The family of Ifunanya Nwangene, the late singer from Enugu known as Nanyah, has shared the events that led to her death after a snake bite. They claim that delays and negligence from neighbours and healthcare workers contributed to the tragedy.
Nanyah died after being bitten by a large snake in her compound. She was reportedly turned away from two hospitals because they did not have anti-venom, even as her condition worsened.
Her sister-in-law, Blessing Oduche, told BBC Pidgin that there were several avoidable failures, starting from the first response and continuing with delays at the hospital.
“The snake is not a small snake. It is a big snake. After the bite, they were looking for the snake, and Ifunanya was still there,” Blessing said.
Blessing said that the security guards in the compound where the singer lived did not realize how urgent the situation was.
“I do not know if the security guys in our compound did not know that it was an emergency because they did not carry her immediately.
“They suspended attending to her to find the snake. So they took time looking for the snake,” she said.
She added that when help finally arrived, more time was lost because a car would not start, which delayed Nanyah’s trip to the hospital.
According to her, Nanyah eventually got on a motorcycle to Divine Health Clinic. However, the clinic sent her to another hospital after finding out they did not have the treatment she needed.
“She carried the hand, and she was running towards the gate. The distance from her house to the gate is lengthy, but she carried her hands to the gate notwithstanding,” Blessing said.
She said the singer was bitten between 8:30 and 9:00 pm, but did not reach the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) until 10:00 pm, more than 90 minutes later. There, she was pronounced dead.