Kalu, Oyegun, Attah, others commiserate with Nwobodo

Former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu and seven other former state chief executives, yesterday, commiserated with former governor of old Anambra State, Chief Jim Nwobodo, over the death of his son, Dr. Ifeanyichukwu.

The other former governors were Obong Victor Attah, Mohammed Goni, John Odigie-Oyegun, who is current national chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju, Alhaji Abubakar Audu, Lucky Igbinedion, and Chief Achike Udenwa of Akwa Ibom, Borno, Edo, Anambra, Kogi, Edo and Imo states respectively.
The former governors, who paid a condolence visit to Chief Nwobodo at his Abuja residence, described the demise as painful and regrettable. The former governors however added that only God could comfort him at this trying time.
The former governors, who were led by Obong Attah, took turns to eulogise ‎the late Ifeanyichukwu.
Obong Attah‎ said: “Whatever blows life offers us, is with total submission to the will of God. It is only God that understands. We are here as former governors to commiserate with you. Please, the only thing we can do is to pray to God to give you the fortitude to bear the loss. We also pray He grants his soul eternal rest.”
On his part, former governor of Anambra State, Mbaninuju said: “It is a sad moment. But as Christians, we must accept it. God told us not to sorrow like people without hope. We are gathered here because of the hope we have in Christ. I have known Jim for a long time. He made his mark as governor of Anambra State.‎”
APC chairman, Oyegun led the Christian prayers. He prayed to God to grant the soul of the departed eternal peace. “Only God can fill the gap. May God fill the gap and console this grieving family in this trying moment. May you not forget them God and protect them,” Oyegun prayed.
‎Leading the Muslim prayer, Audu prayed to Allah to comfort the family. “We cannot question Allah. No matter how wise we are; we do not know when we will die. Only God has the final say. May God grant them the fortitude to bear the tragic loss,” Audu prayed.
Responding, Nwobodo thanked the visiting former governors. ‎He recalled how he abandoned the national conference and travelled abroad to take care of his sick son.
“During the national conference, I spent a very brief time and travelled abroad because of my son.‎ As at when we got there, we were told that the case was very bad. We took him to the best cancer hospital in the world.
“They did something marvellous in that‎ hospital. There were days he could not remember things. They really tried. The doctors said what he saw was a miracle. He said when he came all the organs were bad. After two months of treatment, the doctor said everything was clear.
“As a young man, he wanted to come back home. He came back home against the doctor’s advice. We bought drugs that would have lasted till December. This young man came back well. He had pains on his legs and he started asking for the best oncologist in Enugu.
“The doctor they recommended said he was busy. At different times that we called him, he was never around. On this day, when he eventually appeared, the doctor said we should come at 10am. He again shifted the time to 5pm.
“I called them at about 5pm and they said they were with the doctor. Suddenly, my son’s wife called me and said he was unconscious. The doctor took him to his private clinic and gave him two injections. Twenty minutes later, he became unconscious. In fact, that doctor killed my son. It took him just 30 minutes to do that job.”
I think as a body, we should look at issues like this.
“I will report this doctor to the medical council. He did this to a fellow doctor. It is painful. Cancer does not kill that way. People have cancer and live with it for 13 years. Now, we have a problem of dealing with the wife and children. His future has been terminated,” he recounted.