mr-ibu

Nollywood actor, John Okafor, popularly referred to as Mr Ibu has carved a niche for himself in the movie industry, notably for being a comic actor, but in a recent 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 the 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 after the cut.

“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”.

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70 COMMENTS

  7. Ooooo u could have gave that useless fool called doctor a dirty slap for such an ugly suggestion.. He shuld pray for his own son to contact such disease and die so he can cut it open for experiment to other medical students naa..

  17. Mr IBU I pray DAT God shall give u d grace to bear dis.Honestly,luth is not a teaching hospital but a killing hospital.in DAT luth I have lost beyond 3 loved ones due to their negligence.SOrry baba.

  18. Then u blame those who take their family abroad for better medication. If they were to be in advance country US or any other countries probably that boy would’ve been saved. Rip on peace boy and take heart Mr Ibu

  19. All teaching hospitals in Nigeria should not be relied on as all the doctors there are using so many life’s for a case study and that is why a lot of children dies including adult as my child died in UUTH in a sickness non of them was able to explained or give the name to me. It is not all about wearing white overall or being a medical doctor by name but practically zero. A doctor was meant to save lives not taking it so Nigerian so called doctors should double up as I’m still feeling the loss of my daughter till now.

  33. some doc are fake sometimes i wonder if dey actually read medicine in skul or it was connection Dat put dem deredere it not all about wearing white and it not all about certificate it what you av upstairs.. pls take heart may d departed rest in peace

  39. Yes, all what mr ibu said is exactely what is happening in dat hospital, i remember when i took my child there, he was in very critical condition, in a middle of life and death, i was crying like a kid, all eyes on me, d doctor keep on asking us to show him a reffering letter, my husband told him dat we are not with a ny letter and d doctor just walk out of us, as a mother, i keep on crying to other doctors there to help me at least know what is wrong with my baby, all they do is just abondon my child, by dat time my child breating is not normal again, his eyes has turn white, a friend of my husband dat escort us there, advice us to leave d hospital immediately, dat is how we live the hospital and went to one private children hospital in surulere, immediately d doctors saw dat my child is in very critical condition, they took him to imergency ward, and give him a medical attention immediately without wasteing time, and God take over every thing and use d doctors to save my child, this thing happen in 2012, i always pray to God never allow any thing dat will make me and my family to go to LUTH again.

  43. Yes dey are like dat very useless place to be exactly how dey ended my fathers life too after exploiting huge amount of money from me dey still killed my loving caring father hmm i cox d day i took my father to dat devilish kingdom as hospital depart d stress dey made me go through.

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