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Moradeun Balogun, A victim Of A Decaying Health Care System

Published

4 years ago

Dec 1, 2020.

The story of Moradeun Balogun is both tragic and pathetic. It is the type that keeps tugging at your heart long after you have read it. It is the story of a promising life cut short at its very prime, an account of a bubbling life with many ambitious dreams snuffed out with a single stroke.

Few things preach the infamous gospel of our decaying society, of our failed healthcare infrastructure as much as this story.

In it, we are reminded yet again, the gross inadequacy of our healthcare system resulting in failure in assuaging pains of several premature deaths that had taken place in the society.

Unfortunately, these are deaths that could have been avoided with a little touch of human kindness, and great respect for human life as earnestly professed by those in the medical line.

The day was December 2nd, 2019, and for the Balogun family in the Ojodu area of Lagos, there was nothing forewarning of this impending disaster, even as a daughter of the household, Moradeun was preparing to set out for the day.

At about 7.30 am, before stepping out of the house, that day, Moradeun had, as usual, gone into her parents’ room, given them the usual morning kiss, with her usual promise to see them after work. Never did she know that she would not return to the family house alive.

It was along the Oshodi Oworoshonki expressway around Charity Bus Stop, Gbagada that the worst happened. There, Moradeun was not only robbed by a callous bunch of men but was also stabbed after she had been dispossessed of her belongings.

They left her for dead and disappeared with their loot. However, a good Samaritan who happened to be around put a spirited fight to save her life, taking the badly injured lady to three different hospitals. At each point, however, they refused accepting the lady much less commence treatment without a police report. First, it was the R-Jolad Hospital in Gbagada. She was later referred to Gbagada General Hospital and lastly, the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

One would have expected staffers of such reputable Hospitals to have been adequately aware of the importance of ‘life first’, especially when it concerns a victim of a robbery attack, with a stab wound on the neck and profuse bleeding.

A stopgap measure would possibly have saved the life of the lady, but the hospitals had insisted on a police report first. Police Report? The last thing a robbery victim would think of when death is imminent is a police report. Why then should it be a pre-condition to attending to emergency patients?

To think of it, and sadly so, it is only in Nigeria that robbery victims needing emergency medical care are expected to present a police report for a life-saving emergency medical attention.

Yet, this was the pathetic and unfortunate situation that claimed Moradeun’s life.
The poor lady was left pleading and begging for her life, even offering her bank card in exchange for the services to stay alive, all to no avail.

While her life hung on the balance, she was being tossed around like a ping pong ball from one hospital to another. Even when she was referred to the Gbagada General Hospital from the J Jolad hospital, there was no ambulance, and she had to be conveyed on a commercial motorcycle (Okada).

The culture of mediocrity, inhumane attitude, sheer callousness, and incompetence was just in an elegant display.

At a point in a telephone call, she had cried out to her Dad pleading: “Daddy, please don’t let me die”, yet the worst still happened.

You would wonder: didn’t the hospital staffers hear such agonising cry from the lady?

Shortly, after that agonising call, Moradeun gave up the ghost, transitioned to the world beyond.

Today, Moradeun had become another statistic of a failed system, in a most unfortunate manner; it is a scenario that justifies that grief, that has refused to wane in the home of the Balogun’s weeks and months after.

Speaking to Eko Hot Blog correspondent a week after the incident at their Ojodu residence, the Epe born, Mrs Opeoluwa Balogun, mother of the deceased, recalled the unfortunate incident that tore apart the skin and the fabric of her family in such an agonising manner.

She recalled how she had spoken with her daughter around 6:30 pm on the fateful Monday before the family got a call later in the evening that they should come to R-Jolad hospital because her daughter had been stabbed.

“On Monday evening, around 6:30 pm, my phone crashed, and I needed to get a new one. So, I went to the nearest phone store to buy another one. When I got there, they didn’t have the phone I wanted to buy, so I called my daughter to ask about the latest phone.
She told me to get Infinix, and that was the last time I spoke to her.

“Around 7:30 pm, we were about to have dinner when a call came into her dad’s phone. They told us to rush down to R-Jolad hospital because our daughter had been stabbed by armed robbers, and good Samaritans were taking her there.

“We abandoned the food, and I drove because my husband was already panicking.

“While going, my husband still thought those that called were 419s, so he decided to speak to our daughter to be sure.

When she was put through on the phone, what she said was, “Daddy, I am dying.” That was the last time her dad heard her voice.

So, Moradeun died; died pleading for life before teams of medical personnel that needed no nudging at all to save a life.

