BUSINESS DAY
Patience Uzor’s grief was overwhelming as she recounted her son Emmanuel’s tragic demise. “The last thing he ate was Abacha. He was healthy, strong, and sound. Abacha has taken my only son from me,” she lamented. Emmanuel was declared dead on arrival at a hospital near Ajao Estate, Lagos, just hours after consuming the local delicacy.
Uzor shared her heartbreaking story with BusinessDay Weekender, revealing how Emmanuel and two of his friends had bought abacha from a vendor near Cele Bus Stop. Shortly after eating, all three began suffering from severe stomach discomfort.
“My son had called me on the phone to tell me he was having a stomach upset. The first question I asked him was what he ate, and he told me the last thing he ate was abacha, which he bought from some woman on his way from work. I told him to get some medications and watch if it subsides. This was in the evening around 7pm.
“Around 9pm, when I did not hear from him, I called him again (about three times) but he did not take my calls. I became worried. My son stays alone, so there was no way I could reach anyone around him to speak to him. So I called his best friend who lives on the street before his. His friend picked and told me he was with Emmanuel at a hospital around Ajao Estate.
“Hearing this, I became afraid. Surprisingly, his friend told me he (my son’s friend) and his cousin were also admitted at the same hospital. I asked him what the problem was with him and his cousin, and he said he ate the same abacha my son ate, and suspected that was the reason for the stomach upset. He told me he had driven to my son’s place to take him along to the hospital where the three of them were receiving treatment,” Uzor had explained.
She said about three hours later, her son called her and sounded very well, assuring her that he had fully recovered and would be going back home first thing in the morning, since it was already too late to go home that day.
Uzor said the next day her son called her to tell her he was home and had fully recovered and even sent her (Uzor) some money for her upkeep.
She said she has enquired from her son about his friend and his friend’s cousin who were also admitted in the same hospital and he said his friend and his cousin were still at the hospital because the doctor had advised them against going home yet, as he (the doctor) needed to observe them for some time.
Anxious, Uzor said she quickly enquired from her son if the doctor had approved of him leaving the hospital and he reluctantly responded by saying ‘Not really’.
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