By Steve Okeleji | SUNTV Global Channel | January 15, 2026
Nigeria’s health system is not just struggling — in many cases, it is silently killing people, writes public commentator Steve Okeleji, as he recounts deeply personal experiences that expose what he describes as a system riddled with negligence, misdiagnosis and institutional decay.
Okeleji says his grief over the recent death of his mother was reignited by reports of the death of Nkanu, one of novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s twins, a tragedy that echoed his own painful encounters with Nigeria’s healthcare sector.
“This is no longer just grief for me. It is anger,” he writes, stressing that his intention is not to attack individual hospitals or doctors, but to expose a systemic failure that continues to cost lives.
A Child Nearly Lost to Wrong Diagnosis
He recalls how, in November 2021, his six-year-old daughter was wrongly diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s disease at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, with surgery already scheduled.
Uncomfortable with the diagnosis, the family sought a second opinion. The outcome was radically different — no surgery, just dietary and lifestyle adjustments.
“Today, my daughter is perfectly healthy,” he said.
“Had we not questioned that diagnosis, she might have lived with a colostomy bag for life.”
A Father Abandoned by a Broken System
Okeleji describes a harrowing experience in July 2023, when his father’s health rapidly deteriorated after eye surgery. At the Federal Medical Centre in Owo, Ondo State, the family was told the CT scan machine was faulty and doctors were on strike.
“They told us to come back the following week — while my father was wasting away before our eyes,” he wrote.
With road travel impossible, the family arranged an air ambulance to Lagos, where doctors discovered that prescribed medication had dangerously interacted with his regular drugs, causing severe weight loss within days.
Misdiagnosis as a Pattern
Okeleji also revealed that years earlier, a doctor insisted he urgently needed insulin for dangerously high blood sugar levels — advice he rejected.
“Eleven years later, I have never used insulin,” he said, blaming poor supervision and lack of accountability among medical professionals.
His Mother’s Final Ordeal
His most painful account centers on his late mother’s battle with Stage 3C colon cancer, diagnosed in 2024. Despite accessing top-tier care, her final hospital experience left lasting trauma.
Ahead of surgery to fix a cancer-related fracture, Okeleji requested a postponement, fearing complications. Instead, a pleurodesis procedure was carried out — allegedly without proper pain management.
“She screamed in agony on a video call,” he recalled.
“In any functional system, this would trigger an investigation. In Nigeria, nothing happened.”
His mother died on September 25, 2025. Even after her death, the family battled billing discrepancies, securing refunds only after firm confrontation.
‘A Silent National Emergency’
Beyond personal pain, Okeleji warns of a silent cancer epidemic, overwhelmed oncology wards, obsolete equipment, non-functional CT and MRI machines, and demoralised health workers.
Nigeria’s massive medical brain drain, he argues, is the direct result of poor pay, unsafe working conditions and lack of professional dignity.
What Must Change
Okeleji called on government to urgently:
- Treat healthcare as critical national infrastructure
- Invest in modern diagnostics and digital health systems
- Pay healthcare workers living wages tied to accountability
- Enforce strong regulation and malpractice standards
- Promote transparent public–private healthcare partnerships
He also described Nigeria’s health crisis as a major investment opportunity for ethical private capital in diagnostics, oncology, trauma care, medical logistics and health insurance.
‘Silence Is No Longer an Option’
While acknowledging that full details surrounding Nkanu’s death remain unclear, Okeleji said reports of an anaesthetic overdose only reinforce what many Nigerians already know.
“If true, it confirms a painful reality — Nigeria’s health system is killing people quietly, carelessly, and without accountability.”
He extended condolences to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her family, concluding with a stark warning:
“For the living, silence is no longer an option.”
— SUNTV Global Channel
