Nigerian journalist and former Presidential spokesperson, Reuben Abati, has taken a swipe at the husband of a pregnant woman who died after allegedly being denied treatment at a hospital in Lagos due to her inability to pay a N500,000 deposit.
The husband of the deceased, Akinbobola Folajimi, had shared a video showing the moment he was rushing his deceased to another hospital after she was allegedly denied access to the said hospital.
In the trending video which he shared in February, the pregnant woman and Folajimi could be seen inside a car, visibly weak as he desperately tried to keep her conscious.
He repeatedly called her name and urged her to stay strong for their children.
“My goodness, Kemi, look at me. Stay strong, look at me. Think about your kids, please. You need to be very strong for me,” he pleaded.
He later shared another post announcing her demise and that of their unborn child. He mentioned that after being rejected by the previous hospital, he rushed her to a general hospital in Epe, but she didn’t survive.
“Private hospitals in Nigeria. The doctor told me to deposit 500k and I begged him to start doing whatever is needed to save my wife, we needed emergency support while I run around for the money but they drove us out like they don’t care.
Unfortunately blindly rejected us and asked me to take her to General Hospital at Epe, even the doctor knows that Epe from Lakwe is way too far for such her condition. Before we rushed her to Epe, she was gone
How???? such a wicked institution, well only jah knows and sees all. this is just too much for me.”
The video sparked an outrage online with many calling for the said hospital to be sanctioned. The hospital has however denied the claims of demanding money from Mr Folajimi.
They claim they never had any record of the deceased in their facility as she never attended ante-natal care in their hospital. They also claim that the deceased was brought in after she had lost so much blood and that they did not have the facility to attend to her.
The Lagos state government has also begun an investigation into the incident with the view to bring justice, if any, to the distraught husband.
While analysing the incident on air this morning, one of the Arise TV presenters, Rotus Odirri, argued that the husband had ample time to financially prepare for the birth of his child but he failed to do so.
‘’I can understand someone in an accident. Accidents are unforeseen. You might get shot, robbed, we have had several cases where an unfortunate accident does happen and you get to a hospital and they deny you treatment. However, as a single man that everyone is telling to get married…you prepare in advance. Someone gets pregnant and is getting ready to give birth, I guess it behoves on the father of the child to save towards that so that so you don’t have a situation where she is about to give birth, you don’t have the N500, 000. I am sorry I don’t want to sound insensitive.
If it was a sudden accident and you don’t have the money for that..a pregnancy, you can see that coming and ….” he said.
Corroborating Rotus’s position, co-host Reuben Abati described the man’s inability to pay as ‘’irresponsible.”
He stated that the husband was supposed to look for money for his wife’s delivery before her due date.
‘’The whole substance of this conversation is that according to Mr Folajimi, when he got to Al-Salam Convalescent center as the hospital is called, he was asked to deposit N500, 000 and the man was saying ‘please admit my wife, I will go and look for the money’. When you impregnate a woman, you can’t come at nine months and you are saying just treat her, let me go and look for the money. There are many people who do that. They put you under pressure.
Mr Folajimi behaved in an irresponsible manner”
Watch a video of him speaking below;
