News that two of country’s refineries have resumed production, with the third scheduled to resume production in the next few days, might have raised hopes of a speedy resolution of the fuel crisis, but one major issue of concern is how much is the refineries constant shut down, repairs and maintenance costing the nation and when would the refineries be fixed once and for all.

It was an uncommon meeting of minds last Wednesday when Nigeria’s top political, business, diplomatic, religious, traditional and academic leaders converged at the International Conference Centre, Abuja to ponder on the rarely discussed issue of love for Nigeria. The event was the presentation of the book, “Who will love my country: Ideas for building the Nigeria of our dream”, written by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

I apologise to my teeming readers for this three-week absence. The reason is encapsulated in my choice of this title which has also become my reflection on the 53rd anniversary of Nigeria’s independence which we celebrate tomorrow. It also happens that tomorrow’s ‘celebration’ will be the last we shall encounter before the bigger one of next January which will mark a century of the attainment of Nigeria as a single ‘geographic expression’, as one of our founding fathers once described it.

Death never crossed my mind. The worst I expected was his long stay in the hospital. He had been referred to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, from a private hospital in Amuwo Odofin in Lagos. That was the beginning of another ordeal that could have been avoided if our healthcare was fairly good. Yes, admission into LUTH for the treatment of any ailment is usually an ordeal not only for the patient but also for the family going by the account of many Nigerians including this reporter.

ARE public hospitals houses of health or homes of death? This is the pertinent question on the lips of patients seeking healthcare services in government health institutions in Lagos and environs in recent times. To say that government health institutions are overwhelmed and that their facilities are overstretched would be an understatement.