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One recent afternoon in London, Simon Kolawole encounters Member Feese, survivor of the UN House Bombing who has, remarkably, decided to leverage her adversity to advocate for change in Nigeria
Tragedy
is no comedy, but with Miss Member Feese, you can never tell. Here is
someone who lost her leg in the August 26, 2011 attack on the United
Nations House in Abuja. But a few weeks later after recovering from
coma, with her left leg amputated, she sieved the heap of her birthday
presents and asked: “How come nobody gave me a pair of shoes?” Laughter
engulfed the room.
The
bomb shattered her leg but not her will or sense of humour. She is a
very strong lady. You don’t have to extort a joke or a smile from her.
It comes naturally.
Asked if she had an out-of-body experience in those 30 days when she was unconscious, she jokes: “Not yet.”
“I
was brought up to be strong,” says Member (pronounced mem-bay), whose
name, no wonder, means “I’m happy” in the Tiv language. She’s a happy
lady, forget the circumstances.
The
attack, claimed by Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad (better
known by its street name of Boko Haram), led to the deaths of dozens and
to injuries to scores. Member cannot recall anything. Nothing
whatsoever. Except that she was at the reception of the UN House,
waiting to be called up to use the library of the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) for her Master’s dissertation. That is all.
“All
I know is that I woke up in a hospital sometime in September,” she
reveals. She can’t even remember that her car was at the UN House park,
her phones switched off, her anxious family members and friends unable
to locate her in the aftermath of the bloodbath.
Member
can’t even remember she was admitted at the Intensive Care Unit of the
National Hospital, Abuja, where an aunt located her much later.
So
we need to fill in the gap for her. Actually, after the blast occurred,
the victims were rushed to the National Hospital. The hospital,
theoretically, is the topmost and most modern medical facility owned by
the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Practically, though, there were no
disinfectants, as simple as that, when the victims of the blast were
admitted.
If
there were no disinfectants, then imagine the more difficult
things—like a power cable for the CT Scan machine. There was a machine
quite all right but there was no cable. Member had to be moved to Aso
Clinic for an MRI scan. The National Hospital didn’t have one (or maybe
it was not working; perhaps some rat had bitten off a few centimetres
from the cable, because rats play at the wards through the night).
What’s
more? Oxygen had to be manually pumped; there were no ventilators.
Member could have died. The constant motion of the pumping compressed
her lungs further.
There was no good ambulance on standby.
Unconscious,
with injuries all over her body and a badly damaged leg, Member should
count herself lucky that the UN flew her out of the country for further
medical attention. She ended up in the UK where she was given 7 percent
chance of survival on arrival and where she underwent several surgeries
(“Honestly, I can’t remember how many,” she says).
But
there is something she can remember vividly—that the National Hospital
is not how a hospital should be, not to talk of a national one. So she
and her friends have set up an advocacy group, Team Member, to highlight
management failures in service delivery in Nigeria. The place to start
from—naturally—is the National Hospital.
“We
chose the National Hospital because it affected us closely. We are now
at the stage of collating data on National Hospital from people’s bad
experiences. We want to gather the evidence and go to the head of
National Hospital, present it to him and ask if we could come back in a
month or two to check if progress has been made,” she explains.
Fortunately,
there is a job waiting for her at the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN)—where she did her national service before going for her Master’s
in the UK. After her therapies in the London, she’ll head for Abuja to
take up the job offer in October.
She
can afford a broad smile despite the carnage. Not just because she’s
been fortunate to survive and has enjoyed so much love and care from the
family but also because, after all, her will is unbreakable.
