The Nation Newspaper

Tag: survivors

  • Survivors recount of Lagos clash

    Survivors recount of Lagos clash

    Twenty-four hours after the violent tribal clash that occurred on Thursday at the Agiliti, Mile 12 area of Lagos, tension continued to mount, as residents sustained their exodus from the area over fears of further attacks.

    The violence, which allegedly claimed the lives of 10 people, also consumed more than 50 vehicles and 20 buildings. When The Nation on Saturday visited the area yesterday, the entire area, stretching from the Agiliti road to several other adjoining streets, looked like a war zone, with a combined team of soldiers and policemen struggling to maintain the peace.

    Despite the presence of security operatives, however, residents moved out in droves. Their action, they claimed, was informed by the attitude of the security agents deployed to quell the strife. The agents allegedly took sides in the matter.

    Survivors recount tales of horror

    55-year-old furniture maker, Moses Ogundaini, is lucky to be alive. The father of four was sleeping in his home on Adegboyega Street when he was woken up by a strange noise. He stepped out to find out what was amiss, and encountered about seven masked men, who he said attacked him with cutlass and machetes. As he lay on his hospital bed yesterday, Ogundaini described his lucky escape as miraculous.

    ”I was sleeping when they came into my compound,” he said. “It was at about 12:00 p.m. I did not know what was going on. When I woke up, I noticed some nearby houses had been razed and were up in flames. As I stepped out, I saw that they were coming to torch my house too. The miscreants wore masks and marked their faces with carbon, just like those ones you see on the faces of soldiers in war. While I was sure that they were northerners, I have not seen those faces around here before. They looked strange.

    ”I immediately ran, but about six of them pursued me with clubs and machete. I fell down in the process and they used cutlass to cut my head. I got up again, continued running, but they were using machetes on me. I tried to block the machetes with my hands, and that was how I sustained injuries on my hands.

    ”They were about killing me. I must confess that I had already given up hope of surviving when suddenly, a crowd of Yoruba people came out to rescue me. That was how the hoodlums abandoned me and fled. I was then rushed to the hospital for treatment,” he said.

    79-year-old Adeniyi Adesanya had already given up on surviving the violence when help came his way. The old man, who had broken his legs in a fall three days earlier, was recuperating inside a church when the violence erupted. With the house on fire, it took a daring intervention by the neighbours who had to break through a wall to rescue him.

    Pa Adesanya was smuggled out of the burning house through the broken wall and whisked away.

    Resting under a shade close the ruins of the church afterwards, Pa Adesanya said:  ”I saw a thick smoke billowing from a house within the neighbourhood. I was trapped in the room within the church (All Saints Cherubim and Seraphim Church) because I had an injury before the crisis and could not walk on my own. When I saw the thick smoke, I felt the heat from the nearby building and it was affecting me. I thought I was going to die in the fire. I did not know that fire had been set on the church itself. It was some people who knew my condition that came back and broke a side wall in the room where I was sleeping. They took me out through the broken wall and whisked me away through the backyard.

    Another victim of the mayhem, Mrs. Omowunmi Adeoye, lamented her fate. In tears, the 67-year-old explained how her shop was recently restocked from the money her son borrowed. “They burnt all I have. Even the clothes I am putting on now were given to me by a sympathiser. All I had in my shop are gone. I could not pick a thing from there as well.

    ”I have become homeless. See, my granddaughter could not also pick anything. Not even her slippers. We were rescued by good Samaritans when the hoodlums struck. I do not know what to do now. I do not know where to go. Help us tell the government that all we have are destroyed.”

    With the second day of the violent clash in his neighbourhood, 76-year-old Chief Ijadu said, as was being led away from the hotspot by his grandchildren, that he was tired of the constant fear of being killed and was relocating to Ketu to stay with his children.

    The visually impaired Septuagenarian said: ”I nearly died because of this problem. As I am here, I cannot see. I have not been able to rest. I live on Ijadu Street, and this crisis has continued. They have been burning houses, even as at this morning (Friday). I am moving to Ketu to stay with my children.”

    John Abba, a resident of 18, Aina Street, Agiliti, explained that his residence was torched while he and his wife were at work, adding that they managed to recover a few of their children’s clothes.

    Until yesterday, Mrs Duru occupied a three-bedroom apartment at 18, Awoye Street, Agiliti. But with Thursday’ violence, Duru and her family members have been made homeless. As she sat in front of the ruins of what used to be her home, the obviously distraught woman refused to speak. Efforts to make her give her first name were futile, as she maintained a distant and forlorn look.

    ”What do want me to say when you can see the destruction for yourself? She asked. “As you see me so, if I see poison I go even drink, where I want start from? Shey na money to rent house now or to pay agreement and commission? You think say na small thing? Since yesterday, I never chop. The only thing me and my family came out with na the clothes we wear for body.”

    From Oniyanrin, Adebimpe, Awoye Streets and the entire stretch of Agiliti Road, the tale of destruction and woes continued, just as charred remains of vandalised property, broken bottles, used teargas canisters, bullets and iron weapons used by the hoodlums littered the roads.

    Mass exodus of residents

    With obvious signs that the violence might escalate despite the presence of security agents, terrified residents were moving out in droves for fear of the unknown. Those relocating said they had lost faith in the ability of the security agents around to maintain the peace.

    They insisted that despite the heavy presence of soldiers and police operatives, the violence continued on Thursday night with more property razed. Fathers and mothers were seen clutching the children, with the few clothes they could pack, and running away from the area. Those with cars filled their vehicles with their families in a desperate bid to get out of the area.

    Good Samaritan doctor

    For some of the survivors receiving treatment at various hospitals, the attack was unimaginable.

