How Ifako-Ijaiye LG, General Hospital, Health Centre ‘Turned Down’ Unconscious Woman, Child Rescued By Roadside
Standing beside her unconscious mother who lay helplessly by the roadside in the Orimolade/Coker Akosota area of Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government, little Iremide, not more than four years old, looked on in tattered clothes as people gathered around her ‘dying’ mother.
From her look, it was obvious she had not had a good day all her life. Underfed, malnourished, and exposed to the elements, a worse fate awaits her if the mother dies suddenly. Not that the mother, Dolapo, was much of an impact in her life as evidenced by her look and the mother’s state; at least, she’s probably ‘safer’ in the hands of a known figure.
Out of concern, someone from the crowd came up with a brilliant idea – let’s call officers of the Lagos Neighborhood Safety Corps (LNSC) stationed at College Roundabout – a stone throw from where unconscious Dolapo lay. Our reporter, who was passing by the scene around 8:35 a.m., dropped and decided to await the outcome of the matter. Thus began the journey that highlighted the lack of empathy by the Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government and its staff.
Out of concern, someone from the crowd came up with a brilliant idea – let’s call the officers of the Lagos Neighborhood Safety Corps (LNSC) stationed at College Roundabout – a stone throw from where unconscious Dolapo lay. Our correspondent, who was passing by the scene around 8:35 a.m., dropped and decided to await the outcome of the matter. Thus began the journey that highlighted the lack of empathy by the Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government and its staff.
Officers of the LNSC, numbering about four, arrived at the scene and took charge. An officer of the Corps placed a call to the Vice-Chairman, Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government, Hon Toyin Akerele-Awoniyi, who said she was out of the country and informed them to speak with Hon. Jumoke Salvador, the Supervisor for Health, which was done.
How Ifako-Ijaiye LG, General Hospital, Health Centre ‘Turned Down’ Unconscious Woman, Child Rescued By Roadside
In the presence of our reporter, a call was also placed to the Councillor representing Ward C2, Hon. Ibrahim Adenekan. After making the calls, the officers stopped a tricycle (Keke-Marwa) and headed to Ifako-Ijaiye General Hospital with Dolapo and Iremide.
According to our reporter, he was on the verge of going about his duty, but his journalistic instincts told him to go along to the General Hospital to see out the matter. Thank God he did! The mother and daughter were rejected by the Ifako-General Hospital. Their excuse? Dolapo and Iremide were brought in days earlier, but nobody showed up for her, so they had to throw her out after ‘catering’ for her for four days.
After speaking with another person on the phone, suspected to be Jumoke Salvador, the tricycle headed to the Primary Health Centre (PHC), Sanusi Ajilete, with Dolapo and Iremide, along tagged our reporter again.
The story was the same – no bed space at the PHC, and the ones available were reserved for expectant mothers. However, after much back and forth and a call from ‘someone above,’ still suspected to be Jumoke Salvador, Dolapo was attended to. She was given intravenous fluids (drips) to stabilise her.
To avoid detection, our eagle-eyed reporter decided to take a walk out of the PHC as some officers of the LNSC were giving him the “bombastic side-eye.” He left the scene, dashed home to change his clothes, and returned, disguised with a face cap, just in time as Dolapo was getting done with the intravenous fluids.
Ifako-Ijaiye hospital
The doctor on duty insisted Dolapo should be returned to the General Hospital or taken to the Local Government secretariat because they could not attend to her beyond what they had done. The matron on duty at the PHC also supported the doctor. A referral letter was given to the LNSC officers, and Dolapo was once again whisked into the tricycle with her daughter and taken away.
Left with no choice, the officers decided to go to Ifako-Ijaiye to find a lasting solution to the matter. Trying to avoid the suspicious eyes of the alert LNSC officers, our reporter waited for about 15 minutes before taking a bike to the LG secretariat. On getting there, he met chaos.
He immediately mingled with the crowd to find out the cause.
Listening to the various accounts of those present, he was aware that on getting to the secretariat, the staff present descended on the tricycle rider, who was beaten up and manhandled while the LNSC officers escaped, mostly because they were in uniforms.
How Ifako-Ijaiye LG, General Hospital, Health Centre ‘Turned Down’ Unconscious Woman, Child Rescued By Roadside
The Local Government staff, paid with taxpayers’ money, became so aggressive that the LNSC officers had to take Dolapo and her daughter, Iremide, back to the spot they were picked from – the roadside. This was after spending close to 8 hours trying to help the helpless mother and daughter.
“What rubbish is this? They should allow them to die, or is it the job of the local government or even LNSC officers to be taking care of such people,” a clearly ignorant staff of the Local Government said.
Taken back to Orimolade /Coker Akosota by around 4 p.m., the LNSC officers, via calls and intelligence gathering, were finally able to locate the husband and mother of Dolapo.
The lack of empathy by the LG staff and those associated with the matter, from the General Hospital down to the PHC, could have resulted in cutting short the life of little Iremide.
In a time when ritual killings and abductions are on the rise, Iremide could have ended up being trafficked or killed with her body parts missing.
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