Lasisi Elenu Condemns Nigeria’s Healthcare System, Recalls Mother’s Death

Popular Nigerian comedian and content creator Nosa Afolabi, popularly known as Lasisi Elenu, has criticised the country’s healthcare system, describing it as shameful and utterly disturbing.

In a lengthy video shared on his Instagram page on Monday, the comedian expressed frustration over the persistent refusal of federal hospitals to admit patients due to a lack of bed space.

Elenu, who said he had recorded the video several times in the past five or six months but could not publish it because he became emotional, appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and other state governors to urgently address the poor state of healthcare delivery in the country.

He said, “I think it is highly disturbing, highly concerning, that the healthcare system in Nigeria is, by several miles, in utter disgust, and nothing has been done about it. I don’t know what else needs to happen for there to be a total shift and turnaround in the healthcare and medical system in Nigeria, but enough is enough. It is shameful. It is sad. It is utterly disturbing that Nigeria, in 2026, has one of, if not the most terrible, healthcare systems.”

Using Lagos as a case study, Elenu questioned why patients requiring urgent medical attention would be turned away from Federal Government hospitals because of a lack of bed space.

“I cannot understand why, in 2026, in a country called Nigeria, in Lagos State, let me use Lagos as a case study because I live in Lagos, so I’ll speak first-hand about Lagos, which is supposed to be a metropolitan city, I cannot understand why someone who needs urgent medical attention will go to a Federal hospital and that person will be refused treatment on the premise of no bed space.”

He further claimed that Nigerians sometimes lose their lives over what he described as basic medical needs, including oxygen, blood, injections, medicine and bed spaces. “If you knew how many people lost their lives on a daily basis in Nigerian hospitals because of the littlest things, because of the smallest things, something as little as oxygen, something as little as blood, something as little as injections, something as little as medicine, something as little as bed space,” he stressed.

Elenu also revisited the circumstances surrounding the death of his mother in 2022, saying his family struggled to secure a bed for her in a Federal Government hospital. He said his mother was moved from one Federal hospital to another, with the family allegedly receiving the same response at different facilities.

“I shared with you guys how my mother lost her life in this country in 2022. I shared with you how she was moved from one Federal hospital to another. They all said the same thing. It was like a script: no bed space, no bed space, no bed space,” he said.

According to the comedian, his family had to rely on personal connections in an attempt to secure a bed for his mother. “When my mother was taken to Federal Medical Centre in Lagos, ah, God. Before she got there, if you know the number of calls we had to make. My brother had to call my other brother, who is a doctor, to call a friend who is a doctor, who is working at that hospital, to help look for a bed space. You have to have connections. You have to know somebody that knows somebody that knows somebody so you can get treatment. Not treatment, so you can get a bed space in a Federal Government hospital in Nigeria.”

The comedian also recounted the alleged experience of a family friend who, according to him, visited several hospitals while seeking admission before eventually dying. “A family friend recently, who lost their life, before they could get admission in a Federal Government hospital, a Federal Government hospital, they went to five different hospitals. They went to LUTH. They went to General Hospital Ikeja. General Hospital Igando. General Hospital in… All the names of hospitals you can think of. Federal Medical Centre. Any name you can think of. They were just going around with the person in the car.”

Elenu further criticised the attitude of some healthcare workers towards patients and their relatives, although he clarified that he was not referring to all medical personnel. “Now, I’m not saying every medical personnel behaves like this. But I’m stating today that a vast majority are unhappy with their jobs,” he said.

He also expressed concern over the migration of Nigerian doctors, questioning whether the government was concerned about the number of medical professionals leaving the country.

“Doctors are running every day from the country. Are you people not concerned?” he asked.

Elenu called for the construction of more standard hospitals across the country, arguing that Nigerians should not have to travel long distances in search of medical care.

“Please, what would it cost to build standard hospitals, not just in every local government, but everywhere, so that me, that I’m in Ikeja, I don’t have to be going to Igando to look for help? So that me, that I’m in Oshodi, I don’t have to drive one hour in traffic going to Iyana-Ipaja? So that me, that is in Iyana-Ipaja, does not have to drive to Oshodi?," he appealed.

The comedian also urged the government to look beyond cosmetic renovations of healthcare facilities and address what he described as deeper problems within the system.

“To the President of Nigeria, to the Governor of Lagos State and the governors of all the other states, when will you people look into the medical condition, the healthcare system in Nigeria, and look at it thoroughly? Not decorating one part of the building, painting it blue and white. That’s not what we are talking about.”

Elenu ended his video by expressing concern about Nigerians who may require emergency medical attention. “I really pray for every Nigerian out there. I pray for your health. I pray you will not have an emergency. I pray you will not have a need to be rushed to the hospital,” he said. “The Nigerian hospitals have failed too many people. They have failed too many people. They have failed me. They have failed my family.”