She died, in great agony in the presence of medical professionals who by nature of call should loathe to see anyone in pain or anguish for something they have control over.

Even with such a callous disregard for human life, nobody has been held accountable, not even the staff of the hospital, much less identifying those responsible for such waste of treasure.

How could this be? When should those who indulge in such acts begin to account for their misdeeds?

This is one of many questions from the bereaved family and friends of Moradeun, a once vibrant life cut short in a most unfortunate manner.

It is worthy of note that one of those involved in seeking justice for her is Honorable Wale Raji, member House of Representative, Epe Federal Constituency.

The Epe Federal Constituency has been blessed with the second term parliamentarian’s hard work and commitment to serving his people well.
He has etched the story of his constituency with pride and precision. He has also redefined political representation with a litany of life-changing and landmark programmes.

Epe has been blessed with such an uncommon and unbroken chain of quality representation over time.

It is therefore not surprising Raji took the heartbreaking story of Moradeun not only as a father but a parliamentarian.

Mrs Opeoluwa Balogun, Moradeun’s Mother, is from Odomola in Epe Division of Lagos State and an active Epe Professional Women Association, (EPWA).
This Organisation had consistently served the community, bringing hope to the downtrodden and the underprivileged.

As part of Raji’s effort to get justice for Moradeun, Last December 8, being a Sunday, Hon Raji paid a condolence visit to the deceased’s family assuring it he would table the matter during their sitting on the following Tuesday, which was the first significant step in seeking justice.

Came the promised day, at the sitting of the House Of Representatives, Raji moved a motion for an investigation into the alleged claim that R-Jolad Hospital, Gbagada, failed to treat an armed robbery victim, late Moradeun Balogun, resulting in her death.

Hon Raji said it was sad that seven days after the incident, no arrest had been made. He reminded the house that the alleged refusal of medical attention to the victim was a violation of the Compulsory Treatment and Care of Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017.

He also maintained that if the provisions of the relevant laws were enforced and punitive actions meted out appropriately, that there would be a change of attitude.

Raji urged the house to direct the Inspector-General of Police to investigate, arrest, and prosecute all culpable persons in the death, particularly urging the House Committee on Healthcare Services to be on the matter.

It must be noted that the Compulsory Treatment and Care of Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017 and the Criminal Code Act was passed by the 8th senate of Dr Bukola Saraki. It is to provide for the compulsory treatment and care for victims of gunshots and related matters.

The act also provides that a person with a gunshot wound should not be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment or torture by any person or authority, including the police or other security agencies.

In an interview with Eko Hot Blog shortly after the incident, Raji reiterated his commitment to addressing the lapses and the inadequacies of the 2017 act that mandated the treatment of gunshot victims only.

Showing his determination to expand the scope of the existing 2017 law to cover other victims, he contended that other robbery victims besides gun-related attacks equally deserved the same treatment.

It is worthy of note that the bill has gone through the second hearing, and is now set for Public Hearing. It would still have to pass through other stages before it becomes law. If nothing, it would be established that Moradeun’s death was not in vain.

Said Wale Raji, “I am committed to bringing justice to the Balogun and other Nigerians who would suffer a similar fate in the future ”

The efforts of Moradeun’s Parents, family members, friends and other well-meaning Nigerians to immortalise her must also be commended.

A foundation, Purple Elephant Foundation has been set up and will be officially launched On Wednesday, December 2, 2020, One year after her demise. The venue of the event is at the FM Multipurpose Hall, Ikeja, Lagos State.

The goal of the foundation is to draw attention to the holistic deficiency in providing emergency and first aid treatments with the life-saving swiftness that it deserves.

Beyond providing emergency support for victims of stab injuries, accidents, gunshot injuries, and other fatal accidents, the foundation is also geared towards facilitating opportunities for communication, quality improvement initiatives, and exchange of ideas and experiences in healthcare quality.

It is also expected to provide the platform for partnerships with reputable international organisations, fellowships, fundraisers, and other social paraphernalia in furtherance of its aim and objectives.
Wednesday’s gathering should provide the opportunity for the relevant authorities to take an in-depth look at the healthcare delivery system in the country, to make amendments where necessary.

It should lead to amplified efforts at making Nigeria the ultimate destination for quality healthcare.

It should not be lost on anyone that true justice is when all those responsible for the demise of that young lady – from the hoodlums to the medical people that refused her treatment, are never allowed to operate with impunity again.

This is the least honour that we owe. May her soul continue to rest in peace.

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