    At a private hospital located along the Agiliti Road (names withheld), more than 20 people were treated for free by the resident doctor who would rather not be named. He said that the victims were brought to his hospital by sympathisers. Some of the victims treated in the hospital include Bamidele Obayowe, Chucks Onyeka, Rukayat Azeez, Salimot Mohammed, as well as Lukmon and Allen. A victim, Kabiru, who suffered gunshot injury, was said to have lost a finger.

    Business as usual at Mile 12 Market

    Despite the order by the state government that the market be shut down temporarily, our correspondents observed that commercial activities continued inside the popular Mile 12 Market. Traders displayed their wares, even with security agents conspicuously present at the gates. It was observed that trucks bearing tomatoes offloaded goods, while buyers ferried goods on their heads to their various shops.

    While the Agiliti Central Mosque had about 10 faithful observing the Friday prayers, at the Oniyanrin Street, popularly known as the Hausa community, hundreds of Muslim faithful were seen at a mosque observing Jumat prayer, under the watch of some youths clad in white uniforms inscribed ‘YMC’.

    Eyewitnesses knock police, soldiers

    From one point to the other, angry residents lambasted security agencies for fuelling the crisis, insisting that they took sides with miscreants.

    Livid residents alleged that the security agents deployed to the area took sides in the violence. The youths alleged that the security agents chased them away from their homes shortly before they were invaded by the Hausas. A resident who witnessed the incident said: “We were here when the police, led by the DPO started firing tear gas at us. But, surprisingly, while we were retreating, that created the room for the strange attackers to burn down our houses.

    “The park where more than 27 vehicles were burnt, we discovered that before they attacked the place and started burning down the vehicles, they came and allowed the Hausas to take away their buses. They need to explain to us how that happened. It showed that they knew that the attack would happen.

    ”The police and soldiers escalated this problem. Some of those Hausa community guys had their buses at the new garage and they were escorted by security agents to carry their vehicles away.

    ”But as they carried them, the security agents watched them loot our houses and shops. They stole properties, and after that, they set our things on fire. The security agents did not stop them.

    “Even at the primary school at Agiliti, which was burnt down, the security agents escorted the attackers to take away Hausa children. But it is funny that after the children were taken away, they set the school on fire. All these point to perfect planning.”

    Another eyewitness, Ganiu Salami, 29, blamed the security agents for the destruction of the area. ”We were together with the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Ketu on Thursday morning before the fight escalated. He called for security reinforcement, but when they arrived, they stationed their vehicle where there was no crisis. The DPO was there when the hoodlums came to attack residents.

    ”We were shouting that he should order the policemen to repel the miscreants, but he did not listen to us because they are his people. Before we knew what was happening, the hoodlums ran after us and the police started firing teargas. From our observation, the police supported the people to attack us.”

    Another eyewitness, Alhaji Iba Bago, said the strife began on Tuesday after a motorcyclist riding against traffic knocked down a pregnant woman along the Agiliti road. He wondered why a seemingly minor incident which occurred two days earlier would degenerate into the serious violence that erupted on Thursday.

    “I still cannot explain how this matter got this bad. It started on Tuesday when an okada rider, said to be Hausa, rode his motorcycle against the traffic. He ran into a pregnant woman in the process, and we all believed that it was resolved amicably.”

    Sunkanmi Olawuyi also blamed the security agencies for the escalation of the violence, adding that their efforts to prevent the miscreants from attacking were thwarted by security agents who tear-gassed them and chased them away.

    While calling on the government to constitute a probe panel to unravel the root cause of the crisis, he insisted that they were no longer safe in the area. ”We are not safe. We cannot sleep because we are not safe. We are afraid because the police, soldiers cannot protect us. They were here when all these happened yesterday but they did nothing. While they were chasing us with teargas, the Hausa guys were looting and burning our houses, businesses,” he said.

    The Nation reporters who visited the scene were not spared either. They were tear gassed by an overzealous policeman, identified as Tunde, at Mosalasi Bus Stop near the Agiliti Central Mosque.

    The policeman was part of the patrol teams with vehicles marked NPF320C and KRD492AV stationed beside the mosque.

    As soon as he saw the reporters trying to take photographs of families leaving the area, he brought out his teargas canister and sprayed it directly on the reporters, demanding that they leave the area.

    Meanwhile, a soldier was seen lamenting the frustration faced by the security agents to enter the swamps, where The Nation learnt that another skirmish was afoot.

    The soldier, who grumbled that they could see the miscreants on the other side of the canal but were unable to get to them for lack of access routes, said: ”What kind of area is this? We can’t access the area with our vehicles. The people fighting are in the swamps, we can see them but we cannot get to them.”

    Chairman of the Mile 12 Perishable Foodstuff Market Association, Alhaji Haruna Mohhammed, denied the involvement of the Hausa community in the clash. He said his team was still trying to find out what was responsible for the violent clash.

    Mohammed, who said he attended a meeting called by the Lagos State Government, along with other market and community leaders, said the clash was an unfortunate incident, and appealed to all the parties sheathe their swords. “I am pleading with everybody to sheathe their swords and allow peace to reign. We are one family here, and there is really no need for us to fight. This crisis is really unfortunate, and should end now.”

    Tension mounted on Friday

    At about 1:19 p.m. yesterday, fresh pandemonium broke out as the people scampered to safety, when news broke that some hoodlums were trying to invade the area through the swamp linking Agiliti with Magodo.

    With sporadic gunshots ringing out in the afternoon sky, the young and old ran, even as mothers clutched their babies to their backs. A mother of three was seeing running away with her children. As she ran, she cried and wept aloud. It emerged that the source of her anguish was her aged mother trapped at home.

