10th
July, 2024
PRESS
RELEASE:
LASUTH ‘DISCHARGES’ GIRL-CHILD AMPUTEE, MURIC FUMES
Naeemat
Lasisi, the 13 years old victim of the collapsed mosque, was discharged by the Lagos
State University Teaching Hospital yesterday, Tuesday, 9th July,
2024. The discharge was against the wish of the parents. An Islamic human
rights organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has described the action
as an eviction. The group said the manner of the discharge was cruel, callous
and inconsiderate.
MURIC’s
position was made known in a statement released on Wednesday, 10th
July, 2024. The statement was signed by the group’s Founder and Executive
Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
He
said:
“Naeemat
Lasisi, the 13 years old victim of the mosque which collapsed in Mushin, Lagos
State, was discharged by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital
yesterday, Tuesday, 9th July, 2024, against the wish of her parents.
“This
is not a ‘discharge’. It is an ejection. The poor girl was forcefully ‘discharged’
because her parents refused to play ball when the hospital authorities tried to
manipulate a ‘press interview’ for reasons best known to them. The intention
became clear when the girl was reminded at the start of the interview that she
should respond to questions ‘as earlier instructed'. The threat to ‘discharge’
the girl began immediately after the foiled interview. The manner of this ‘discharge’
is cruel, callous and inconsiderate.
“LASUTH
management has been furious since it became obvious that the planned interview
had failed. But they have not told Nigerians the reason for organizing a press
interview. Why would a government hospital arrange a press interview for a
patient, particularly an underaged girl? It is child abuse.
“Why
also would the hospital management want to keep the contents of the interview
secret to the extent that the Media Assistant to MURIC’s Executive Director who
attended the interview, after being invited by the parents, was bundled out of
the place, manhandled, detained for more than two hours and had his phone and MURIC
identity card seized? What is responsible for such highhandedness? And why
would the interview be so crucial that the girl-child patient would be kicked
out of the hospital immediately afterwards.
“Our guess
is that the purpose of the ‘arrangee’ interview was to counter revelations made
by MURIC in its press statements. LASUTH was keen on changing the narrative and
giving the false impression that our claims were incorrect.
“Although
LASUTH claimed in its rejoinder that the decision to ‘discharge’ the girl was
based on the request of ‘the headship of her school’, this is profoundly
baseless, an afterthought and an escapist outlet. The girl started and concluded
her WASC examinations inside the hospital and she has no more papers to take.
“How
can the hospital management take the words of the headship of the girl’s school
against that of her parents? This is a case of using a civil servant who is
still in service as a cover. The parents vehemently opposed an early discharge
particularly because the girl is also a sickle celler.
“The
hospital management tried to play on public sentiment by claiming that ‘…all
the goodwill, compassion and responsiveness of Mr. Governor, the Honourable
Commissioner for Health and LASUTH management are being repaid in this mean
manner…’
“LASUTH
is simply playing to the gallery. The patient, Naeemat Lasisi and her parents
are victims of government’s negligence. They would not have been in the
hospital if the government's caterpillar had not pulled down the mosque at a
time Muslims filled the mosque for prayer. Government must therefore take
responsibility and a responsible government will not need to be told before
owning up.
“All
those who witnessed the unfortunate incident blamed government’s excavator for
the collapse. This includes the Honorary Secretary, Nigerian Institute of
Building (NIOB), Lagos chapter, Gbaja-Biamila Mubarak, who visited the site and
attributed the collapse of the mosque to ‘human error and wrong approach’ to
road and drainage construction in the area. He expressed concern over the deployment of a mechanised
approach to the construction, saying if the drainage had been executed
manually, the mosque would not have been threatened. (https://www.premiumtimesng.com/health/health-news/711058-building-collapse-group-seeks-lagos-governors-intervention-for-13-year-old-victim.html).
“Mr.
Oluwafemi Oke-Osanyintolu, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Emergency Management
Agency (LASEMA) said, 'Upon arrival at the scene at about 1.40 pm, a storey
building at the site was found to have collapsed. Preliminary investigation
carried out upon arrival at the scene revealed that an excavator clearing the
road recklessly hit a mosque, which resulted in the collapse as prayer was
about to collapse.' (https://guardian.ng/one-dies-others-injured-in-mushin-mosque-collapse/,
The Guardian, May 27, 2024.
“The
above assessment of a building expert and the testimonies, including that of
the head of a Lagos government agency, are very vital to understanding the
issue at stake and to put the blame where it should be. It is just too glaring.
