Tunde Odesola

Does anyone know why the chicken has no teeth? Honestly, I don’t. But I know its humble beginnings, dating back in time. That was when the chicken tilled the earth with its beak and four-toe pronged legs, fending for its daily bread. That was the time when the chicken was left to roam in the day and roost at night. I’m talking about when owners would comb the dark with lamps, looking for their chickens at night, scooping them into coops, and releasing them in the morning, cage-free. The ‘freedom-and-bondage’ breeding method was the practice in this land and beyond.

The breeding method did not die. It gave birth to a proverb: “Ibi gbogbo lati n ko adiye ale, ti ile wa lo peleke.”

“Ibi gbogbo lati n ko adiye ale, ti ile wa lo peleke” is an African proverb which means: “Chickens are gathered and put in cages at night everywhere, but our house is an exception.”

Make I confess, biko. I only knew the first part of the proverb, “Ibi gbogbo lati n ko adiye ale,” I never knew it had a conclusion, “Ti ile wa lo peleke,” until I spoke with two Yoruba bards and cultural historians, Ifayemi Elebuibon and Sulaimon Ayilara – popularly known as Ajobiewe.

Today, however, chicken life has undergone a change. Today, well-ventilated iron buildings are constructed for chickens, fitted with light, water, food and maximum security. Most chickens no longer roam about like they used to. Today, some chickens live better than those who eat them, though their final destination is defined before they are hatched. Today, poultry is prized and pampered, though no one envies the fate of the fowl.

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR:[OPINION] Tinubu: Ade Ori Okin Befits KWAM 1, Not Awujale Crown

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie belongs to the endangered caste of word jewellers, forging meaning and hope into everyday narratives afflicting our malleable world. Chimamanda needs no introduction to the throng of the well-informed. She’s world famous. But, Nigeria, many a time, disrespects fame, industry and accolade.

Her name, Chimamanda, means “My God will not fail me”. Chimamanda is not the traditional Igbo name, answering to an ancestral call. Chimamanda is rooted in modern Igbo identity influenced by Christian belief. It is equivalent to Yoruba names such as Iyinoluwa, Erioluwa, Moyinoluwa, Ewaoluwa, etc.

Chimamanda had a set of twin boys aged 21 months old. One of them was named Nkanu. Though Nkanu was a toddler, his name was a tower. Unlike Chimamanda, Nkanu is a traditional Igbo name. It means a pillar of resilience, a fighter, a strong will and grit. On January 7, 2026, Chimamanda lost Nkanu to alleged criminal medical negligence at Euracare, a high-brow private hospital in Lagos. It was not that God failed Chimamanda – God never fails, neither did Nkanu lose his strong will; it was Nigeria’s healthcare system that shattered the dreams of father, mother and child, eclipsing Nkanu’s sun before it rose.

The agony of a mother! The death of a child is an unhealable wound. I do not know how to console Chimamanda. Words spoken, written or sung cannot repair the damage. Maybe repentance from the nasty path of medical negligence may offer some consolation to the Chimamanda Adichie family and every other family afflicted by the scourge of medical abuse and negligence in health facilities across Nigeria.

Adichie, in a statement, said Nkanu was taken to Euracare Hospital for an MRI scan and the insertion of a central line, during which he was sedated but was not properly monitored after being administered propofol, leading to complications, including loss of responsiveness, seizures, and cardiac arrest.
In a story published by The PUNCH on January 10, 2026, the author stated that Nkanu would be alive today if not for an incident at Euracare Hospital on January 6, where he was taken for medical procedures. Adichie explained that her family had been in Lagos for Christmas when her son developed what they initially believed was a cold, which later turned into a very serious infection.

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR:OPINION: Aláàfin Ọ̀yọ́ Cuddling A Dead Empire (1)

“We were in Lagos for Christmas. Nkanu had what we first thought was just a cold, but soon turned into a very serious infection, and he was admitted to Atlantis Hospital. He was to travel to the US the next day, January 7, accompanied by travelling doctors. A team at Johns Hopkins was waiting to receive him in Baltimore. The Hopkins team had asked for a lumbar puncture test and an MRI.”

According to her, Atlantis Hospital referred them to Euracare Hospital, said to be the best place to have the procedures done, adding that the Nigerian team had also decided to put in a ‘central line’ (used to administer IV medications) in preparation for Nkanu’s flight.

Recounting her nightmare, Adichie continued, “The morning of the 6th, we left Atlantis Hospital for Euracare, Nkanu carried in his father’s arms. We were told he would need to be sedated to prevent him from moving during the MRI and the ‘central line’ procedure. I was waiting just outside the theatre. I saw people, including Dr M, rushing into the theatre and immediately knew something had happened.”

The author of ‘Purple Hibiscus’ and ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ said she was later told Nkanu had been administered an excessive dose of propofol by the anesthesiologist.

She wrote, “A short time later, Dr M came out and told me Nkanu had been given too much propofol by the anesthesiologist, had become unresponsive and was quickly resuscitated. But suddenly, Nkanu was on a ventilator; he was intubated and placed in the ICU. The next thing I heard was that he had seizures. Cardiac arrest. All these had never happened before. Some hours later, Nkanu was gone.”

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR:[OPINION] Osimhen: The Arrogance Of A Ghetto Hero

Back to my proverb, “Ibi gbogbo lati n ko adiye ale, ti ile wa lo peleke.” I’ll repeat its meaning: “Chickens are gathered and put in cages at night everywhere, but our house is an exception.” Johns Hopkins Medicine is a world-renowned integrated academic medical system in Baltimore, Maryland, affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and combines a vast network of research, patient care facilities, and medical education towards improving health globally.

In a 2023 study titled “Report Highlights Public Health Impact of Serious Harms From Diagnostic Error in U.S,” Johns Hopkins Medicine says diagnostic errors account for a national estimate of 371,000 deaths and 424,000 permanent disabilities yearly.

A UK government review conducted by the Department of Health and Social Care in 2022 discovered that there were 125,000 deaths in England and Wales. This broad category, however, includes preventable health conditions as well as unsafe care, all of which cannot be considered medical negligence.

The US and UK examples not only portray the fallibility of human striving for excellent healthcare delivery, but they also uphold documentation and accountability as tools of improvement and growth. If Nigeria were to account correctly for the number of people lost to medical negligence, abuse and unsafe care, the WHO would relocate to Abuja.

In the Nigerian healthcare system, ‘Ori yeye ni Imogun, ti aise lo po’ — ‘Of the countless heads littering Imogun, the Place of Skull, many belong to the innocent’. Many patients who die in Nigerian hospitals are not killed by death. They were killed by hangmen and undertakers parading as healthcare professionals. For every death in the advanced world, a post-mortem is mandatory. It is not so in Nigeria. Chickens are gathered and put in cages at night everywhere, but our house is an exception – ‘Ibi gbogbo lati n ko adiye ale, ti ile wa lo peleke’.

• To be continued.

Email: tundeodes2003@yahoo.com

Facebook: @Tunde Odesola

X: @Tunde_Odesola

…