    According to her, the aged woman, who could not walk, advised her children and grandchildren to run for their lives and leave her to die in the house. It took the intervention of The Nation reporters, who went round in search of a vehicle, to rescue the old woman. After several attempts to seek assistance from the soldiers and the police teams to rescue the woman were rebuffed, help finally came when a team of reporters from a private radio station in Lagos arrived on the scene and offered to assist. The old woman was finally brought to safety at about 1:50 p.m.

    With the fears of fresh violence yesterday, the youths were seen regrouping, with many armed with dangerous weapons as cutlass, cudgels, pestles and other dangerous weapons. The enraged youths vowed to resist further attacks on their communities.

    Police hold fresh 54 suspects

    A police source, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondents that 54 suspects were arrested yesterday, just as four additional persons were killed during an earlier clash.

  • President visits survivors of Abuja explosions 

    President visits survivors of Abuja explosions 

    President Muhammadu Buhari was at the hospital yesterday to comfort survivors of Friday night’s bomb attacks on Nyanya and Kuje in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.

    The survivors are at the Trauma Centre of the National Hospital, Abuja. President Buhari wished them full and speedy recovery.

    The President, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, also reassured the survivors that the Federal Government will settle their medical bills.

    He directed his Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari, to settle the N268,790.00 medical bill of a young girl in the Paediatric Ward of the hospital.

    The girl’s mother, Deborah Stephen, broke into tears on seeing President Buhari.

    She told him that her daughter was shot by armed robbers who raided their home and that the family could not afford the medical bills.

    President Buhari, who was accompanied by his personal aides and Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, visited the intensive care unit, the paediatric unit and general ward.

    Chief Medical Director Dr Jafaru Momoh, said the visit would help the patients’ recovery by giving them a greater psychological sense of being valued and loved by their country.

  • Survivors recount ordeal

    Survivors recount ordeal

    Some of the survivors of the Friday night Abuja bomb blasts yesterday recounted their ordeals, as suicide bombers resurfaced in the Federal Capital City after about a year of lull.

    The numbers of victims were yet to be ascertained as various government agencies involved in the emergency activities are still putting heads together.

    However, some of the survivors who were tracked to some of the hospitals spoke on what happened on the fateful night.

    A provision seller, Ibrana Bello, one of the victims on admission at the Asokoro General Hospital, who spoke to our reporter on his bed narrated how he and his brother got trapped in the blast. Bello who was very emotional while telling his experience said he was in his shop when a female customer came in and while he was telling her the price of the goods she picked,  a car drove down and parked in front of the shop, while another drove directly behind the first car. He was, however, unable to describe the car or remember the make of the car.

    Bello said all his pleas that the driver should move the car away from the frontage of his shop fell on deaf ears as the driver insisted that they wanted to get something in a nearby shop.

    While the plea was on, Bello said the male driver was the first to alight from his car and went straight into the crowded shops and not too long the female driver also alighted from her car and went into the crowd.

    Bello said while he was still there, he heard a loud noise from the blast and all he knew from then on was that he was on the ground. While still on the ground, the second explosion went off and before he could put his thoughts together Bello said the second blast also went off. It was later he discovered that his brother who was with him in the shop was severely injured as his legs were shattered by the explosion.

    Another survivor, Mr. Lawal Ibrahim, who trades in shoes and sandals at the Nyanya Market said he was thrown off by the sound of the blast and for a while did not know what happened around him as he lost consciousness.

    He said he was busy doing his usual business, calling on passers-by to patronise his wares when the bomb went off.

    Though the blast went off some distance from where his wares were, Ibrahim said he saw the lady dropping a leather bag unknown to him that it was bomb until the thing went off.

    In Ibrahim’s estimation, about twenty to thirty people were affected by the blast.

    He also confirmed a man and a woman as the suspects, as he said that they both had the bomb in a shopping bag.

    Acting Chief Medical Director and Head of the Clinical Department at the Asokoro District Hospital, Dr Henry Onyegbelem, said three bodies and seven victims of the Friday night were brought to the hospital.

    He also added, “We don’t know if the numbers will increase, but if there are referrals from other centres, we are ready to attend to them.”

    He said the one that was brought in under critical situation has undergone a major surgical operation and his condition is stable.

     

    He said “In the Asokoro District Hospitals, we have three bodies brought in here and they are being taken care of- being embalmed and prepared. One has already been identified and we are still waiting for the owners of the other two. Our alert team has been on and the medical emergency unit was activated since last night and they have been up and doing to make sure that all necessary attention are given to the patients.”

  • Survivors, caregivers push for comprehensive cancer centre

    Survivors, caregivers push for comprehensive cancer centre

    A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Care Organisation Public Enlightenment (C.O.PE), has appealed to the Lagos State government and the society to provide a comprehensive cancer centre for cancer patients in the state.

    Chief Executive Officer of C.O.PE (an NGO that caters to breast and cervical cancer patients and survivors), Mrs Ebunola Anozie made the call at a special session of her NGO’s cancer patients and survivors’ monthly meeting, at the organisation’s office at Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos mainlandyesterday.

    She lamented the poor and costly state of Nigeria’s cancer treatment and diagnosis units in hospitals and called for government’s intervention.

    Anozie said: “We need a comprehensive cancer centre in Lagos State, so that people do not have to fly abroad anymore for treatment. Not everyone can afford treatment or even diagnosis abroad and many people have died because they do not have money for treatment. Government has a lot to do, because it seems as if they are leaving the work to NGOs. We must let people see that cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence or a stigma.”

    She encouraged the public to reach out to cancer patients by providing care and donating money for their treatment, rather than condemn them to death.

    The caregiver wept as she identified some of her members, whose cases have become malignant due to lack of funds to buy medication and further treatment.

    “It seems as if the society is doing nothing. Cancer treatment is expensive, especially in Nigeria and when we write to people for funds sometimes, some wonderful people donate but many others simply ignore it as if it is not their business. Anyone could be diagnosed with cancer and the treatment is so expensive that some people go bankrupt from it. Every form of help from society would help a lot,” Anozie said.

