The Death Of Ifunanya And The Burden Of A Nation Of Misplaced Priorities -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

The mood in Guardian Angel Catholic Police Chapel, Lugbe, Abuja and its environ was mournful yesterday, even though it was a Sunday, the first day of February 2026, the reason being that the life of a promising young lady, named Ifunanya Mercy Nwangene was cut short following a snake bite in her residence in Trade More Estate, Lugbe. Nanyah-music as she was fondly called by her friends and associate was a chorister in the parish. She was a trained architect and promising musician but her talent and dreams were cut short by her sudden death. This is gruesome and unfortunate!

What is more worrisome is that the death of this young damsel was preventable. She was said to have been bitten by a cobra in her apartment in the early hours of Saturday, 31st of January while she was asleep. It was reported that after the snake bite, the deceased tied a tourniquet in her arm to slow down the spread of the poison in her body and probably drove herself or arranged for the vehicle that took her to the hospital. The first was Divine Heath Hospital in Lugbe which could not attend to her because of the non-availability of the anti-snake venom before they left for the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Jabi where she eventually died. What a shame to a nation that budget billions annually for health care and yet has zero facility to tackle preventable health issues!

The untimely death of the 26-year old “Soprano Queen” as she was also known, has generated public outrage with many questioning how a preventable death could occur in the nation’s capital due to the unavailability of life-saving anti-snake venom. It is appalling that in Nigeria, human life is worth practically nothing. When criminals are not killing, terrorists are mowing down people in thousands annually, thousands are dying from carelessness, negligence and corrupt practices in our hospices, correctional centers and other institutions. What rankles most is that all these happen without consequences as if they are normal.

Ifunanya Nwangene is said to be a bunch of talent by those who knew her. She was known for her passion for music, excellent choir performance, and creative social media activism. She participated in the Voice of Nigeria reality show in 2021. She had a lofty dream of becoming an established musician but all than is blown away like vapor. This is the state of the nation where human lives and talents are wasted instead of being harnessed. Does it surprise anybody that foreign embassies, even those of poor countries are always very busy in Nigeria because many Nigerian youths want to jet out of the country? It is called the Jappa Syndrome. Nigeria has failed its citizens. Those in power have betrayed those that they are supposed to serve. Talents have been wasted and dreams aborted as a result of failure of leadership.

All these are symptomatic of a failed system and weak institutions where you have leaders without responsibilities and officials without accountability. In a saner environment, the death of Ifunanya can trigger the resignation of those in charge of our health sector for negligence and failure. But, in Nigeria, that can never happen. We may not even hear a word from those in charge. Everything will be swept under the carpet and live goes on. Our politicians don’t care either; their concern is the next election even if human lives are wasted, it is not their business.

When the late Sani Abacha announced the overthrow of the civilian government in 1983, one of the accusations to justify their intervention was that our hospitals have become “mere consulting clinics”. And today, 43 years after, our hospitals are worse than mere consulting clinics but shacks without drugs. Our specialist have been chased abroad by an unjust system. Most of the drugs in our hospitals are either fake, adulterated or even expired. Our equipment are either not there, not functional/serviced or are obsolete. Otherwise, how can one explain the fact that our Federal Medical Center in the heart of the Federal Capital Territory has no anti-snake venom to treat emergency? It is unbelievable!

The current nation’s leadership don’t care. They would prefer to go for medical tourism abroad than fix our own hospitals. The primary health care is not there; the people have no access to Medicare. But the government spend on frivolities like spending $9million to lobby American government to cover up the story of insecurity in the country. That humongous sum can fix the primary health care facilities in the FCT. Indeed, the major problem of the country is corruption and failed leadership that prioritizes personal interest over general interest. Nigeria as the 2027 election beckons, you have a choice to make whether to vote for peace, security, economic progress or continued misery and hardship in the hands of the present regime. Long live Nigeria!

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed 

hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com

An actress, social activist, politician

London, UK