Below
find the inspiring thoughts of this remarkable and resilient young lady
who has opted to move from adversity to advocacy, and without
bitterness:
‘We Founded Team Member to Tackle Poor Service Delivery’
Team
Member is an advocacy group. We are trying to fight for better service
delivery in Nigeria, like what my family and friends experienced at the
National Hospital [when I was admitted after the blast]. We noticed
little management failures, like the equipment not working. They send
staff to buy things like pampers and disinfectants. That is why we set
up the advocacy group. We are starting by focusing on the National
Hospital but we plan to go to the private sector. We chose the National
Hospital because it affected us closely. We officially launched the
group in April during my thanksgiving. We are now at the stage of
collating data on National Hospital from people’s bad experiences. We
want to gather the evidence and go to the head of National Hospital,
present it to him and ask if we could come back in a month or two to
check if progress has been made.
‘I Have No Recollections of What Happened to Me’
I
don’t have any recollections of the explosion at the UN House and my
experience at the National Hospital, except the stories I that have
heard, the stories my family and friends have told me, that is all… They
started the stories as a joke. At 11 o’clock, the hospital shuts down
and little rats start running around. They were operating on somebody
and after the bomb blast, they left the person on the table and started
attending to the UN House bomb blast victims. I was unconscious when I
got there. I can’t remember anything that happened until like end of
September, a month after. I was doing my dissertation. I am doing a
Master’s in Poverty and Development at the University of Sussex so I
went to the UN building to collect data. I had an appointment with
somebody. I was at the reception when the blast occurred. I think I
remembered up till like a week before the blast. I didn’t remember going
into the UN building.
‘No Out-of-body Experience’
People
normally tell us that when they were unconscious, they had an
out-of-body body experience, that they were somewhere and the angels
told them to go back. I’ve not had any of that yet. My brothers keep on
asking me: what were you seeing?
‘I’ve Had Countless Operations’
Fortunately,
most of the operations, I was unconscious and it was only one that I
was conscious of. That was in October. Most times when I woke up, there
would be like 50 people around me, although only two people are allowed
in the ward, but trust Nigerians to always find a way… My family and
friends have constantly been beside me. They move with me to every
hospital so I think the experience has not been as people would think.
The love and friendship around me has been fantastic.
‘Government Must Talk with Boko Haram’
I
think government should try to dialogue with Boko Haram. I don’t think
government has reached out to them to find out what their problem is or
what they want. They should have a dialogue with them first so that they
can find out what their main concern is and what they want from the
government. I think the first thing is dialogue and may be if the
government speaks to them, they would stop: fighting violence with
violence is never the answer; it will only result in more casualties.
‘I’m Not Bitter, No’
No.
I am not bitter and I think people would expect me to be angry with
them but anger is not the solution. I am just grateful to God for
sparing my life. In all this, my philosophy of life has changed and I am
seeing life in a new light now. I try to live everyday as my last day. I
feel as if God has given me a second chance on life. That is why we
started the advocacy group and we are trying not to allow anybody go
through what I went through. We see it as if God has given a second
chance to tell our story and reduce the casualties in Nigeria.
‘
My School Gave Me Extra Time’
Like
I said, I was doing my Master’s Programme in Poverty and Development at
the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. After the
incident, they extended the deadline for my dissertation and gave me an
extra year till September 2012. I’ve already been discharged from the
hospital. The specialists come to the house every week for follow-up,
therapy, neuro-psychology.
‘Treatment is Costing a Fortune’
It
is costing a fortune receiving private medical treatment in the UK.
That is what we are fighting for. When I came here, nobody at the
Nigerian High Commission or government spoke to us. The Nigerian High
Commissioner to the UK does even know we are here. Even people that came
from NEMA (the National Emergency Management Agency) came 36 days after
the incident. We had to pay for the treatment by ourselves. I think the
government has partly reimbursed us. But I’m getting better. I had a
stroke too. My right hand was weak. But it is getting better gradually.
We went to a centre last week, a place for amputees, and the guy said he
has had 150,000 Nigerian patients, all amputees. Another thing we are
pushing: in Nigeria, you cannot find a system or society for amputees.
We were told the number was 150,000 from Nigeria alone, many from car
accidents.
