…Nigeria’s Healthcare System Is in a State of Emergency
VITAL OBITER®
The Diary of a Roving Counsel
At about 2 a.m. on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, a man reportedly slumped in his home.
His family and associates desperately searched for medical assistance.
Eight hospitals!
According to his personal assistant, Babadunni Gbolabo, speaking to BBC Yoruba, they approached eight hospitals in Ibadan in search of emergency treatment.
The man was 41-year-old gospel singer Olayemi Bayonile Bolaji, popularly known as Toluwanisings.
A husband. A father of two.
He died.
My condolences to his wife, children and loved ones.
But I am deeply troubled.
Eight hospitals in Ibadan!
Not a remote village. Not a war zone.
Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, one of Africa’s largest cities by geographical area.
If this could happen in Ibadan, what hope is there for Nigerians in remote rural communities?
Where was the emergency response system?
What is the purpose of emergency preparedness if a family must search from hospital to hospital when someone collapses at 2 a.m.?
In the United States, people call 911, activating a system designed to dispatch emergency assistance.
Nigeria has emergency numbers, including 112.
But who answers? Who dispatches an ambulance? Who coordinates access to a hospital capable of receiving the patient?
An emergency number without an effective emergency response is merely a number.
And this is hardly an isolated concern.
In January 2026, singer Ifunanya Nwangene died following a snakebite in Abuja, amid controversy over access to emergency treatment.
In Kwara State, the reported death of Lucky Elohor raised troubling questions about access to MRI services.
Different emergencies. One recurring question:
What happens when Nigerians’ lives depend on the preparedness of our healthcare system?
Only recently, I reflected on Japan’s remarkable longevity statistics.
In September 2026, Japan recorded 107,677 people aged 100 years and above.
More than one hundred thousand centenarians!
And I remembered the biblical promise in Psalm 91:16:
“With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.”
We are a deeply praying nation. Japan is not known for the same intensity of public religiosity.
Yet Japan demonstrates how healthcare, nutrition, public health, social protection and functioning institutions help create conditions in which people live longer.
We are praying for long life. They are building systems that support long life.
Prayer and preparedness should never be enemies.
Section 20 of Nigeria’s National Health Act 2014 prohibits refusal of emergency medical treatment.
But legislation cannot drive an ambulance, supply emergency medication or replace an absent doctor.
These require institutions, infrastructure, personnel and political commitment.
Nigeria’s healthcare crisis is no secret.
For years, we have discussed failing infrastructure, shortages of professionals, inadequate equipment and medical migration.
What worse must happen before we declare a state of emergency in our healthcare system?
Consider Ukraine, where hospitals operate under Russian bombardment.
Consider Syria and the Central African Republic, where conflict has devastated healthcare delivery.
These nations face the additional burden of war.
What is Nigeria’s explanation?
We are not fighting a conventional war. Our hospitals are not being bombarded by foreign armies.
Yet a family reportedly searched eight hospitals in a state capital for emergency care.
How many more families must bury loved ones before emergency preparedness becomes a national priority?
Government must explain how emergency calls translate into ambulances, functioning emergency departments, timely treatment and coordinated referrals.
Not merely commissioned buildings.
Not merely budget announcements.
Not another condolence message.
When a Nigerian collapses at 2 a.m., who answers? Who comes? And who takes responsibility?
A nation should not leave its citizens to organise their own rescue while fighting for their lives.
Toluwanisings was a husband and father of two.
His family has suffered an irreplaceable loss.
If eight hospitals cannot guarantee a response to one medical emergency in Ibadan, what hope is there for the rest of Nigeria?
But what do I know?
I am just a bloody roving counsel!
Do have an INSPIRED rest of the week with the family.
Follower of Christ. Husband. Father. Egalitarian. Goodwill Investor. Change Agent. Rebel with a Cause. Attorney.Author. Thriver. Culture-Led Family Strengthening and Child Safeguarding Pioneer, Innovator and Practitioner. Value-Based Parenting Ideologue. Three Decades in the Saddle.
