Rafiu Kehinde Ambali was undergoing his national youth service in Sokoto State in 2019 when he became ill. His disease culminated in a life-threatening fungi infection, so his friend-turned-guardian Taiwo Abdulkabir Adesina joined those who helped raise public awareness about the case. However, Abdulkabir has now run away with funds meant for the surgery.
As his illness worsened, Ambali became bedridden in 2020, so Abdulkabir, his friend, became his guardian. As his health deteriorated, his fellow corps members tried to help him; they crowd-funded for Ambali’s treatment.
“I served as a youth corps member in Goronyo Local Government Area in Sokoto, and Ambali was one of us. He came with a Batch B of corps members in 2019,” Faniyi Idris, another friend of Ambali’s, told FIJ.
“It was during our service year that doctors diagnosed Ambali with chronic diabetes, and he was subsequently transferred to the facility of Usman Dan Fodiyo Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto. He was responding to treatment and we were hopeful that his illness would be properly managed.”
Idris told FIJ that the COVID-19 pandemic made doctors and nurses leave the hospital for a while, abandoning Ambali and other patients because they feared the spread of the viral infection within the wards.
“Over time, Ambali’s face began to swell,” Idris continued.
“His condition got worse because he had no expert care around at the time. His face got swollen to the extent that it burst. It was at this time that a fungi infection affected his face. He lost his right eye and a chunk of his face to the infection.”
