Lamentations, yesterday, trailed Nigeria’s poor response to emergency and lack of empathy for those in need.

This followed the sudden death of a male passenger, who had a seizure along the Ilorin-Ogbomoso expressway on Saturday.

A co-passenger, Abeni Okin, who was in the same bus with the man had raised the alarm after he began to display difficulties in breathing and sought for medical help, but none arrived on time before he unfortunately breathed his last.

“I need help, please. I’m around Ilorin and Ogbomoso expressway, our car broke down along the road. There’s an old man on the bus. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, he has been shaking for 20 minutes,” she said.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) got to the scene of the incident late but the Police were nowhere to be found.

Okin said: “The most heartbreaking thing about this case, is that a nurse was inside the bus and she checked his blood pressure but she was scared to do Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and I wish I could do more but God knows best.

“For Nigerians, we should have redress in finding our core values, which the number one value should be the readiness to help those in need.

“Help came late. I wish we got the ambulance or cab very early. May God forgive the dead and have mercy on his soul.”

Speaking on what Nigerians need to do in such a case of emergency, Bobby Egemba popularly known as Aproko Doctor said: “Get the affected person out of the vehicle first. Remove that seat belt and any tight pieces of clothing around him. Lay him flat, preferably on his left side. Make sure there’s space around him, don’t crowd. Time exactly when this started, it should not be more than 30 minutes.”

Lamenting the lack of quick response, Godwin Ukeje, said: “This incident is a stark reminder of the chronic issues in Nigeria’s healthcare system, which sadly, I’m all too familiar with. I lost my dad in similar fashion.

“Seizures lasting almost three hours, would suggest something severe like status epilepticus, where the brain is in a state of continuous seizure activity. This is life-threatening and needs immediate medical intervention, which he tragically didn’t get.

“The lack of a timely ambulance and police support is not surprising but remains deeply concerning. This scenario illustrates the larger systemic problems plaguing emergency medical services in Nigeria, poor infrastructure, inadequate resources and sometimes, a lack of trained personnel ready to respond.

“In an effective system, emergency services would’ve been on the scene promptly with potentially lifesaving interventions.

This not only underscores the reliability of services in more developed healthcare systems, but also highlights why Nigerians living abroad might feel uneasy about returning, especially if they or their families require dependable medical care.

“Also, the so-called investors would stay away from a country with such a healthcare system. Such healthcare failures reinforce the notion that “health is wealth,” and without a reliable system in place, the very foundation of a society remains shaky. This situation is a clear example of why comprehensive healthcare reform is crucial for Nigeria.”

Ezenwa said: “Nigeria is a wrong place or country to fall sick. How do we educate the majority of Nigerians on health issues and what to do in terms of emergency?

“How do adults/teenagers know and identify someone having an episode of seizures and for 20 minutes, they did nothing but filming?

When contacted, Kwara Police Spokesperson, Toun Ejire-Adeyemi, simply said: “I saw the video on X but there is no official complaint made at our station.

When asked about a police officer in the area, she said: “No police officer was present at the scene.”