    Some survivors at the meeting, who also pushed for the establishment of a comprehensive  cancer centre, appealed to the public not to stigmatise cancer patients and survivors.

    Rose Ikem, who is still undergoing chemotherapy, said: “People need to know that being diagnosed with cancer is not a death sentence. You must fight it. And more importantly, the public must stop looking at us strangely when they hear we are fighting cancer, because encouragement from people helps to boost our will to survive.”

  • Thousands of Ebola survivors face severe pain, possible blindness

    Thousands of Ebola survivors face severe pain, possible blindness

    Thousands of West Africans who were infected with the Ebola virus, but survived it, are suffering chronic conditions, such as serious joint pain and eye inflammation that can lead to blindness, global health experts said yesterday.

    Ebola survivors who fought off the most severe bouts of infection are the most likely to suffer ongoing medical problems, World Health Organization experts said, and their health is becoming “an emergency within an emergency”.

    “The world has never seen such a large number of survivors from an Ebola outbreak,” said Anders Nordstrom, a WHO representative in Sierra Leone who took part in a five-day conference this week about Ebola survivors.

    “We have 13,000 survivors in the three countries (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone). This is new – both from a medical and from a societal point of view,” he told reporters on a telebriefing.

    Daniel Bausch of the WHO’s clinical care team on Ebola survivors said about half of all those who fought off the virus now report joint pain, with some suffering such severe effects that they can’t work.

    Eye problems including inflammation, impaired vision and – in severe but rare cases – blindness, have been reported by about 25 percent of survivors, Bausch said.

    Less measurable but equally serious long-term problems, such as increasing rates of depression, post traumatic stress disorder and social exclusion, are also affecting survivors.

    Since West Africa’s devastating Ebola epidemic was by far the largest ever seen – infecting more than 27,000 people and killing almost 11,300 of them – scientists are not able to say whether survivors’ chronic health problems are unusual.

    The Ebola virus is thought to be able to survive no more than 21 days in most body fluids, such as blood and vomit, which are the primary means of transmission.

    But it is also known to be able to lurk in semen and in the soft tissues of the eye for up to several months after recovery.

    Scientists believe the vision impairments reported by survivors of the current outbreak are probably linked to the virus persisting in the eyes.

    Bausch said sight problems, joint pain and headaches have been reported in a few survivors of previous outbreaks since the disease was first detected in 1976. But past epidemics were much smaller, meaning survivor numbers were too small to study or draw any meaningful scientific conclusions.

  • Our cancer story, by survivors

    Our cancer story, by survivors

    They defied all odds to survive cancer, thanks to a non-governmental organisation (NGO),  Sebeccly Cancer Care, run by an Oncologist Dr Omolola Salako. The survivors share their stories with OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA

    When,  some years ago, Vivienne Okosa, a trader, noticed some changes in her breast, she immediately informed her family matron. She was told  that it was abu anu in Igbo language. The matron said it was, “normal for women”, claiming that she recently treated a woman with a similar  disease. “The matron said with some injections and tablets, I would be relieved. What I noticed was that  before  giving me the tablet, she would remove it from the original pack and put it in a tablet pack. I had the treatment for one year but there was no difference,” Vivienne said.

    She observed that whenever the matron injected her, the  lump would get hard again. The matron told me it would become soft, but  when I go back for the next appointment, it would be  hard again. I told her I wanted to go to Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) but she discouraged me. She said the student doctors would use me for experiment and I would lose my life. I held on for a while,” said Vivienne.

    But when there was still no difference, Vivienne visited a private hospital where she was told to go for some diagnostic screenings. “When the results came out the doctor said I have breast cancer and said to me, Vivienne; your breast would be chopped off. With those words, I felt that was the end of life for me. The matron beside me noticed I was going down (fainting), then she offered me a seat. But something in me was telling me to go to LUTH. I knew I was not getting the best care I needed in those places,” Vivienne narrated.

    Vivienne continued: “In my search for LUTH, I ended up in General Hospital, Sabo. I was able to see a male doctor. On telling him that I had breast cancer, the doctor said he had done surgery for a lady without chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The doctor said chemotherapy and radiotherapy is a dangerous treatment for me.  When he told me this, I knew I was at the wrong place. My fiancé then browsed and saw LUTH address and I was able to trace it out.”

    At LUTH, Vivienne was told to go back to the doctor to ask for the lady she treated. She did.

    Vivienne said: “He said the patient was doing well after the treatment, that he told the lady to always come for medical check-up but she failed to do so. But I gathered that the lady the doctor treated came back after six months on a wheel chair with all her body swollen. I used that experience to trace out the first matron that treated me and asked for the lady she said she treated. The matron said she got fine but now late. She told me not to panic that the lady did not die as a result of the ailment. Then I realised I had been playing with my life. Thank God I got a better care at LUTH. When I was discharged I got to know that it was just a primary case and I needed to go for the chemotherapy and radiotherapy. I want to thank Dr Salako for her support.  Please you have done a lot but please do more so that we can have more survivors. I am not the first neither would I be the last. More awareness should be created. We can fight it,” Vivienne enthused.

    Thirty year-old Modele Ekanem (not real names) said hers started at the age of 24. She narrated her experience: “I was bleeding from the nipple as if I was menstruating. I have gone everywhere looking for solution. Until providence linked me with LUTH and I met Dr. Salako. I told her and she said my breast would be removed because the breast cancer had spread and it was in the last stage. I pleaded with her because my breast is my pride. She told me if the breast is not removed on time, it would affect the second breast and possibly, the whole body. I summoned courage and agreed that my breast should get removed. I underwent 12 chemotherapies. After that, I was declared free of cancer. Now, I am okay. What would I have done if I did not know Dr Salako because I am from a very poor background. She got money from the first lady. The cancer could have spread to the leg and I would have been limited in life. I am very grateful to the first lady for paying for the treatment. I also thank Dr. Salako for her encouragement.  I remember a particular drug Enzomenta (for the bone) which is N65, 000.00 that I must take for a year. Where would I have got the money? The treatment is very expensive. Please do not relent in helping us.”

