If you live in a society where your health care system works, you simply have no idea how that is such a wonderful blessing. I have been opportune to experience different societies and their health services, and I must tell you that some places simply take the piss. In such places, the only way that you can get a decent attention is if you are a money bag who can afford the expensive private hospitals or if you’ve robbed the government coffers – as our darling Nigerian politicians tend to do – thus, can afford the luxury of travelling overseas for medical care; a situation which can easily be enabled within the country if the leaders did the right thing to get the sector running as it should.

How do you explain having to take a biopsy twice with 10 days waiting interval for the results and each time during your scheduled appointment, the hospital comes up with a sorry excuse that the result is not yet ready? In essence, leaving the patient on tenterhooks, stressed and depressed and wasted a month of their valuable time and money. 2 days ago, I had made a post about my dear one who is waiting for her second biopsy result as the 1st result was inconclusive. As if she’s not having a challenging time at present, the hospital which is meant to be a national hospital; with the best consultants and well-equipped with the necessary systems in place, have been dilly-dallying with no cogent reason for their lackadaisical attitude.

Knowing that time is of essence with health-related matters especially if it is a suspected case of the ‘Big C’, I feel so mad about this ineptitude, lack of concern, and failed Nigerian leadership that seeps into every aspect of the society. I truly wonder when such scenarios will become a thing of the past and the Nigerian populace will begin to enjoy the benefits of being citizens of a richly endowed Nation.

It is not a surprise that the level of brain-drain in the sector keeps rising. The system is broken and can be so frustrating. Nigeria has some of the brightest and most hardworking medical personnel globally and they are recruited in large numbers by Western countries, that it seems like it’s quickly becoming a case of raised and trained in Nigeria for foreign use to the detriment of the local populace.

We keep waiting and trusting God.