Fellow Nurses Africa News || Lagos, Nigeria || May 24th, 2025
A Lawyer’s Struggle After 14 Surgeries: Exposing Medical Negligence in Nigeria’s Healthcare System
Lagos, Nigeria – May 24, 2025 – Oyegoke Omoshalewa Tolulola, widely known as Shalewa The Warrior (@TheOyegeke), a Nigerian lawyer and HR/Data Protection Officer, has endured a harrowing medical journey marked by negligence and repeated surgical interventions. Her experience, beginning with a routine surgery in 2014, has culminated in 14 surgeries that expose deep flaws in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
Shalewa’s ordeal commenced during her law school days in Kano when a surgical procedure to remove an ovarian cyst was improperly performed. “I trusted them with my life, but the outcome was devastating,” she said, reflecting on the initial error that set off years of medical complications. The botched surgery led to multiple subsequent operations addressing intestinal obstructions, adhesions, and abscesses.
Relocating to Lagos in 2019, Shalewa hoped to avoid further surgical interventions, but the situation worsened. In 2021, a critical error occurred when a Nigerian doctor prescribed Kenalog 40, a corticosteroid, with instructions that deviated significantly from medical guidelines. Instead of the recommended administration every six weeks, Shalewa was advised to use the medication daily. Despite her concerns about side effects, the doctor insisted, stating, “Do you want to live or worry about how you look?”
The consequences were severe: Shalewa gained 58 kilograms, developed symptoms including purple striae, bruising, insomnia, and mood disturbances, and was diagnosed with Cushing’s syndrome, high blood sugar, and hypertension. Additional complications such as seizures, memory loss, and bilateral avascular necrosis led to hip replacement surgeries in 2022 and 2023.
Furthermore, the immunosuppressive effects of the corticosteroids resulted in recurrent abscesses necessitating further surgical interventions. Her most recent surgery, in August 2024, addressed shoulder pain, but ongoing osteoarthritis and osteonecrosis in her knees demand another urgent operation estimated to cost 10 million naira.
Since February 2022, Shalewa has been unable to work, and her promising legal career has been disrupted. She has resorted to crowdfunding (GTB: 0148895732, WEMA: 78207041460) to finance her medical expenses and daily living costs.
Shalewa’s experience underscores critical challenges within Nigeria’s healthcare system, including weak regulation of medical practice, insufficient accountability for malpractice, and the detrimental impact of the brain drain of qualified medical professionals. The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria’s (MDCN) limited enforcement capacity, including minimal fines for malpractice and prohibitive verification fees, exacerbates the vulnerability of patients to unqualified or negligent practitioners.
“I have been fighting for my life because of avoidable mistakes,” Shalewa said, expressing both frustration and resilience. Supported by friends and family, she continues to seek justice and advocates for systemic reform to safeguard patients from similar fates.
This case calls for urgent government action: strengthening medical regulations, improving healthcare funding, enhancing professional oversight, and addressing the root causes of brain drain. Shalewa The Warrior’s story is not only a personal tragedy but a reflection of the systemic reforms needed to protect Nigerian lives.
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