Dr. Biodun Ogungbo
A little boy came home from school one day and asked, “Dad, what can you tell me about politics? I have to learn about it for school tomorrow.”
The father thought hard and said, “Okay son, the best way I could describe politics is to use an analogy. Let us assume that I am capitalism because I am the breadwinner. Your mother will be government because she controls everything. Our maid will be the working class because she works for us. You will be the people because you answer to us; and your baby brother will be the future. Does that help?”
The father thought hard and said, “Okay son, the best way I could describe politics is to use an analogy. Let us assume that I am capitalism because I am the breadwinner. Your mother will be government because she controls everything. Our maid will be the working class because she works for us. You will be the people because you answer to us; and your baby brother will be the future. Does that help?”
The little boy said, “Well, dad, I don’t know, but I will think about what you said.”
Later that night when everyone had gone to bed, he was woken up by his little brother crying. Upon further investigation, he found a dirty diaper. So, he went down to his parent’s bedroom and found his father’s side of the bed empty and his mother would not wake up. Then he saw the light in the guest room and when he reached the door, he saw through the crack that his father was in bed with the maid. Because he couldn’t do anything else, he turned and went back to bed.
The next morning he said to his father at breakfast, “Dad, I think I understand politics much better now.”
“Excellent, my boy,” he answered. “What have you learned?”
The little boy thought for a minute and said, “I have learned that while capitalism is screwing the working class, the government is sound asleep to the pleas of the people, leaving the future in a pile of mess.”
You get what you pay for
The Nigerian health care system is a good case in point to explain the joke as detailed above. There are inadequate resources dedicated to health care in Nigeria – in terms of manpower and infrastructure. The number of doctors and nurses is inadequate. Morale is low and care sub-standard in many government establishments.
Recently, the government decided to suspend the training of more doctors and the public appeared to applaud the decision! Yet, increasing manpower and infrastructure in the health care industry is crucial to the provision of adequate care in our hospitals. Incidentally, both also require substantial investments/money which is in short supply today due to the massive corruption going on in the nation.
In this case in point, capitalism and a clueless government are both screwing a gullible electorate.
Compare this with a real scenario of what happened to a friend of mine. We trained together and qualified as neurosurgeons in the UK. On return to his home country, the government budgeted close to N1bn for him to buy equipment complimenting the neurosurgical unit in a government general hospital. He bought the latest equipment and gadgets and was able to deliver a high level of care and fantastic outcomes for the people.
That hospital is now sourcing for medical tourists from all over the world since it has state of the art equipment and is getting good results.
The day Love died
This brings me to the title of this article, ‘The day love died in Nigeria.’ Mama Love Ofia died on Valentine’s Day from the pressure of the tumour on her brain. We had appealed for help recently, requesting for an estimate of about N2m to use in operating on her. The appeal generated N350,000, which was used to perform a small operation to buy her time as she was deteriorating daily.
She survived only a few weeks before her demise. Mama Love Ofia died on the day of love when so many were busy all over the world buying presents and professing love. She died because little help was available to solve her particular problem on time. Her death is painful for her and the family she left behind. Her death is disappointing for me personally and the team assembled to solve her problem.
For all those who helped financially and with prayers, I say a big ‘thank you’ on behalf of the family. They are grateful for your kind assistance and pray that God will replenish you in more ways than you could possibly dream of.
Yalen Medical Care Centre
One dream that has come through in Abuja is the establishment of a nursing home and rehabilitation centre in the Apo District in Abuja. Yalen Medical Care centre is a step in the right direction for managing infirm elderly patients, stroke rehabilitation and post-trauma care for patients with spinal cord injury.
Having a centre for managing these cases and providing a step down care from acute facilities before final discharge home is a welcome development in Abuja. The centre has multiple well appointed rooms, a physiotherapy unit and an outside patio for relaxation/barbeque in good weather.
So, in a way, more help may have arrived in time for some Abuja residents.
BY BIODUN OGUNGBO
