By Stephen Azubuike

As condolences are being rendered like cold compress gel to the family of the Late Master Nkanu Nnamdi Adichie-Esege to reduce the inflammation of grief, Onikepo Braithwaite appears to deliver a repressive gel, capable of inflicting more pain to Nkanu’s grieving family. This was as contained in her article published in Thisday Newspaper on Tuesday, 20 January 2026. In the article, Ms. Braithwaite seems to compound the tragedy of Nkanu’s demise by some misstatement of the law and unhelpful assumptions. I write to address these anomalies.

Background Story and Allegation of Medical Negligence

Nkanu had suffered an infection and was taken to Atlantis Pediatric Hospital (Atlantis) in Lagos for treatment. From available reports, Nkanu’s parents were also in consultative contact with Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, US. Following their decision to evacuate their son to the US for specialised treatment, John Hopkins was said to have recommended some preliminary procedure to be carried out in Lagos in preparation for the medical flight. The procedure includes an echocardiogram, brain MRI, a lumbar puncture, and the insertion of a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) line.

Nkanu was transferred from Atlantis to  Euracare  Multi-Specialist  Hospital (Euracare) for the procedure where the 21-month-old child eventually died on 7 January 2026. Following Nkanu’s death, his mum and renowned author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, accused Euracare of medical negligence. Ms. Adichie said a doctor in Euracare had directly told her that the resident anaesthesiologist had administered an overdose of propofol, a sedative. Nkanu’s family further claimed that after Nkanu was sedated, the child was not properly monitored, and that the anesthesiologist carried Nkanu on his shoulder to the Intensive  Care  Unit  (ICU)  without proper support or equipment.  

Also,  it was alleged that during this transfer,  Nkanu was not provided with supplemental oxygen, and monitoring equipment was not used, making clinical observation impossible. The tragic climax of these events was that the child reportedly became unresponsive, suffered seizures, and cardiac arrest, which inevitably led to his death. As you will discover in the latter part of this piece, where I will state the true position of the law regarding autopsies, the relevance of the facts recounted above will become even clearer.

Expectedly, Euracare issued a statement denying the allegation of medical negligence, stating that Nkanu was critically ill upon arrival and that the hospital provided care in line with established clinical protocols and international standards. Interestingly, Euracare announced that they have commenced an internal investigation and expressed their willingness and readiness to cooperate with relevant regulatory authorities for full and independent investigation.

Ms. Braithwaite’s Intervention

While investigation is ongoing and possible judicial intervention is being awaited, Ms. Braithwaite expressed a distressing opinion on the topic, which was published.  Ms. Braithwaite contended that to determine the cause of Nkanu’s death and whether there was medical negligence, an autopsy must be conducted; otherwise,  the cause of death cannot be proved.  She concluded that following an investigative journalism report that Nkanu’s body might have already been cremated, the reported cremation was a deliberate act to destroy evidence required to prove the allegation or determine the cause of Nkanu’s death. The Learned Author relied on Section 48(1) of the Coroner’s System Law of Lagos State 2007 (“the Law”) which criminalises the chemical preservation, dismemberment or disposal of a body of a person who died in circumstances that require a Coroner’s Inquest, without the approval of the Coroner.

In advancing the above contentions, Ms. Braithwaite made further statements which are  less than accurate and legally unsupportable. I will proceed to address them below.

Coroner’s Inquest can be Conducted in the Absence of the Deceased’s Body

Whilst the Law in Section 48(1) requires the approval of a Coroner before the disposal of the body of a person who died in circumstances that may require an inquest, the Law does not state that a coroner’s inquest cannot be conducted in the absence of the body of the deceased. In fact, it is within the contemplation of the Law that there might be instances where the body of the deceased may be unavailable. Section 21 of the Law provides:

“Where a Coroner has reason to believe that a death has occurred within his District and in such circumstances that an inquest should be held, he may hold an inquest regarding the death if he considers it necessary, notwithstanding the:

(a.) total destruction or partial destruction of the body by fire or any other cause, an inquest cannot be held except by virtue of the provisions of this Section;

(b) fact that the body is lying in a place from which it cannot be recovered.

Provided that the law relating to inquest shall apply with such modifications as may be necessary on or after a medical examination of the body found within the Coroner’s District.”

Interestingly, Ms. Braithwaite failed to specifically capture the above provision in the Law. However, she acknowledged judicial authorities in support of the position that an autopsy is not required in all cases to determine cause of death. The Learned Author opted for illustrations that lean towards the rather narrow conclusion that in the instant case of Nkanu, autopsy is the only way. But she cited no authority to specifically support this argument, even in the face of the express provisions of Section 21.

