Calls for urgent healthcare reform in Nigeria are growing following the death of the 21-month-old son of author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, prompting widespread accounts of medical negligence and inadequate care within the country’s health system.
Healthcare Crisis in Nigeria
Adichie stated in a leaked WhatsApp message that a doctor informed her the resident anaesthesiologist at the Lagos hospital treating her son, Nkanu Nnamdi, administered an overdose of the sedative propofol. Adichie and her husband, Dr. Ivara Esege, have initiated legal action against the hospital, alleging medical negligence.
For decades, Nigeria’s public health sector has faced challenges including underpaid doctors performing surgeries with limited resources, patients being required to pay for basic supplies like gloves, dilapidated facilities, and a lack of research opportunities. Those who can afford it often seek medical care abroad.
Emergency response services are also lacking. Following a car accident in Nigeria in December, former world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua received assistance from bystanders as no ambulance was available at the scene.
Dr. Anthea Esege Nwandu, Adichie’s sister-in-law and a physician, has urged for systemic change. “This is a wake-up call, for we, the public, to demand accountability and transparency and consequences of negligence in our healthcare system,” she told Agence France-Presse.
The country is experiencing a significant shortage of medical personnel, with a doctor-to-patient ratio of 1:9,801, according to the health ministry. Approximately 16,000 doctors have left Nigeria in the last seven years.
Cases of Medical Negligence
As mourning continues for Adichie’s son, and the Lagos state government has ordered an inquiry, social media has been flooded with stories detailing medical errors. In Kano state, authorities are investigating the death of a woman four months after doctors left a pair of scissors in her stomach during surgery; she repeatedly complained of pain but was only given painkillers.
Ijoma Ugboma experienced a similar tragedy in 2021 when his wife, Peju Ugboma, a 41-year-old chef, died following fibroid surgery due to complications from staff incorrectly setting a ventilator for 12 hours.
After a two-year legal battle, three of the four doctors involved in Peju Ugboma’s surgery were found guilty of professional misconduct.
Olisa Agbakoba, a medical negligence lawyer with two decades of experience, noted the absence of a rigorous regulatory structure within Nigeria’s health sector. “There is no requirement for routine submission of reports, no systematic inspections, and no effective enforcement of professional standards,” he said.
Agbakoba recounted his brother undergoing surgery performed by an unqualified physician, resulting in sepsis requiring a month of treatment. “That was absolute incompetence,” he stated.
Despite numerous malpractice claims, formal complaints and lawsuits are relatively low, partly due to the difficulty of proving negligence, but also due to cultural and spiritual beliefs. “People say it’s the will of God,” Agbakoba said. “They just go home and don’t talk about it … It’s underreported because many people don’t really do anything about it.”
Seeking Accountability
Even when legal action is taken, medical professionals are often reluctant to provide expert opinions in court. Two of the three expert witnesses who testified in the Ugboma case were based outside of Nigeria.
Ugboma expressed cautious optimism that Adichie’s son’s death will spur an overhaul of the health regulatory framework. He stated that his fight for accountability was worthwhile, allowing him to tell his children he fought for their mother, even in death. “There’s justice out there if only one can persevere. It’s a marathon. But we can only have a better system if more people begin to challenge them.”
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