The expert said ‘human error’ and ‘wrong approach’ are to blame for the
accident. But who is the ‘human’ who committed the error here?
“The word
‘human’ here can only mean Lagos State Government who directed the excavator to
work on the road close to the mosque. Even the words ‘wrong approach’ can only
mean LASG’s wrong approach or that of its engineers. LASG is vicariously
responsible for what happened to the mosque and to the little girl. LASG must
take responsibility and LASUTH is merely engaging in futile braggadocio that
will collapse even in a customary court, the lowest in the land, like a pack of
cards. What is also clear is that LASUTH is holding fort for LASG in this
particular matter.
“It
is therefore paradoxical, unfair and unjust for LASUTH management to continue
blaming the parents of Naeemat Lasisi whose legs were amputated as a result of
the accident caused by government's caterpillar for being ‘mean’ and ungrateful.
It is absolutely wrong for them to accuse the girl's parents of ingratitude
when in actual fact they are victims of government’s ineptitude and
insensitivity. LASUTH and, by inference, LASG, are playing the victim’s card
the conscienceless way.
“Government
officials and, indeed, LASUTH management should stop seeing the citizens as recipients
of their favour. We are taxpayers. Our hard-earned money built the government’s
facilities including LASUTH. That statement from LASUTH sounded like its
officials are claiming ownership of the place. They should come down from their
high horse and exhibit the spirit of service to the public.
“Nigerians
are not slaves of any government, talk less of that of a hospital. They voted
for those in power and there can be no government without the people. This is
the problem with some African governments and leaders. They fail to understand
the concept of the social contract. It has manifested in the tone of the statement
made by LASUTH.
"LASUTH
management expects the parents to cringe, shiver and tremble in front of those
who caused such humongous calamity in the life of their daughter. The last time
we checked, LASUTH was still an arm of the Lagos State Government. It is an
integral part of government.
"Why, then, should the staff of LASUTH pour clangorous
diatribes on Naeemat's
parents? Those who are responsible for calamity are now
bullying the victim of the tragedy. It is a good reminder of conscienceless
power subjugating powerless conscience.
"Who
pulled down the mosque in the first place? Who caused Naeemat's legs to be
amputated? Naeemat did not have a car accident. She was not knocked down by a
motorcyclist. A government excavator pulled down the mosque on her. For this, government
must be held responsible.
"We
therefore want issues put in their right perspective. We will not allow LASUTH
management to rewrite history its own way in order to exonerate the guilty
party while an innocent girl-child and her parents are taken to the
gallows.
"As
things stand, it appears that only the press, the Fourth Estate of the realm,
can make Lagos State Government own up because it has refused to comment on the
issue so far. We therefore call on the only powerful conscience remaining in
the land to speak to conscienceless power in the language it understands. We
appeal to the press to examine the issue objectively and interrogate the role
of the government of Lagos State in the Naeemat affair.
"LASUTH
has turned the girl-child victim to a culprit fit for bashing on social and
mainstream media. It has done this by insisting that the hospital was only
doing the amputee girl-child a favour by treating her pro bono whereas
the truth of the matter is that Lagos Government which LASUTH is part of was
responsible for bringing down the mosque where the girl-child and others were
praying.
"In
saner climes, a government whose equipment caused such havoc will apologize to
the victims, take responsibility for their treatment, offer scholarship to the
young victims and pay compensation to them. But LASG, in connivance with an
arrogant LASUTH management, seeks to unjustly turn the narrative by turning the
victims into culprits. Who did this to Nigeria? Why has our political
culture and leadership style gone to the dogs? Where is our conscience? When
did we discard our humanity?
“MURIC
demands an apology from LASUTH, not for MURIC itself but for this innocent
child, Naeemah and her parents, particularly for subjecting the trio to immense
psychological trauma. We also demand that LASG must rebuild the mosque
destroyed by its excavator. No attempt should be made to offer money to the
mosque. What the Muslims want is a rebuilt mosque.
“The girl
cried throughout Monday and Tuesday after realizing that she was going to be ‘discharged’
against the wish of her parents. It was also a pathetic scene yesterday as the
poor parents struggled to get a vehicle that would convey her home.”
#LASUTH
#ApologiseToGirlChildAmputee
#BringBackOurMosque
Professor
Ishaq Akintola,
Founder/Executive
Director,
Muslim
Rights Concern (MURIC).
No comments:
Post a Comment