Therefore, in line with Section 21 of the Law, Ms. Braithwaite’s contention is clearly erroneous.  The  Coroner’s inquest can still be conducted in the absence of Baby Nkanu’s body. In his rejoinder to Ms. Braithwaite’s article, Learned Counsel, Thaddeus Idenyi had aptly explained that:

“This provision anticipates precisely the situation at hand: where grief, cultural choice, or circumstance results in burial or cremation, the law still insists that inquiry can still proceed. To suggest otherwise and allege crime in the burial of the deceased child is to mislead the public and weaponize grief against mourning parents.”

Relevance of Medical Records

If a coroner’s inquest is ordered, it is the duty of the coroner to embark on the inquiry and consider all available medical records, the precise treatment procedure administered on Nkanu, statements obtained and other available evidence in order to determine the cause of death.

All of these are capable of providing both documentary and circumstantial evidence which the coroner or even the courts may work with in determining the cause of death and the veracity of the allegations levelled by Nkanu’s family against Euracare.

For instance, securing and a careful consideration of the complete medical records and an examination of Ms. Adichie’s claim about the information she received regarding the alleged over-dosing of Nkanu on propofol, would be relevant and could serve as a useful guide. From available medical literature, propofol is regarded as a powerful intravenous sedative-hypnotic drug. Propofol overdose is said to be capable of causing a severe central nervous system and cardiovascular depression, leading to respiratory arrest, profound hypotension (shock), unconsciousness, metabolic acidosis, cardiac arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythm), and rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown),  with potentially fatal outcomes.  This highlights  the need  for urgent care and attention.

Thus, it behoves the coroner to make a definite determination whether in spite of all  available information and evidence, cause of death cannot be confirmed due to the absence of Nkanu’s body. It is not the duty of Ms. Braithwaite to make this determination based on a misstatement of the law.

By making reference to a section of the Law (section 48 on preservation of body) without considering other vital provisions of the same statute (such as section  21  on conduct of  inquest in the  absence  of the  body),  Ms. Braithwaite’s contention here was clearly misleading.

Also, autopsy is clearly not the only way to determine propofol overdose. Ms. Braithwaite  was in error when she made a sweeping conclusion to the contrary in this regard.

Ms. Braithwaite’s Allegation on Deliberate Destruction of Evidence

Curiously, with Nkanu’s parents having reportedly cremated the body of their child, Ms. Braithwaite accused the grieving parents of deliberately destroying evidence required to prove the allegation of medical negligence, or determine the cause of Nkanu’s death. The implication of this accusation when closely checked  is that  Ms.  Braithwaite appears to suggest that the evidence—Nkanu’s body—needed  to help establish the innocence of Euracare was deliberately destroyed. This is the only logical implication of the allegation of deliberate destruction of evidence.

Ms. Braithwaite did not reveal the source of her conviction as it was not clear whether she was relying on the same investigative journalism report through which she learnt of the cremation in the first place. Therefore, without any concrete information on the reason for the cremation, and without considering whether Nkanu’s parents at the time of cremation even thought about any coroner’s inquest, Ms. Braithwaite rapidly concluded that the purpose was to destroy evidence. This, in my opinion, was unfair.

The Issue of Standard of Proof

Ms. Braithwaite stated in her article that “Where a specific cause of death is alleged, the person making that allegation must prove it, beyond reasonable doubt.” The Learned Writer relied on the criminal case of State v. Chukwu (2021) LPELR-56610(SC).

The above is only true where an action on medical negligence is only founded on criminal negligence. An action founded on paediatric medical negligence can still be maintained against Euracare and any erring doctor under the tort of negligence which is a civil claim. Here, it is trite that the standard of proof required is proof based on preponderance of evidence or balance of probabilities and not proof beyond reasonable doubt.

Nevertheless, it is also not true that in the absence of Nkanu’s body for an autopsy, the prosecution cannot prove a criminal allegation of medical negligence beyond any reasonable doubt. An autopsy report is not the only key to establishing a case beyond reasonable doubt. It is trite that the court can rely  on other evidence and  surrounding circumstances  to  determine cause of death in the absence of an autopsy report. The law is that proof beyond  reasonable  doubt  is what  is  required  and not  proof  beyond  any shadow of doubt.

Mr. Idenyi made a fine observation here when he stressed that:

“An inquest into the cause of death suspected to have been caused by medical negligence is not necessarily to establish guilt or for criminal prosecution only, but to unravel the truth regarding the medical care offered and for preventive steps in the future. When properly viewed, the temptation to insist that an inquest must proceed on the basis of a post mortem for some proof beyond reasonable doubt becomes less fanciful.”

