Kingsley Nwangene, brother of late Nigerian singer Ifunanya Nwangene (Nanyah), shared details of her death from a snake bite in Abuja.
He highlighted the tragic circumstances as a reflection of Nigeria’s struggling healthcare system.
Kingsley emphasized that his sister took all possible measures to save herself but faced critical failures in the healthcare response.
The brother of the late Nigerian singer Ifunanya Nwangene, widely known as Nanyah, has recounted the tragic circumstances surrounding her death from a snake bite in Abuja.
Kingsley Nwangene described the ordeal as a painful example of the country’s struggling healthcare system, emphasizing that his sister did everything possible to save herself but was let down at a critical moment.
Nanyah was reportedly bitten by a snake at her home in Abuja on Saturday morning.
Acting quickly, she tied her hand to slow the spread of venom and then made her way to the hospital alone.
Kingsley revealed that she called him around 8:30 a.m. to report the incident while she was already en route to seek treatment.
Her first stop was Divine Health Hospital in Lugbe, Abuja, where she was informed that the facility did not have anti-venom.
This prompted her to arrange transport to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Abuja, hoping for urgent care.
Throughout the ordeal, Kingsley said he remained on the phone with Nanyah, attempting to contact anyone who could assist.
Upon arrival at FMC, Nanyah was admitted to the emergency unit, but medical staff reportedly did not administer anti-venom immediately.
Instead, she was asked multiple questions, and doctors removed the cloth tied around her hand and put her on a drip, instructing her to stay calm.
Tragically, her condition worsened soon after.
Kingsley refuted claims that his sister arrived late or was unable to communicate, stating that she was fully conscious when she reached the hospital.
He added that she later became dizzy and struggled to speak clearly, even as family members hoped she was receiving proper care.
His uncle arrived at the hospital before she passed away.
In the aftermath of her death, Kingsley expressed profound anger and sorrow, blaming systemic failures in healthcare for her untimely passing.
He described the loss as heartbreaking and insisted that timely medical intervention could have saved her life.
In his words:
“Ify called me yesterday morning, at about 8:30am.
She said, “Emy, don’t panic, but I have just been bitten by a snake.
I’m on my way to the hospital.”I asked her how it happened because I was in shock.
She said she was sleeping and felt pain.
When she opened her eyes, she saw the snake.
I realised that wasn’t the time to ask too many questions, so I cut the call and called her back immediately with my smaller phone, using the bigger one to call people I knew in Abuja because she was going to the hospital alone.
Hand tied, just by herself.
Divine Health Hospital,Trade Mall Road (Lugbe, Abuja).
That was the first hospital she went to.
When she got there, they immediately said they didn’t have the anti-venom and could not help her, so she booked another ride immediately to get to a hospital that might have it.
Note that while all this was happening, I was still on a call with her.
Never hung up.
She was speaking fine with me.
Her hand was tied, and she was in a ride headed to Federal Medical Centre, Abuja.
We got to the next hospital some minutes to 10am, at which point she was still speaking with me.
When she got to the second hospital, she went into the emergency department and they started bombarding her with questions.I was still on the call with her and it was irritating me.
I kept saying, what are they doing?
I asked if they had the anti-venom, and she said they told her they would give her a drip.
The doctor removed the stuff she used to tie her hand to prevent the circulation of the venom and kept telling her to calm down.
She immediately told me, “Emy, they have removed the thing I used to tie my hand.
”I felt okay since she was at the hospital and thought the doctors should know better than me.
I encouraged her to calm down.
When the drip was in, she started feeling dizzy and her tongue wasn’t speaking well again.
That was when I let her relax and ended the call.
At that point, my uncle I had contacted in Abuja was already at the hospital with her, so I felt a bit of relief, thinking she was getting all the treatment she needed.
Now, when they lost her, I started seeing people saying she was bitten at night or the day before but only came yesterday which was a lie.
Doctors saying she wasn’t talking properly and came in late.
She came in by herself with both legs, without any help.
I was speaking with her through it all. She was very audible.
Why did they remove the stuff she tied to prevent the spread of the venom?
Why tell her to calm down and proceed to put a drip?
Did they even have the anti-venom at this second hospital?
The hospital failed her and doubled down to lie about everything.
I hate the country so much.We had such a great time together in Abuja this past Christmas.
How was I to know it would be the last time with you?
She was still speaking fluently with me and even sent me this video.
“U sang this just because I asked you to.
Now who go sing for me??Water full my eyes…”
