Someone drowned in a river. He was rescued and taken to a mortuary without a doctor’s assessment- only to be found not to be dead. Then from there he was taken for “rituals” before a river god. This is “emergency response” offered by strangers to a victim of drowning in our country.

Imagine a drowning dying person being taken from mortuary to ritualists - when he should be in an ambulance to the emergency room of an equipped hospital. Tomorrow someone will say it’s better to earn 200k in Nigeria than earn $2,000 in usa. Again, if you always only think about life in terms of money, you are very shortsighted and you can’t see the big picture.

Availability of ambulance: Zero. Knowledge of basic first aid: Zero. Awareness of emergency response: Zero. Everything about the story is saddening. No emergency response. No urgent ambulance. No immediate medical attention. No CPR knowledge. No correct basic first aid done.

Even before the drowning: So many things could have been done for safety to avert a calamity. On that boat: No life jackets. No lifeguards. No life savers. No emergency medical team on boat. How did anyone think this was safe or sensible? Does the govt regulate the boat drivers to ensure safety measures are adhered to?

That man should have had emergency medical attention right from when he was rescued from the river. An ambulance should have been called. CPR should have been done if he had stopped breathing. Oxygen should have been given if he needed it.

And an urgent transfer via ambulance to an equipped hospital with specialists waiting to receive him already aware of what is happening as informed by the paramedics. This is what should have been done. In an ideal country where life has value.

Whatever the outcome, when it is officially confirmed, I hope we all learn many lessons from everything that has unravelled before us in the last few hours. I hope we learn as individuals. And I hope the govt also learns.

As individuals:
I hope you never get on a boat without a life guard, with no life jacket and without any emergency medical rescue.

As for government:
I hope we make tough regulations that sanction any commercial/private boat rides without a life jacket, without a lifeguard and with no emergency medical rescue on board.

I hope we make patrol services, emergency ambulances and emergency rescue boats available on our waterways to provide urgent lifesaving first aid to dying and drowning people.

This will be my recommendations and constructive feedback regarding everything that has happened tonight. I hope and pray that one day we become a country where human life has value and human beings have worth.
Thank you 🙏🏿

Please share to educate and help create awareness.

Dr Olufunmilayo

That man should have had emergency medical attention right from when he was rescued from the river. An ambulance should have been called. CPR should have been done if he had stopped breathing. Oxygen should have been given if he needed it.

And an urgent transfer via ambulance to an equipped hospital with specialists waiting to receive him already aware of what is happening as informed by the paramedics. This is what should have been done. In an ideal country where life has value.

My heart goes out to my brother back then in UNEC. Yours was another unthinkable sad event. Condolences to his wife, children and other family members.

Going forward, please let's always ensure public safety. Emergencies should always be handled as such. Life is very fragile. Every second is a golden second.

"Tomorrow someone will say it’s better to earn 200k in Nigeria than earn $2,000 in usa."

Only fools believe this.

The fact that they took an accident victim directly to a Mortuary then to a ritualist after discovering he was still alive is NOT even the worst part. The worst part is that even if he were taken to a hospital, he would still end up dead due to the nonchalance and negligence of the medical staff and the poorly equipped hospital.

It's people who have not been sick with more than Malaria Fever that believe in the efficacy of Nigerian healthcare.

That's why I will ALWAYS advise anyone who can afford it to LEAVE Nigeria. It's not even about the money. It's about living in a society where life is sacred. And there are systems in place to keep it sacred.

There is no reason this man should be dead. Nigeria failed him like it has failed a LOT of people before him and it'll fail many more after him.

Here is my emergency preparedness list. By the way, I also think that emergency preparedness as a subject should be taught in schools.
Nothing is assured, so everyone should prepare for the following:

• Financial setback
• Health crisis
• Fire outbreak
• Impending war
• Flooding
• House collapse
• Street violence
• Robbery
• Kidnapping
• Death and burial
• Police arrests
• Food and water shortage
• Emergency fleeing
• Sudden power outage

There are more emergencies we should all be prepared for of course, these are just some basics for a start.
Let me leave this thought from Job 12:5 (NWT)
“The carefree person has contempt for calamity, thinking it is only for those whose feet are unsteady.”

Dustbinbint:
By the way, I also think that emergency preparedness as a subject should be taught in schools. Nothing is assured, so everyone should prepare for the following:...........

Well said sir. People let's learn. RIP Johnpaul.

Nigeria is on survive mode, nothing is ever intentional, just hope and prayers. Just pray you don’t have the need for your survival to depend on this country. You will be disappointed

The key take away is:


As for government:
I hope we make tough regulations that sanction any commercial/private boat rides without a life jacket, without a lifeguard and with no emergency medical rescue on board.

Story story!n. As if Nigerians will listen...
Everyone will move on as if Noth Ng happened until another one happens again....

na wa ohh

Ok

Nigeria’s health care system is zero. Millions of people don’t understand what first aid is. Calling an ambulance is a first step in such emergencies. Unfortunately, we don’t have ambulances. Where one exists, it’s not equipped rather just a vehicle to convey the affected person to a poorly equipped facility. Very sad.