Ms.  Braithwaite’s  Reference  to  Meningitis and  otherPossible Causesof Death

According to Ms. Braithwaite, “Meningitis is an extremely serious condition that can kill a patient within 24 hours. Is it then possible, to completely ignore such a serious condition which may have remained untreated, and blame the death of such a patient, solely on a sedation overdose? This is a question that was begging to be answered.”

It is clear that Ms. Braithwaite did not appear to have factored in the serious consequences of propofol overdose. Her tone of reference to “sedation overdose” sounds as if we are talking about an overdose of some baby milk. Although propofol has been referred to as a “milk of amnesia” due to its milky white appearance, propofol remains a powerful substance whose overdose can lead to fatal consequences. It should never be heard that an anaesthesiologist administered an overdose of propofol, and without proper monitoring.

We must bear in mind the claim that Baby Nkanu was said to have been taken to Euracare in a stable condition for the prescribed procedures to be performed.

To carry out the procedures, he was sedated with propofol and that appeared to have marked the beginning of the troubles which led to his demise. Everything he was said to have suffered aligns with the established consequences of possible propofol overdose and not meningitis per se. Therefore, it is still necessary to conduct an enquiry through the records and to consider all claims relating to how the toddler was managed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Ms. Braithwaite wrote that she “will never be a party to determining liability based on the judgement of the court of public opinion without proper evidence being taken in a court of competent jurisdiction, or without the due process of the law being followed…”

But in the same vein, Ms. Braithwaite appears to be subtly determining the innocence of a hospital accused of medical negligence by a misstatement of the law where she argued that an autopsy is the only way to prove medical negligence in Nkanu’s case; and that the standard of proof required is only proof beyond reasonable doubt. Ms. Braithwaite accused the grieving parents of cremating their lost baby as a deliberate move to destroy evidence, without any concrete proof in support of this premature verdict.

Contrary to these, I’ve been able to show that a coroner’s inquest can be conducted in the absence of the body of the deceased Nkanu. Autopsy is not the only way to prove propofol overdose or any of the allegations bordering on pediatric medical negligence.  Also, standard  of  proof  required  in medical negligence is not only proof beyond reasonable doubt except criminal negligence is alleged, and the absence of the body does not automatically mean that proof beyond reasonable doubt is impossible. Besides, there is no evidence that the cremation of Baby Nkanu was deliberately done to destroy evidence.

Now, if you were the coroner or court in this matter, would you be seeking to confirm if Baby Nkanu had Meningitis when he was brought to Euracare or if the medical care Euracare provided put his life in grave danger?

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

By Olufunke Baruwa

For decades, scholars and policymakers warned that the world was entering a phase of systemic transition. That moment is no longer approaching; it is here. The world as we once understood it has ended, and what replaces it is unsettled, contested and volatile.

This is not a routine change in diplomatic tone or global priorities. It is a reordering of power, economic influence and ideological authority. A new world order or several overlapping, competing ones are emerging. At its heart are fundamental questions about who holds power, whose values shape global norms, and who gets to decide the rules.

For Nigeria and Africa, this is not an abstract geopolitical conversation played out in Washington, Beijing, Moscow or Brussels. It is already reshaping our economy, our diplomacy, our security choices and the future available to our young population. The danger before us is not choosing wrongly but failing to choose at all.

The Contest for Supremacy

For nearly eight decades after the Second World War, the United States stood at the centre of global affairs. It designed the architecture of international politics and economics, including the United Nations, the World Bank, the IMF, the Bretton Woods system and set the parameters of global engagement.

The end of the Cold War appeared to confirm American dominance. Francis Fukuyama’s The End of History and the Last Man captured a widely held belief that liberal democracy and free-market capitalism had triumphed permanently. That belief has not merely weakened; it has collapsed.

America remains immensely powerful: militarily unmatched, technologically innovative and economically significant, but it is no longer singularly decisive. Domestic polarisation, economic inequality, strategic overstretch and wavering commitment to multilateral leadership have constrained its influence. Unilateral military interventions and an increasingly transactional foreign policy have eroded trust and moral authority.

For Nigeria, this matters deeply. The assumption that the West, particularly the United States, would always underwrite global stability, champion democratic norms, or act as a guarantor of order no longer holds. The global sheriff is no longer patrolling with the same confidence, and in some cases has stepped back entirely.

Into this vacuum has stepped China, the most consequential challenger to U.S. global primacy. From a largely agrarian society in 1978, China has risen to become the world’s second-largest economy, with ambitions extending far beyond growth statistics.