    Mrs Yewande Olakunle, said she survived cancer because of timely financial assistance, adding that she got the prescribed drugs. Mrs Olakunke said, “I want to thank everyone. I would cut my story short. This story started in 2003 when I had my second child. I went to the hospital where I was delivered of my baby. The lump was removed and nothing was done to it. From there, I travelled to Senegal. Then in 2008, I felt another lump in the same place. I went to the general hospital on Lagos Island to remove the lumps again. After the lump was removed, I did the napcetomy (?) and found out that it was cancerous. I went for chemotherapy and also radiotherapy. Cancer is not a day journey, it is gradual. Once somebody is diagnosed with it, the person should keep visiting the hospital to tackle it. I want to thank the first lady and Dr Salako for my care because they have been there for me from the first day of my cancer journey. I advise everybody to check themselves and whenever they detect anything wrong they should report to the hospital. You can see that I am very healthy. A lot of people have died as a result of cancer but thank God that I am still alive.”

    For Mrs Kehinde Miracle (not real names), a 42-year-old mother, it all started shortly after delivering her second child. She shared her story: “While breast feeding, I discovered a very tiny hole. So, I went to Ikeja General Hospital. I was tested and told to come back later because I was still breast feeding. When I went back, I was told that I came late and still asked to come back in three months. Before it was three months, I went to a hospital at Abeokuta where I was referred to LUTH. I brought the sample from Abeokuta to LUTH. In the test it was confirmed that it was cancer. Then I was very afraid and thought my life was about to end. The consultant, Mr Oshinowo said, my breast had to be removed but I refused. He told me to come with my husband but before then he called some survivors to encourage me. After much pleading, my husband and I agreed that I go for the operation. Then I was transferred to radiotherapy department where I met Dr. Salako. She encouraged me, educated me about radiotherapy and took me as a sister. I was not informed that I should not get pregnant again. While I was single, my period was not regular even when I got married. After my first chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment, I discovered that I was pregnant. I did not really want that pregnancy so I went to inform Mr. Oshinowo. After some time, he called me and said I could have the baby. I was delivered of the baby and I immediately commenced another treatment. One year after, I got pregnant again. I went to a private hospital to abort the baby but the doctor refused and told me to inform my doctor that delivered me of my third child. I was scared to tell Mr. Oshinowo that I was pregnant again.

    “Later, I told Mr. Oshinowo that I was pregnant then he congratulated me but I was confused. When I was pregnant, I noticed some symptoms but I could not tell anyone apart from my husband. My family members got annoyed with me for getting pregnant after that treatment. My parents were not happy. A month or two before I gave birth I was unable to move a leg. Some people said the baby was resting on it but I knew that was not the issue. I delivered safely. When my baby was a month old, I went back to LUTH to complain. I was told that a lump was discovered.  When my baby was a month and two weeks, I had my chemotherapy. I was referred to University College Hospital (UCH). I did not understand myself when I was at UCH, I thought I would die. I went back to LUTH to meet Dr. Salako and she told me never to lose hope. She said “You are going nowhere, you would survive it”.

    “At a time I could not afford the money for the treatment. Dr. Salako called me into her office and gave me the tablet. Where she got that money from is beyond me. I am still on the treatment till date. I took the last dose of chemotherapy last week. Enzomenta is prescribed for me for one year. I have taken it for six months. I ought to have been through with it but it is expensive. So, I stopped it and opted for only chemotherapy. At a point, I could not afford the drugs again. I was on the verge of selling my properties. My husband and I deliberated on selling our house just to get money for the drugs and buy a cheaper house though we have not done that. I have been declared cancer-free but I need the drugs to stay thoroughly free.”

    Mrs Banke Adikwu (not real names), 57- year-old said her cancer story started in 2010, “I detected a lump in the left breast. I noticed some dirty discharges on my breast. When I went to the regular hospital to complain, an X-ray was done but nothing was discovered medically. Drugs were prescribed for me. In early 2011, I noticed blood discharges coming out from my breast. I went back to the hospital to complain but still nothing was discovered. By late 2011, when I went to complain again, the doctor did a thorough examination on my breast and diagnosed me with cancer.

    The doctor said the breast would be removed. I was very scared and confused. I did the operation in March, 2012. I was given chemo, then referred to LUTH for radiotherapy. On getting there, I was told it was N100, 000 but I did not have such exorbitant amount. I am not from a rich family and also, my children had supported me with the little they had. I ran around but could not raise the money. I was directed to Dr. Salako. When I got there, it was already a year after the surgery. I was told that I came late for the radiotherapy. After then, I noticed I could neither sit nor walk well. Then I was directed to UCH at Ibadan for bone scan. From the bone scan it was discovered that if care was not taken, my spinal cord may be affected. An injection, which costs N65, 000 was prescribed. I was told that I would have six of it. Thanks to Dr. Salako and first lady because if not for them I may not be able to stand again. They took charge of the bills.”

  • Cancer: Survivors relive ordeal at UCH’s anniversary

    Cancer: Survivors relive ordeal at UCH’s anniversary

    But for the timely intervention of medical experts from the University College Hospital (UCH), cancer would have claimed the lives of victims of the ailment.

