After a brief illness…
These words are well known in my homeland, Nigeria. Most obituaries carry these words. It is nice way of saying a person died of a condition which didn't kill the person suddenly.
Apart from road/air/maritime accidents, homicides and suicides where the cause of death is self evident, the causes of other deaths can only be established through formal inquests and autopsies.
Why are we dying young in Nigeria? Why is the average life expectancy in Nigeria 55 years? Until we know the silent things that are killing us, we won't be able to protect ourselves from “After a brief illness”!
How many of our people are dying of exposure to toxic heavy metal poisoning - Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Arsenic etc (mostly from discarded electronic equipments and cell phones)? We don't know because we don't keep records of this.
Many homes in our land use asbestos! Asbestos is a hidden killer that can cause serious diseases (Mesothelioma, Asbestosis, Pleural thickening). These diseases will not affect you immediately; they often take a long time to develop, but once diagnosed, it is often too late to do anything!
Asbestos has been outlawed in many industrialised countries due to its hazardous effect on health. What are we doing to ban the use of asbestos in our country especially in our homes?
Do we know how many people die from asbestos related diseases annually? Do we know how many of our people die from heavy metal poisoning annually?
Until we know all the silent killers killing us, our ability to protect ourselves from them is doomed, and the “After a brief illness” phrase will continue to feature in our obituaries.
We need coroners/pathologists to step in when the cause of death is unknown or unexpected.