IBRAHEEM HAMZA MUHAMMAD
Prominent Islamic cleric, Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Abubakar Mahmud Gumi, has berated the situation where emergency cases don’t receive the desired attention in government hospitals.
He made his observation when he visited two major state-owned government hospitals in Kaduna – Gwamna Awon General Hospital in Southern Kaduna and Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital in Kaduna North.
This was contained in a press release by his Media aide, Malam Tukur Mamu who stated, “The visit has exposed Sheikh Gumi to the enormous challenges vulnerable patients and their relatives are facing in a society where virtually everything has collapsed despite the increasing number of millionaires that mostly earned such favours/money through the government at all levels and using all forms of corrupt tendencies to accumulate at the expense of the suffering masses.
“The situation of the patients in all the two major hospitals is to say the least pathetic and indicting. Sheikh Gumi got a first hand knowledge about increasing number of children, including infants mostly that are dying due to preventable and treatable sicknesses such as malaria and typhoid fever. Greater number of the patents Sheikh Gumi saw did not even have money to feed themselves not to talk of affording medical expenses even on severe cases of emergency.
“Sadly too, emergency cases don’t receive the desired attention while critical medical evaluations and tests that supposed to be done immediately and the result be out on time (for patients that have the resources to pay) are being delayed to as much as one and two weeks while decisions in case of patients that required emergency surgery etc are being unnecessarily delayed leading to deaths of patients in many occasion according to the testimony of the helpless patients.”
Sheikh Gumi, who is a medical doctor and an Islamic scholar, said that he was shocked by the sad reality he saw, adding that he couldn’t believe this is the country that has many billionaires most of who accumulated such wealth through undue favours from the government or as proceeds of corruption through appointments or contracts.
He offered cash gifts and words of consolation to the patients and their relatives.
Sheikh Gumi said that considering the enormity of the challenges of the poor patients, he saw what he gave them as just a drop in an ocean.
He urged governments at all levels to provide more facilities in public hospitals, make doctors accountable and responsive and provide a means of taking care of the hospital bills of vulnerable patients, especially those on critical condition and on emergency cases.
He also called on wealthy Nigerians to fear Allah and invest for the sake of humanity.
The cleric said what Allah has given them is meant to serve humanity, adding that any privileged person that failed to invest for the sake of humanity, especially the less privileged and those in need, would definitely regret it here in this world and hereafter.
He condemned a situation where millions of Naira is wasted on chartered aircrafts to attend wedding ceremonies, unnecessary events or attending children’s graduation abroad or wasting money on Umrah jamboree at a time there are more important things to do that will please Allah more, which he said is more rewarding.
Sheikh Gumi then called on both federal and state governments to declare emergency in the Nigerian health sector.
He lamented that so much about the terrible condition of our hospitals and suffering patients is not being reported by the Nigeria media.
