The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has said that the former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Obadiah Mailafia who died yesterday at the age of 64 CBN at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital Gwagwalada, would have lived if the doctors who attended to him handled his case professionally.
The former CBN deputy governor was referred to the teaching hospital after he was initially treated at CBN Hospital and EHA Clinics, respectively.
Spokesman for the MBF, Mr. Isuwa Dogo, alleged in a statement that the former CBN deputy governor as given a shoddy treatment by the doctors who handled his case at the hospitals.
Narrating how Mailafia died, Dogo said: “Dr Mailafia arrived 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 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’s 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 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 name of 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 he was not obligated to listen to any foreign consultants that had been brought into the matter with the sole purpose of ensuring nothing goes wrong.
“Wife of the former CBN Deputy Governor was asked to pay the sum of N600. 000 as deposit even when it was a referral case, with 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 that is living 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 there was nothing they could do since they had already pronounced him dead.”
However, Dogo said the forum would wait for the autopsy report on Mailafia’s death.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) has called for probe into Mailafia’s death, citing an alarm the deceased raised over alleged threat to his life on September 11, 2020.
“Please, pray for me, I have reasons to believe that my life is in danger and that some powerful forces want to silence me forever for speaking the truth,” Mailafia was quoted as saying.
“The death of Obadiah Mailafia is highly suspicious and must be investigated,” said HURIWA.
Similarly, National Leaders of Conscience, under the auspices of the National Consultative Front, NCFront, expressed shock and sadness over the death.
“The movement wishes to condole with the family of Mailafia, praying for the repose of his soul, fortitude and strength for members of his family, and promising investigation into his sudden death,” said Ms Rukaiya Muhammad in a statement, yesterday.
The group also recalled that Mailafia, until his demise, was a member of the National Steering Council and the North Central Facilitator of NCFront.
The NCFront said the deceased raised the bar of commitment to the tasks of the movement, constantly advocating a fair, just and equitable governance of Nigeria.
For Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Mailafia’s sudden death is a great loss to Nigeria.
Its national publicity secretary, Mr. Emmanuel Yawe, said the deceased fought relentlessly to rid the country of its ills through criticisms of the system.
“We don’t know the circumstances surrounding his death, though we heard that he died after a brief illness. Dr. Mailafia had been challenging some of the ills in our country and was also criticised.
“It is really sad that he died. We know that some of his struggles to put the country on a better track are documented. We sympathise with his family and our condolences go to them.”
Similarly, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, paid tributes to Mailafia saying he was committed to federalism.
“One other thing that endeared him to us was his commitment to federalism. He was a person who wanted Nigeria to answer its true name, ‘Federal Republic of Nigeria’. He was one of the big voices from the north,” said the spokesman for the group, Mr. Jare Ajayi in an interview.
