Conflicting Reports Trail The Death of Unizik Student.

What could be best described as a kerfuffle has trailed the shocking death of Francis Chinedu Mmadubuobi, a final year student of Applied Microbiology and Brewing Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, who was said to had slumped in the school premises while playing basketball.

The deceased, who was said to would had written just one examination to be called a graduate, was said to had met his unprepared demise on Saturday 21st July 2018.

In a report that follows; on hearing the rueful circumstances surrounding the death of this colleague, the entire students of the university decided to stage a school-wide protest in registration of their well-obvious displeasure and dissatisfaction towards the unwarranted flippancy of the school management in dealing with some issues of life and death.

The protest which took place on Monday saw the entire students uniformly dressed on their black, as they mourned, shed tears and march about the entire school environment with placards, chanting sorrowful songs and also bemoaning the school management and their lackadaisical attitude towards the affairs of the students. Among their chants were:

"what happened to Francis.... No Oxygen....."
".....what happened to Francis....No doctor....."
"Who killed Francis.....Unizik Medical...."
"Who killed Francis....Unizik Medical"
In an interview about the meaning of the chants and what actually happened to Francis, one of the protesters, who simply identified himself as Comrade Ikenna said experience of their colleague's death was one of the most hideous he had ever seen in his life, owing to the fact that it happened as a result of the levity and carelessness of the school management in dealing with certain things.

While narrating what actually happened, Comrade Ikenna, who said he was a prime witness of the whole scenario said that as Francis surprisingly slumped in the basketball pitch, he and his colleagues immediately rushed him to medical unit of the school, popularly known as Unizik Medical, where every student of the school is qualified to access free medical care, with his T-ship number.

But on getting there, as he further noted, it was observed that no single doctor was on ground, and the nurses available were too lazy and confused to do anything, only to ask them to start praying for the young man to remain alive, even as they lazied around to call a doctor; and they had no option buf to start praying, while some medical students among them were trying their best in attempting to give him mouth to mouth respiration, as they tarried for the doctor, who seemed to be coming from heaven another farther planet.

"As we noticed that nothing was working out, and that our colleague was fast fading off, Ikenna continued

"we decided to rush him to Anambra State University Teaching Hospital, Amaku, since the doctor was not forthcoming; but luckily for us, a female doctor flashed in, and we all rested hope that our problem was solved.

"However, in her attempt to embark on treatment after settling in, the doctor discovered that there was no single Oxygen and BP Apparatus in the hospital, and they were never aware of it

"In a bid to salvage the situation, having seen the things were getting worse, we then resorted to our initial plan of rushing him to Amaku, but on our way going, Francis gave up, right inside the ambulance, as his legs became damm cold, though we never believed what we assumed, until we got to Amaku, and the doctor told us it was already late" Ikenna concluded, as he whipped his tears.

However, in his own word, the university's Director of Information and Public Relations Officer, Dr. Emmanuel Ojukwu, who issued a statement on behalf of the school management simply claimed that Francis had already died before he was rushed to the school Medical, as he did not have any pulse, blood pressure nor heart rate when he was brought there.

But students quickly discard this as a pure mendacity flanked by the school to bamboozle them and to seal the truth, insisting that the school management should be seriously blamed for the whole thing, even as they recounted that Francis death was making it the second time as student died in such condition in that same medical unit.

They further challenged the school with some questions of why the nurses told them to pray for the boy to remain alive while they were waiting for doctor to arrive; why they were looking for Oxygen and BP Apparatus; and why they even supported taking the boy to Amaku Teaching Hospital (instead of mortuary), since they claimed that he was already dead before they brought him there.

Sequel to these conflicting reports and disagreement, Dr. Ojukwu further noted that the school management has set up a four-man investigation panel to further unravel the true position and circumstances of the death of Francis.

This panel, the students have also faulted as dubious and insignificant, owing to the following facts: no date was set for them to report their findings; they lack the accurate data and technicalities to carry out such investigation (as they could not afford ordinary oxygen and BP Apparatus); and the results/findings of the panel would be of no use as Francis has already died, and a mass will be held for him this coming Friday at Garuba Square, inside school.

They therefore called on the school management to chanel their efforts in bringing solution to the problem, preventing its future occurrence and upgrading their medical unit, medical personnel and facilities, instead of making unnecessary claim of innocence and wasting another lump of resources on the so-called investigation panel, which is indeed inconsequential.