Nigerians eh.... Wear seat belt, NO!. Wear life jacket, NO!. Drive carefully, NO!. Follow standard safety procedures, NO!.

But once tragedy happen, you begin to blame innocent village people, attributing the incident to spirituality.

I saw one facebook post saying that "The actor died because of some comment he made regarding water spirit.

Bitter Truth

I don’t think he came back to life like they rumored earlier because it is medically impossible for a human being to lay at the bottom of the river ( before local marine divers rescued him) for 2 hour + and still be alive. When I saw him brought out rigor mortis had already set in as his hands and legs are already frozen to the original position he died in. The bigger issue then comes to the fact that in Nigeria they have minsters, commissioners , directors, heads etc from the federal to sometimes local government level who receive billions annually and are charged with overseeing the inland water ways because thousands of Nigerians commute through these routes daily. What do they do with the billions ? Making life jackets compulsory for such trips is what is obtainable in decent societies but in Nigeria you won’t even find them in office and when they are there would be drinking beer with plates of pepper soup and watching TV

Nawa, NOLLYWOOD what's happening...

That's Nigeria for you

And same dumb set of people are claiming his family have no right to burry him anywhere there like probably somewhere easily accessible to his kids in future

They clean he must be buried near the mishap venue

Negligence of safety rules and precautions caused that tragedy in the first place.

9ja error don land many people for grave yard

Well said ma.
9ja error don land many people for grave yard

Well said ma.
9ja error don land many people for grave yard
Buried by error or mutuary

I swear down,that this jnr pope's demise really shows how backward we are as a people in this country.......

These were avoidable scenarios but our people still chose to show their topnotch level of ignorance and illiteracy instead of using their number-6

Nigerians are mysteries to be studied.

I went to a teaching hospital today to access my monthly drugs. Behold, administrative offices, which is first point of call for any accessment were all locked. I couldn't get my card process so as to see doctor, pharmacy too was on lock. This is tertiary health care. Imagine if it was an emergency, your guess is as mine.

You said it all, the only thing our government is fast doing is:

We are sorry for the loss, we will ensure things like this won't happen again. We will investigate the matter and punish anyone culpable according to law.

MorolayoVictor:
Nigerians are mysteries to be studied.

Exactly!
That's reality why every sane and wise People defends their Territory and Future, some lazy directionless Nigerians are ready to risk their own Lives and their ability to reproduce by shouting "Import more Food!" Instead of them to ask Government for what they need to go into Farming and grow what they eat. For many that have have foolishly handed their Food Destiny into the hand of Foreigners, WATCH:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNTO5OfINro

This is part of why various levels of security is needed in a security architecture. State and local government police are necessary to cover various levels of security threats.

The federal police doesn't have the time, motivation and manpower to effectively police these low level security threats. They should focus on major crimes.

Now, emergency preparedness starts from ensuring safety measures... licensing operators, safety gears and equipment for users, emergency response etc., enforcement of these safety measures in the local communities falls under the purview of the local govt.
Even safety measures like ambulance services, primary health care/insurance, fire service etc. is local govt's duty as first responders while we state level and federal level response comes in depending on level of the threat.

Nigeria is plague with superstitions and religious disaster.

First aid to medical emergency in Nigeria is prayers, either the Abrahamic way or the traditional ways.

I doubt if we're from the same source as whites as humans or our ancestors/ slave masters did us terribly wrong.

Caution was thrown the wind and after disaster, caution was also thrown out the door.

rinzaugustine:
I don’t think he came back to life like they rumored earlier because it is medically impossible for a human being to lay at the bottom of the river ( before local marine divers rescued him) for 2 hour + and still be alive. When I saw him brought out rigor mortis had already set in as his hands and legs are already frozen to the original position he died in. The bigger issue then comes to the fact that in Nigeria they have minsters, commissioners , directors, heads etc from the federal to sometimes local government level who receive billions annually and are charged with overseeing the inland water ways because thousands of Nigerians commute through these routes daily. What do they do with the billions ? Making life jackets compulsory for such trips is what is obtainable in decent societies but in Nigeria you won’t even find them in office and when they are there would be drinking beer with plates of pepper soup and watching TV

So he actually died? I thought he was still alive na wa

Rich4god:
Nigerians eh.... Wear seat belt, NO!. Wear life jacket, NO!. Drive carefully, NO!. Follow standard safety procedures, NO!.

But once tragedy happen, you begin to blame innocent village people, attributing the incident to spirituality.

I saw one facebook post saying that "The actor died because of some comment he made regarding water spirit.

Thank you for this summary. It is not by escaping to the abroad. We need fix personal discipline issues in Nigeria. Same Nigerians are found to follow all rules when abroad but come home to fight enforcers with plenty English.
We need work on doing the right things especially because we are all enlightened and knw what is right. That also includes avoiding corruption, let those our uncles and aunties in govt do the right thing for the good of everyone. They wil rather embezzled,send their families abroad and come to blame "govt" for any misfortune.
Abroad is good because the people chose to do the right things for the good of everyone. We can do same.

CPR would have saved him