How Two Nigerians Students Died in Donetsk, Ukraine, and the Story was Twisted

By Comrade Ahmed Omeiza Lukman

The entire Nigerian student community in Donetsk, Ukraine, has been in state of mourning since last week due to the sudden death of two of us.

While we mourn our dead, it has however been painful to watch the Ukrainian media portray a totally untrue account of what actually happened to the two Nigerians who died. So as a witness to what happened, I have decided to let the world know what happened, just for the records. Ukrainian media reports have generally say they died because they could not afford medical care. This is not true.

My responsibility to myself, my neighbors, my family and the human family is to try to tell the truth, I'd have failed my own personal ideology if I keep quite. Laolu Oresanya Teresa was a 3rd year Electrical Engineering student of Donetsk National Technical University. She was admitted to the hospital on the 8th of December 2013 and was diagnosed by the doctors of having Acute Anemia. Immediately after the diagnosis, money was paid to the hospital for any further treatment that might be required. Funny enough, the doctors never commence any serious treatment till on the 12th of December 2013, saying she was under some medication and they were monitoring her improvement.

The next day, December 13th,came news that her situation was critical and she has been moved to the intensive care unit, where she later passed on at around 7:20PM that same day. So the issue of not having money as painted in the Ukrainian media is not true. What is even more annoying and embarrassing is that the result of the diagnosis and that of the autopsy were opposite. Why the autopsy results shows she dies of Sepsis, the doctors diagnosis shows she dies of Acute Anemia.

As for the second deceased, Obede Ogbu, he was a postgraduate Electrical Engineering student of Donetsk National Technical University. He died on the 18th of December 2013; his own case was a total case of neglect by the doctors. According to the doctors on duty, he was suffering from cardiac arrest, and rather than giving him the urgent attention needed, they left us alone with him. Immediately we tried to enquire why no attention was given to him, the doctors simply responded by saying we should give them five minute to smoke cigarette.

When the situation became critical and a nurse rushed to call the doctors, it was too late for Obede Ogbu. The question many of us have continued to ask since then is whether the Ukrainian doctors would have left their own citizens in critical condition to smoke for five minutes. Would they have treated fellow European or Russian citizens thesame way? This was the highest level of unprofessionalism I have ever seen in my whole life.

There is no need for the Ukrainian media to twist the story, because neither our embassy in Kiev nor the federal government even cares if we all perish in the hospital. The entire Nigerian students in Donetsk must be commended for having the courage to come out in large numbers to protest the uncaring attitude of Ukrainian doctors to black. Though we know nothing would be done to remedy the situation, at least, the truth deserves to be told.