    In recent years, the UCH has risen to the challenge of saving the lives of more than 200 cancer patients as it boasts medical experts that treat cancer-related diseases. In the circumstances, during the institution’s 57th anniversary, it brought together over 20 of its cancer survivors to celebrate them and for them to relive their ordeal.

    Addressing the happy survivors, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of UCH, Prof. Temitope Alonge said: “As they share their stories, it will give hope to many Nigerians and encourage many more to seek medical attention on account of any suspicious growth or tumours or general feeling of unwell which might be the onset of some cancers.

    “Cancer is the general terminology ýfor a group of over 100 diseases characterised by abnormal uncontrolled multiplication of abnormal cells leading to a growth in most instances, except in cancers involving blood cells.

    “Global data revealed about 12.7 million cancer cases in 2008 with 1.7 million newly diagnosed breast cancer cases in the same year. Cancer rates have increased sharply in 2012 and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has predicted an increase in the years to come with new cases predicted to rise to 19.1 million by 2025 in line with the growth in world’s population and an increase in life expectancy.

    “Cancer is no respecter of persons, race, age, religion, tribe, class, marital status or economic powers and the diagnosis of cancer are often perceived as death sentence in Nigeria and among Nigerians. This is not the perception in developed countries. These cancer survivors are people who have had cancer ailment which have either been controlled or treated fully.”

    According to him, breast cancer remains the leading cause of deaths in women in less developed countries closely followed by cervical cancer occurring in 34.8 per 100,000 women.

    Prof. Alonge further stated that in the male folk, prostate cancer is the most devastating and commonest cause of deaths, even as it has been reported that about 14 Nigerian men are most likely to succumb to the disease.

    He said: “As with communicable diseases which are now targets of intense treatment after decades of research activities, cancer treatment now receives a multi-modal approach ýin most developing countries and this has resulted in a lot of clients surviving the ailments in those countries.”

    Prof. Alonge attributed the increase in cancer survivors to the establishment of cancer institutions in most countries, which provide comprehensive cancer treatment.

    “While India has over 120 comprehensive cancer institutions, Nigeria does not have a single one and this is probably the main impediment in providing comprehensive care for people who are down with cancers.

    “The story of survivors would have been different if the country has at least one comprehensive institute for canýcer. UCH has the largest number of manpower to accommodate a comprehensive cancer institute apart from the vast land space in the second acquisition of the hospital,” he said.

    Prof. Alonge stated that with a comprehensive cancer centre at UCH, Ibadan, cancer survivors will not only enjoy better quality of health care, but will also enjoy improved standard of living.

    To the survivors he said: “As the hospital celebrates its 57th anniversary, ýwe celebrate your courage and that of your relations who have stood by you as you underwent various treatment modalities in this hospital. You are very precious to this great institution and there is no better time to celebrate with you than the anniversary of the hospital.

    “This is a day of sharing, celebrating and rejoicing with our cancer survivors. We had an opportunity to celebrate our successes and recognise the tremendous courage and perseverance that cancer patients and survivors exhibit every day. It was truly an inspirational experience for us all.”ý

    Mrs Oluwatayo Omotoye, a middle-aged cancer survivor, thanked God and the management of the UCH for curing her of the deadly diseases.

    According to her, all hopes were lost when she was diagnosed of breast cancer, adding that hope returned when she started the treatment at the hospital.

    “Although some people who have had this same ailment did not make it, Nigerians do not need to travel abroad for cancer treatment, because UCH has the right medical expertise and equipment to treat cancer disease. Nigerians should go for regular medical check-ups for early detection of any form of diseases,” she said.

    Omotoye said government needs to establish cancer treatment centres in order to reduce the loads on hospitals.

    She noted that Nigerians should change their perception about cancer which they regard as deadly disease, stressing that ýshe is a living witness to cancer cure.

    Another survivor, who spoke in confidence, said when she was diagnosed of breast cancer in 2003, she taught the end had come.

    She said: “My baby was five years old then and I was crying because there is nobody to take good care of her.

    “I was wondering how I will survive it. Some people even advised me not to go to hospital because, they said, they will complicate my case. But I decided to come to UCH from Delta State where I live. Since 2003 when I began the treatment till date, I have been coming for follow-up treatment and check-up every year and I have been doing fine.”

    She urged government to provide more equipment and cancer treatment centres for proper treatment of the ailment, adding that it will go a long way to saving many lives.

    She urged cancer survivors in the country to ensure adequate follow-ups and medical check-ups.

    Mrs Aganwonyi Evelyn, another survivor, said she did not experience any pain when the ailment began in 2012, adding that she only noticed a lump inside her breast. It was when she went for a test that it was revealed that she had breast cancer.

    Mrs Evelyn, who said she lost two of her aunts to breast cancer, said her cancer was cured when she began receiving treatment at the UCH.

    She commended the hospital for their care, urging Nigerians with the same ailment not to lose hope but should seek urgent medical attention.

    The Head of Physiotherapy, UCH Dr Adefemi Afolabi stated that death cases arising from cancer are due to late access to medical care, even as he urged Nigerians to report immediately any strange symptom in the body.

     

  • How we beat cancer, by survivors

    Cancer is no respecter of persons. To survive it, knowledge is central, said the three survivors NNEKA NWANERI met at the “Go Pink benefit concert and fund raising dinner” in Lagos, organised by the Optimal Cancer Care Foundation.

    MRS Olayinka Adeyemo, a cancer survivor, fainted when she was initially diagnosed of breast cancer at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, in May, last year.

    She is alive today, telling her story, ‘in order to encourage other patients that cancer is not the end of life.’

    Mrs Adeyemo, a 54-year-old security consultant, said she noticed a lump in her right breast and visited LUTH, where oncologists, specialists in cancer treatment, said it was cancerous.

    She said: “I fainted when I got the report.”