‘I’ve Not Lost My Sense of Humour’
On
my first birthday after I had been amputated as a result of the
injuries I sustained in the blast, I went through the gifts and joked:
how come nobody gave me shoes? People say I am a strong girl. I don’t
know where I got it from. I’m religious. I am a Catholic. I have always
been very religious.
‘Nigerians Must Fight for Change’
I
want to appeal to Nigerians to join our cause and stand up for change
even if they don’t have personal experiences. God forbid, one day you
may have a personal experience. Even the hospitals are not well equipped
for treatment of ailments like malaria and typhoid. We are trying to
appeal to everybody to join our cause and if you have any bad experience
at the National Hospital or any other place, send us a message. We are
trying to get as much proof as we can get to show the Head of the
National Hospital or the Minister of Health that this is what the people
are experiencing. In Nigeria, people say ‘I will manage’ and managing
has not led to anything. It has only got us so far. We want anybody that
has a bad experience to join our cause and speak up because if we don’t
speak up, things will become worse and God forbid, our grandchildren
will not even have a country.
‘I’m into Advocacy to Fight Frustration in the Land’
I
always felt that my friends and I were meant to represent the supposed
fortunate 1% of Nigerians who got good local and international
education. I thought we were meant to be part of a meaningful system by
now - driving growth and development for a rejuvenated Nigeria. However,
my over 50 friends (most of them with 2:1 and 1st class degrees) are
still searching for jobs or are unhappy with the ones they have had to
settle for in Nigeria. We often discuss how our country is one where
there is no voice for the ‘small man’ and no accountability for the ‘big
man’. These frustrations have resulted in a need to carry on the cause
for advocacy using the efficient team of friends and family that fought
for my life when there was no in-built system to rely on.
I
had always taken an interest in development. My MA dissertation
research is on the lack of social protection in Nigeria. Through this
experience, my friends and I will build an even bigger system in order
to extend our help to all Nigerians. Team Member is an issue-based group
that raises issues and identifies solutions to assist the government to
be better. We are not fighting anyone in particular, (we are) merely
demanding a better Nigeria for us to live in. Having witnessed
first-hand that we can solve problems with new-age ideas that are not
even in circulation within our parents’ generation, we wish to use these
ideas to transform Nigeria. We will raise whatever issue is at the
heart of the common Nigerian, and together, work towards better services
especially from our leaders in the National Assembly and even from
private operators such as the airlines, banks, media, etc. The National
Hospital in Abuja is our first focus, beginning with easy-to-measure
indicators.
My
frustration is that I cannot get specialized care at home. I have to go
to the UK regularly for check-up. There is no specialised service in
Nigeria. I am a Nigerian citizen but the people in the UK treat me like I
am a citizen of the UK. I have been discharged and all my therapists
come to my flat to treat me. A physiotherapist and an occupational
therapist visit me every week. Why can’t we have this back home?
Box
The Natural Advocate
MEMBER HEMBADOON FEESE
BORN October 3, 1987
SCHOOLED
at Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja, Nigeria (1997-2003); Queen Anne’s
School, Caversham, Reading, UK (2003-2005); University of Bath, Bath,
United Kingdom (BSc Economics and International Development, 2005-2009);
Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK (MA Poverty
and Development, 2010-12)
WON an academic scholarship of £2000 during her 1st year at the University of Bath.
SHE
was a student representative for the Economics and International
Development Course and an Academic Executive at the University of Bath.
Fought for changes in degree structures and assessment methods.
SHE
was Secretary of the Afro-Caribbean Society for 2006/2007 academic
year; liaised with the students union and organised social events for
the members of the society.
SHE
worked with a group of friends on ensuring the attainment of the
Millennium Development Goal 6 to help combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases
by building a health centre in a local village outside Abuja, Nigeria.
IN 2008, she participated in Cancer Research’s Race for Life in June 2008; raised £450 for cancer research.
IN 2002, she was a volunteer at Motherless Babies Home, Abuja, Nigeria, caring for orphans and vulnerable children.
***
Simon Kolawole is the CEO of www.thecable.ng
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