everytime she looked at her laps, she would recall where the demise breathed last.
In her words, “Well, first of all, with his passing, it was a shock! Chuba actually died on my laps. He put his head on my laps, and that’s where he took his last breath, and that’s in the car, going to the National Hospital in this Abuja.
“It was a period when the health workers were even on strike. And coming back from the National Hospital, when we put him in the morgue (mortuary), there were some drama, even on that day. When we got to the hospital, and the ambulance opened and the mortuary attendant on duty was told that the man he was going to be receiving that night was Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, the man quickly took off. He simply ran away! They (hospital officials) had to chase him because he said he couldn’t believe it.
“So that is how Chuba was seen by people, even by the common man. He was larger than life. I mean, the mortuary attendant telling you that it’s not possible that Senator Okadigbo is the one in the ambulance. But that’s what happened, that’s where we were. I, for one, I was in shock! And even at the time, you’ll be talking to me, I’ll be listening, and it gets to a point where half of what you’re saying just goes. Later on, the doctor said I had what they call ‘selective amnesia’.”
She cried that the nation lacks good emergency system, reiterating that the husband was asthmatic who was sprayed with tear gas in Kano.
She said that if the country’s emergency system was good, a call would have been placed and medics would have helped save her husband’s life .
“Well, these are all the ills of our society, because if we had good emergency facilities, paramedics and things like that, all we needed to do was call an emergency number and they will come to the house to attend to him. At least that’s the first aid treatment before we get to the hospital.
“Well, that’s not the case here in Nigeria. And all Chuba needed at that point was just oxygen, to at least support him until we get to the airport,” she added.
