The ongoing power outage at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, has exposed serious problems in Nigeria’s public healthcare system.

Development Diaries reports that for over 100 days, the hospital has been without electricity due to a debt of N495 million owed to the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), according to a report by The Guardian.

As a result, UCH has been running on generators, inverters, and solar power, but this has not been enough to keep the hospital fully functional.

While hospital management claims they have put measures in place, reports from patients and staff show that the situation is getting worse, making it difficult to provide quality medical care.

As a matter of fact, it has been reported that patient relatives now bring their own generators to the hospital to help their situation.

Confirmed: Patients now bring their own generator and solar inverters to University of Ibadan College Hospital (UCH). The hospital has been in darkness since October 26th, 2024. pic.twitter.com/AOvWyQQd6z

— Trending Explained (@TrendingEx) February 5, 2025

The lack of steady power supply is putting patients’ lives at risk. Important medical services like surgeries, emergency treatments, and diagnostic tests have been affected, with some patients forced to go outside the hospital for tests.

It is understood that doctors and nurses are even contributing money to buy fuel for generators to keep some departments running.

This raises serious concerns about how UCH, one of Nigeria’s top hospitals, can continue to operate under such conditions.

While the Oyo State Government has promised to help by connecting UCH to its Independent Power Plant (IPP), but the hospital is under the federal government, and the final solution must come from the Ministry of Health.

Unfortuntely, there has been no clear plan from the ministry on how they will resolve the crisis, and this has left many citizens frustrated and worried.

This situation highlights deeper problems in Nigeria’s healthcare system, including poor funding and lack of proper management.

Despite the country’s strategic position in Africa, it is greatly underserved in the health care sphere.

Recall that the ministry in August 2024 announced a 50 percent electricity subsidy for public hospitals, but UCH’s struggles show that this policy has not been effective.

If one of Nigeria’s biggest hospitals is facing this kind of crisis, the condition of primary healthcare centres across the country is likely to be even worse.

A hospital without a reliable power supply cannot provide quality healthcare, and this raises serious concerns about the future of public health services in Nigeria.

Development Diaries calls on the Chief Medical Director of UCH, Jesse Otegbayo, to come forward with clear information on the hospital’s finances and explain how they plan to fix this power crisis.

At the same time, the Minister of Health, Ali Pate, must step in immediately to ensure that the approved electricity subsidy is properly used and provide emergency funds to settle the hospital’s debt.

More importantly, the government must put in place long-term solutions to prevent public hospitals from facing such crises in the future. The lives of patients should not be put at risk because of poor management and lack of basic services like electricity.

Photo source: Own Work