Encomium
VIVID revelations have begun to emerge as to the events that preceded the death of late veteran journalist and Vice Chairman of The Sun Newspapers, Dimgba Igwe who was killed by a hit and run driver on Saturday, September 6, 2014.
Eye witness accounts disclose that the car that hit him is a Toyota Camry. This fact was made known by Igwe himself shortly after he was knocked down but he couldn’t identify the driver. He spoke to Chima Okeke, the young man, a fellow jogger, who, in the company of Mrs. Jane Chinelo Ezenduka-Chukwu, another jogger, put him in a car and took him to St. Raphael’s Hospital, Okota, where he was first treated before the harrowing journey that eventually ended in his tragic death began.
According to Chukwu, “The ghastly accident happened between 5.45 and 6.00 a.m. The car that knocked him down came from the direction of Okota Roundabout. We were on the left side of the road, close to the median when I just heard kpum, kpum, just two sounds.
“The car knocked him so hard that he fell on the other side of the road, although I wouldn’t know whether he was trying to jump to safety before it happened or it is the car that knocked him down. The hit was so hard that the hubcap of one of the front wheels of the car came off and fell on the road. The driver initially made as if he wanted to stop but later zoomed off when he noticed that some people were beginning to gather on the scene. They were just looking at his leg that had some serious injuries on it. They didn’t know he had a wound and bleeding somewhere.”
So, the journey started. Chima Okeke further revealed that the deceased himself told them to take him to St. Raphael’s Hospital after calling his wife with his (Chima) phone. “He personally asked me if I knew him and I said yes. He asked me where I knew him and I told him. He even said a little prayer for us for taking care of him and we left. The only place he complained of pain to me was the pelvic area, right below his abdomen, that is, apart from the injury on his ankle which he earlier complained about.”
At St. Raphael’s, the doctor after attending to him said the injury he has is such that he should be moved to Isolo General Hospital (IGH) and he gave them a note. On arrival at IGH, after presenting the note from the doctor at St. Raphael’s, a nurse on reading the note of referral said, “No, no, that they don’t have the facilities to handle this here. That we should go to LASUTH.”
Oriaku said, “I asked her, is there no private clinic around here? She said no, that he (Dimgba) may need blood, that if he does, we may not get it in a private hospital. She, therefore, strongly advised that we go to LASUTH and assured that we would get a surgeon there also.
“On getting to LASUTH, he was seriously bleeding and we were all pleading that something urgent be done to help him. They wheeled him in and wrote out drugs to buy. The wife ran to the pharmacy but couldn’t get one. So, she sent her driver to go look for it. Another nurse came out that we should buy two pillows, the driver went to get the pillows too. Then they said they needed blood. We went to buy from their blood bank and they gave us a bill of N9,000. With the receipt the guy we met there gave us, we went and paid and came back. On getting back, the medical personnel we met just told us to wait, and we waited for 10 minutes.
“After attending to him, one of the doctors came out and started asking questions, “When did this happen? What time? When did you get to the first hospital?” He now said, did we come with any other male relative? I said, yes, my husband is here. He said I should go call him. I came out and called my husband. He came with me. He now took Pastor Anyanwu and my husband in. He said, we should go, that’s the wife and I,” this was stated by Mrs. Gloria Oriaku, an executive of McDee Communications Ltd (the business outfit that deals in publishing and belonging to Mike Awoyinfa and Dimgba Igwe, located on Ago Palace Way, Okota, Lagos.
She continued, “We waited and waited till my husband came out. I asked him. He said, ‘Everything is ok, that they are working on him.’ I said, ‘Look at me in the face. Tell me the truth. What is going on?’ He said, ‘Ehn, everything is ok.’ That was when I knew that there is trouble.’”
Oriaku revealed that all through the painful journey, Igwe kept asking how far and where they got to. He was encouraging his wife (Obioma), “I will make it. Don’t worry. I will make it.” Unfortunately, he didn’t make it.
A Service of Songs heralding his last journey will hold at Evangel Pentecostal Church, Chidi Okafor Street, off Canal Avenue, Okota, Lagos on Saturday, October 4, 2014. Funeral service follows at Ohafia Igbere Primary School, in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State on Saturday, October 11, 2014.
His remains will be interred at the deceased’s home in Igbere.
(c) Culled from Saturday Sun, September 27, 2014