    The mother of four said: “I visited LUTH again. The doctors said my breast will be removed. I was so scared. It was not easy hearing that one’s breast will be severed. But, I was told it was the only option available and I was terrified.”

    She said she could have died if she had gone for a surgery immediately without proper counselling.

    Then, one Thursday, while watching television, she heard the Managing Director of Optical Cancer Care, Dr. Femi Olaleye, saying cancer is not a death sentence, that people can live through it.

    This information gave her hope.

    She said: “I went to his outreach centre the following Friday. He counselled me that I should have the surgery.”

    Describing the situation, Mrs Adeyemo said: “It was like hell was let loose. When I got home. I told my husband and children. They all re-echoed what Dr Olaleye told me and even re-affirmed that I would not die. I held on to what they said and began the treatment. But, it was not easy. It is better imagined than experienced. I cannot even describe the three months treatment. It took some time for me to agree to have a surgery, let alone chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment. Chemotherapy was monthly. I have had the therapy for eight months since the surgery. Radiotherapy lasted six weeks. But I was determined to survive it.”

    Last August, she had her breast removed to stop the cancer from spreading. “I am presently undergoing chemotherapy. Everything has gone as normal but the only challenge I have is that the process is very expensive,” she stated.

    Mrs Adeyemo, who also runs  Calvary Centre and Eye Centre, which is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Offa, Kwara State, decried the mindset of most women who have not been going for checkups as terrible.

    She said: “Cancer is unique and differs from one person to the other. Some people find it in different parts of the breast. For me, I did not find any lump. I just noticed that during my ovulation, I experienced pains under my breasts. It took me time to know because I thought cancer was painless.”

    Though she was diagnosed in May last year, she feels on top of the world ‘having undergone surgery and declared cancer free. She advised women to always go for screening instead of sitting at home thinking it is juju that has turned to sickness. “That culture here is bad. I encourage women above 40 to go for  breast and cervical cancer screenings. I have finished my treatment. I’m so strong and great and I am optimistic about the future,” Mrs Adeyemo said.

    For Abigail Simon-Hart, a health consultant, it was a different story. She was diagnosed of breast cancer in 1980 and had a double mastectomy.

    She said: “Mastectomy is the surgery to remove all tissue from the breast to stop the cancer. For those with early-stage breast cancer, mastectomy may be a treatment option. Breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy), in which only the tumor is removed from the breast, may be another option. Deciding between mastectomy and lumpectomy can be difficult. Both procedures are equally effective. But lumpectomy is not an option for everyone with breast cancer; some prefer to undergo a mastectomy.”

    “I am very breast cancer aware. I began yearly mammograms from the age of 28 and had yearly breast ultrasounds in addition to the mammograms from the age of 40, as my breast was very dense. I first had a cancer scare in 1993 when I had a lump in my right breast. A lumpectomy revealed a benign (non cancerous) mass. But I was properly diagnosed with breast cancer in April.

    “The cancer was at stage 1, in the right breast and DCIS in the left. DCIS is considered the earliest form of breast cancer. DCIS is noninvasive; meaning it hasn’t spread out of the milk duct to invade other parts of the breast. It was also the kind of cancer not in a defined lump. I decided to have a double mastectomy. Two weeks earlier, I had a premonition about having breast cancer and I made the decision then that if I came down with breast cancer I would remove both breasts.”

    When asked about her husband’s reaction on removal of her two breasts, she said: “I think there is too much emphasis on what spouses or partners think. It’s my conviction that if your marriage or relationship is held together by your breasts, then you need to re-evaluate your relationships. My family has been really supportive.”

    Explaining how she was able to go through the treatment, she said it was God. She described the period as “a difficult time”.

    “My strength comes from God.  I don’t know what I would have done without my faith. In the hospital, I saw many cancer patients who felt life was pointless and were hopeless. God made me realise that I have a purpose. Now I am able to comfort others who have the same problem. I share the the comfort that God gave me with them. The strength God blessed me with during that period was amazing. I still have a long road ahead. But my two sons – Jonathan and Daniel – remain my reason to keep fighting.”

    Mrs Simon-Hart said further: “Once a person is diagnosed with cancer, I think regrets are futile. I’m thankful for the second chance at life God has given. I’m only looking forward now. I will advise women to know that breast cancer is real and can be beaten.

    “The reason I’m standing here with hope for a long life is due to regular screening and the expertise of the radiologist, who caught the cancer in time. I will suggest that women should examine their breasts regularly and if they have a family history of breast cancer like I do, they should tell their doctor and get a mammogram to get a baseline which can be compared for changes in the future.”

    In the same vein, a teacher, Amaka Chinweze, said it is one thing to have cancer and another  to have the money to treat it. She was forced into early retirement because of the ailment.

    Her first surgery cost N500,000. For the chemotherapy, which involves  only one of the drugs, she spent N50,000.

    Mrs Chinweze said: “I have been able to cope with the help of my relations; my elder sister has been trying for me. It has been very tough and I don’t know how I will do the next chemotherapy because I have no penny on me because chemotherapy is not what you start and stop. It has to be constant and it must be on a monthly basis.

    “Cancer is real but unimaginable; people don’t want to hear of it. It is very expensive. The cost implication is not what to talk about. Every day, I thank God. I feel a lot better since I had the operation but I’ve been restless trying to keep up with the chemotherapy. It is driving me into depression. I pray God sees me through.”

    She said: “I will advise women to go for screening which is the most vital. If the ailment is discovered in time, it will save a lot. If it is diagnosed as cancer, God will make a way financially. But never give up or attempt ending your life. There is life after cancer.”

    Amaka’s sister, Mrs Omoregini called on the government to assist with finance, especially for those undergoing the treatment. There are also fake drugs about. It’s not everyone that can afford more than N100,000 monthly. Market women and traders can’t keep up.

