The Middle Belt Forum on Sunday provided detailed insight into how one of its promoters and former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, died at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, Abuja.

The organisation said that he was shabbily treated by doctors.

The National Publicity Secretary of MBF, Dr. Isuwa Dogo, made the clarification in a statement issued in Abuja.

The statement reads, “The death of the former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, Abuja, this (Sunday) morning came to us as a great shock.

“As someone who relentlessly participated in the activities of the Middle Belt Forum, his untimely death has dealt a deadly blow on ethnic nationalities of not only the Middle Belt but the country at large.

“Arising from various enquiries from Nigerians over the circumstances of his death, the forum wishes to state as follows: That Dr. Mailafia arrived in Abuja last Sunday, September 12, 2021, from Akure and was received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport by his wife.

“On arrival at home, the wife noticed that he was not in the best of health conditions and seemed to be suffering from malaria. After three days of treatment without signs of improvement, he went to the CBN Hospital on Friday, September 17, 2021, where he was shabbily treated. It took the intervention of a senior medic who immediately placed him on oxygen and admitted him.

“Dr. Mailafia was later given the option of choosing three hospitals: Gwagwalada Hospital, National Hospital and EHA Clinics. The wife opted for the third choice. On arrival at the EHA Clinics, the wife was subjected to yet another moment of anxiety as it took a direct order from the top management of the hospital to accept him.

“After a few hours of treatment, the EHA Clinics told the wife that it was expedient to transfer the former CBN Deputy Governor to Gwagwalada, as the clinic was not fully equipped to handle the case.

“The wife opposed the decision and insisted that she was opposed to the idea of taking her husband to Gwagwalada. Mailafia’s wife only succumbed when the consultant assured her that nothing bad will happen to her husband.

“Yesterday, Saturday, September 18, 2021, Dr. Obadiah was transferred to Gwagwalada. On arrival, the doctor that was billed to attend to Dr. Mailafia was not on duty. Even when an attempt was made by foreign health consultants to save the situation, the doctor on duty got angry and said that he was not obligated to listen to any foreign consultants that had been brought into the matter with the sole purpose of ensuring that nothing goes wrong.

“Wife of the former CBN Deputy Governor was asked to pay the sum of N600, 000 as a deposit, even when it was a referral case, with an accruing medical bill to be settled by the CBN. At a point, Dr. Mailafia complained over his breathing problems and pleaded with the doctors to place him on a ventilator. The doctors flatly refused.

“Even after the doctors declared Dr. Mailafia dead, foreign consultants who were brought into the matter through Dr. Mailafia’s son who lives abroad, had directed a family member who is a medical professional, with the wife of the CBN Deputy Governor, to mount pressure on the chest of Dr. Mailafia for resuscitation and thereafter place him on life support.

“The doctors in Gwagwalada refused all entreaties by the family members of Dr. Mailafia to follow the advice of the foreign consultants, insisting that they have already pronounced him dead. Even when the wife could feel the pulse of her husband, the doctor flatly declared that there was nothing they could do since they had already pronounced him dead.

“While the above narration sums up the circumstances under which Dr. Mailafia died, we still await the result of the actual cause of his death. As a nationalist and patriot that he was, Dr. Mailafia was completely dedicated to the emancipation of ethnic nationalities from the clutches of oppression.

“The economist was never afraid to speak truth to power, just as he remained committed to the enthronement of justice and equity to all citizens across ethnic and religious divides.

“In the twilight of his life, this consummate technocrat and global scholar of repute beamed his searchlight on the raging insecurity ravaging our country. He expressed regrets over the government’s incapacity to rein in the activities of insurgents and criminal groups terrorising the nation.

“The death of Dr. Mailafia today represents a dark day for not only the Middle Belt but also for all citizens who yearn for a new dawn for justice in Nigeria,” the forum stated.

Efforts to reach officials of the hospital proved abortive as of the time of filing this report.

Courtesy (excluding headline) The PUNCH

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