John Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu has cut a niche for himself in
the movie industry, notably for being a comedic actor, but in an
interview with Punch, he has revealed that despite his commitment to
making people to laugh, he has had cause to be unhappy, even bitter, on
some occasions.
According to Okafor, negligence on the part of Lagos University Teaching
Hospital (LUTH) had a role to play in the 2011 death of his 2 year old
son who had just been released from kidnappers. He was so bitter that he
almost instituted a court action against the management of the
hospital.
Read his ordeal below...
“The matter was actually between the Paediatric Department of the
hospital and me. It was in 2011. My wife and our two-year-old son had
been kidnapped. After I paid the ransom demanded and they were released
by the kidnappers, I returned to Lagos from Enugu.
“Then on January 18, 2011, my son fell ill. He was diagnosed with
inflammation of the liver. The hospital suggested that he should be
scanned. At the same time, I was informed that I could take my son out
of the hospital to get the scan done elsewhere. But the same people
later declined, saying that everything had to be done in the hospital
because he was too weak to be taken outside.
“After a while, I was told that there was no electricity in the
hospital. When I asked if there was no standby generator, they said
there was no fuel in it. I offered to pay for fuel only to be told that
the man that operated the generator was not around. When I left the
place and got back later, the man still had not returned. Then I was
advised to write an application and to submit to the admin department.”
After writing the application, Okafor found that there was nobody to
receive and treat it. While he was waiting, he was told that his son’s
condition required blood transfusion. The actor did everything possible
to ensure that the ailing boy was given treatment at the hospital, but
his efforts were in vain. Finally, the little boy gave up the ghost.
“That was how my son died. Later, one of the doctors came to me and,
without even sympathising with me, asked if I could release my boy’s
corpse to him so that they could cut it open and use it to teach other
medical students. In that moment, I felt like committing murder for the
first time in my life.
“When I told my lawyer what happened at the hospital, he was shocked. He
said it was actionable. I told him that I was ready to take the
hospital management to court and sue it for $100 million in damages
because my son’s death was caused by the carelessness of the
professionals whose duty was to save his life. But my lawyer advised me
to let go”.
Sad!
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