    She said: “I bought drugs at Alpha Pharmacy, Ikeja, but a doctor at LUTH said it was a fake. I took it back to the pharmacy and they refused to take it back. The government should do for cancer what it did for AIDS, Polio and Ebola. It should also come to the aid of citizens and help them instead of leaving them to their fate.”

  • India landslide: Rescuers race to find survivors as toll rises

    Rescue workers in western India are working to locate survivors of a landslide that has claimed at least 30 lives and buried up to 200 people. Eight people have been rescued from the wreckage in Malin village, near the city of Pune in Maharashtra state.

    But more than 36 hours after Wednesday morning’s landslide, chances of finding more people alive appear small.

    Officials say rain is hampering efforts to search for scores of people presumed trapped under the mud and debris.

    The landslide hit the village early on Wednesday while people were sleeping. On Thursday, rescuers continued their search through heavy rains, but hopes of finding any more survivors were fading. “Miracles do happen, we will keep looking, but under current conditions it is very, very bleak,” AFP news agency quoted Alok Avasthy, regional commandant of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) at the scene, as saying.

  • Our close shave with death in Kaduna blasts -Injured survivors

    Our close shave with death in Kaduna blasts -Injured survivors

    July 23, 2014 might have passed like any other day, but not so for 37 innocent Nigerians who are currently receiving treatment in major hospitals in Kaduna. They will remember the day for yers to come as a black Wednesday.

    That was the day a twin bomb explosions rocked the Kaduna metropolis. The blast dispatched no fewer than 49 persons to the world beyond. Their 37 kinsmen are also in agonising pains just because they were unlucky to be at the right place at the wrong time.

    At the time of writing, majority of the victims were at the military hospital in the heart of Kaduna metropolis, receiving treatment on mattresses placed on bare floor.

    One of the injured survivors, nine-year-old Abubakar Usman, had left his family house at Hayin Damani in company with two of his siblings to Kawo Market to shop for Sallah wears. It was in that process that a deafening sound swept his feet off the ground.

    Damani said: “I heard the sound and the ground shook. At first, I thought I had gone deaf with the echoes of the sound from the explosion resounding in my ears. I could not hear what people were saying any longer. And I thought that was all until I tried to get up but could not. That was when I started feeling pains in my legs.

    “Some government workers came an carried me. They brought me to this place and told me that my leg is broken.”

    While two of Abubakar’s siblings survived the blast, he may have to celebrate his Sallah on his sick bed at 44 Army Reference Hospital. He sustained first degree burns and a fracture on his left leg.

    For Abdulrazak Suleiman, a generator repairer, it was the drive for business that turned him into a victim of bomb blast. His shop is located on Kano Road, about two kilometres to the scene of the incident. He told our correspondent that he was only honouring the call by a client to come and check a faulty generator.

    “I received the call with excitement, believing that I was going to make some money because I had been sitting down all day long without a job. So, I quickly jumped on my bike and rode down to Kawo.

    “On approaching my client’s shop, I was suddenly thrown off my bike and I hit my head on the ground. I still thank God that I didn’t die,” he said.

    Suleiman was being treated for head injury on account of the incident.

    A female victim, also at 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, identified as Habiba Adamu, said she had travelled all the way from Birnin Kebbi to attend the grand finale of Sheik Dahiru Bauchi’s Ramadan Tafsir. She said she arrived in Kaduna safely, and like many other admirers of the Sheik, she waited to wave at the great Islamic scholar as he was driving out of the venue of the Tafsir.

    She said: “I was at the roadside when the Sheik passed. So, I wanted to leave immediately too, but I didn’t know what happened next until I woke up in the hospital in the night.

    “Now, look at me, It is as if hot water was poured all over my body. If I had known, I would not have left Birnin Kebbi yesterday. Now my children will have to celebrate Sallah without me.”

    At Yusuf Dantsoho Memorial Hospital, the victim still on admission there was a young man whose eye was blown off by the blasts. He was crying for help from government so that he could be flown abroad for treatment.

    The 18-year-old man named Ahmadu Bala was in critical condition on his hospital bed when The Nation correspondent visited the hospital.

    Narrating his ordeal to our correspondent in a faint tone, he said he was caught by the blast after leaving the venue of the Ramadan lecture by Sheik Dahiru Bauchi.

    According to him, “I was on my way back from the Tafsir (Ramadan lecture) at Murtala Square when I heard a loud sound. Before I knew what was happening, I found myself on the floor far away from where I remember standing.

    “I felt my head was very heavy. Before I realised it, my right eye had been blown off by the bomb and I lost consciousness. I was rushed to Yusuf Dantsoho Hospital here by a good Samaritan, as I was told after I regained consciousness.”

    The bomb victim said he came from a village called Labar, near Jaji, in Kaduna State just to attend the Sheik Dahiru Bauchi lecture. He pleaded with the concerned authorities to come to his aide so that he could stay alive.

    “I am pleading with the Kaduna State Government to look into my plight and take an urgent measure to save my life and the lives of others affected by the bomb,” he said.

    The Nation gathered from a source at the hospital that out of the five victims brought to the hospital, Bala’s case was the most serious. “His right eye is blown off. When they brought him in, we quickly took him to the operating room, took care of the wound and he is now stable and partially responding to treatment,” a male worker in the hospital said.

    He however said that Bala needed to be flown abroad for treatment. “We suggest that the government should, as a matter of urgency, fly the young man abroad for proper treatment because his eye as well as part of his skull was affected by the blast. If it is not treated promptly, the wound can get infected and it may have a long-term effect on the victim,” he said.

    He added that five victims of the bomb at Alkali Road were brought to the hospital when the blast occurred on Wednesday, but four of them came in with minor injuries and had been treated and discharged.