•Help!, father, a retired teacher, cries

By Chris Onuoha

Little Janet Olowokiti was knocked down by a hit-and-run driver opposite Igando-Alimosho General Hospital, Lagos State on December 2, 2016 when she was crossing from the hospital gate to the other side of LASU – Isheri Road.

Janet, who was just six years old at the time of incident in 2016, had gone to the hospital in the company of her mother to see a relative who had been delivered of a baby. On her way out, she was knocked down by a fast moving vehicle that did not stop, after the driver noticed he had hit someone. Bystanders who witnessed the incident immediately rushed her to the General Hospital where she was treated and, thereafter, because of the severity of her case, she was referred to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

*Janet before accident

Three months after, at LUTH’s intensive care unit, ICU, the family could not afford the huge medical bill they got.

According to the medical report from LUTH, she was admitted at the hospital with a deformed left thigh that has femoral shaft fracture, facial abrasions and a left supraorbital swelling.

The report also indicated brain damage with multiple intracranial haemorrhages. After the ICU treatment, she was asked to go home in a disabled and vegetative state following a strike action by a segment of the hospital staff.

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The helpless father of the girl, Mr Ephraim Olowokiti, narrated: “This incident happened in December 2016 when my little daughter was just six years old. Having accompanied her mother to see a relative at the hospital, she was knocked down by a hit-and-run driver as she was crossing the road. A commercial bus dropping off a passenger in front of the hospital gate had blocked her from seeing the oncoming vehicle. While trying to cross the road, the speeding vehicle that did not observe the slowdown sign knocked her down and sped off. That is how her gory health story started.

*Gravely ill victim

“While at LUTH ICU, there was a glimmer of hope as doctors battled to save her life until the hospital workers went on strike. This affected us badly as we had to transfer her to a private hospital in Surulere, Lagos to continue to manage her deteriorating situation. She has been bedridden for the past two years. Her stay at the private hospital has accumulated a huge amount of money, over N4 million, but part of the money has been paid through the help of family members and ‘Good Samaritans’.

“As the hospital bill has continued to increase, the family has suffered severe hardship in raising the money. I am a retired primary school teacher who served in Lagos State Ministry of Education and retired in 2016. I have not been paid gratuity and pension since I retired two years ago. All efforts to get help or collect my gratuity have not materialized despite submitting all documents to the appropriate quarters.

“Right now, I am suffering from partial blindness arising from glaucoma which has deteriorated as a result of the family situation. My other children have stopped going to school while our only means of livelihood comes from a sachet water business that my wife does as she has closed her petty trade shop. She hawks the sachet water on the road.

“I am appealing to the good people of Nigeria to come to my aid. Having exhausted every avenue to raise funds, I am still indebted to the tune of over N2 million in medical bills. The private hospital treating my daughter has agreed to an undertaking whereby a sum of N50, 000 must be paid every month which I cannot afford.

“I am equally appealing to Lagos State government to come to my aid”.

Editor’s note: The father of the little girl can be reached on phone number 08174331581 while those wishing to help financially can do so through account details: First Bank; account name: Ephraim Olowokiti; account number: 3062001176