China’s strategy is comprehensive: economic statecraft through the Belt and Road Initiative; technological competition in artificial intelligence, 5G, quantum computing and renewable energy; rapid military modernisation; and the projection of an alternative governance model that rejects Western liberal prescriptions.

In Africa and particularly in Nigeria, China’s presence is visible and tangible. Railways, roads, ports, power projects and digital infrastructure carry Chinese fingerprints. Beijing speaks the language of delivery and pragmatism, not lectures. For a country desperate to close its infrastructure gap, this has been attractive.

But China’s engagement is strategic, not charitable. Loans come with long-term obligations. Infrastructure brings leverage. Political neutrality often masks quiet expectations. Nigeria now sits at the intersection of competing global interests — dependent on Chinese financing while still reliant on Western markets, security partnerships and financial credibility.

The challenge is no longer whether Nigeria should engage China. That decision has been made. The question is whether Nigeria can engage from a position of strategy rather than desperation.

Africa’s Strategic Moment

Unlike the Cold War era, today’s global landscape is not defined by rigid blocs. Many states are choosing strategic autonomy over automatic alignment.

Across Africa, Asia and Latin America, countries are asserting agency. They are demanding development on their own terms, respect for sovereignty and partnerships that prioritise domestic needs over great power rivalry. This explains Africa’s refusal to line up neatly behind Western positions on global conflicts and the renewed relevance of platforms like BRICS and South–South cooperation.

Europe, shaken by Brexit and the war in Ukraine, is rearming and recalibrating. Russia, rejecting the post-Cold War settlement, has chosen disruption as a strategy of relevance. Middle powers like India, Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey and South Africa are carving out pragmatic, interest-driven roles, cooperating without surrendering autonomy.

Africa must learn from this approach, no longer merely a theatre for global competition; it is becoming an actor. With 1.4 billion people, vast mineral wealth and the youngest population on earth, the continent has leverage even if it has not always used it wisely. The African Continental Free Trade Area is the clearest signal yet that Africa understands the stakes of this new era. In a world of fractured supply chains and regionalised trade, Africa’s ability to trade with itself is no longer optional; it is existential.

For Nigeria, AfCFTA offers a route beyond oil dependency toward manufacturing, services and regional leadership. But this will require energy security, infrastructure, policy coherence and industrial strategy, not speeches.

Nigeria’s Foreign Policy Reckoning

Nigeria once punched above its weight in global affairs, from anti-apartheid struggles to peacekeeping across West Africa. Today, that influence has diminished, not because Nigeria lacks relevance, but because it lacks coherence.

In a world of shifting power and shrinking consensus, foreign policy can no longer be ceremonial. It must be strategic, economically grounded and unapologetically interest driven.

Nigeria must confront uncomfortable questions: What does non-alignment mean in a multipolar world? How do we balance competing partnerships without becoming a pawn? How do we convert population size, market scale and diaspora strength into bargaining power? Without answers, Nigeria will continue to be shaped by global forces rather than shaping outcomes.

The new global disorder is already battering Nigeria’s economy. Supply chain disruptions, inflation and energy market volatility have deepened household hardship. The Russia–Ukraine war pushed food and fertiliser prices upward. Global interest rate hikes have worsened debt stress.

At the same time, the global energy transition is rewriting the future of oil, which is Nigeria’s primary economic lifeline. The window to diversify is narrowing and Nigeria must prepare for a world where oil no longer dominates.

The Real Battlefields: Technology, Energy and Influence

Supremacy today is not primarily military. It is systemic. Technology is the most decisive arena. Control of data, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and standards will define economic competitiveness and national security. Nigeria’s youthful population and vibrant tech ecosystem offer promise, but without deliberate investment and policy support, we risk remaining consumers rather than creators.

Energy is another fault line. As developed countries accelerate green transitions, Nigeria must navigate climate demands without sacrificing development, leveraging gas as a transition fuel while investing in renewables. Influence itself is contested through culture and narrative. Nigeria’s soft power: Nollywood, Afrobeats and fashion is globally resonant yet largely disconnected from strategic diplomacy or economic planning.

The danger of this moment is fragmentation with rival blocs, competing standards and perpetual instability. For vulnerable economies, this means greater exposure to shocks. But there is also opportunity. A multipolar world, if managed wisely, can create space for new voices, fairer systems and reformed global institutions. It can allow Nigeria to negotiate from relevance rather than dependency.

That outcome is not automatic. It demands leadership that understands global dynamics and connects them to domestic realities. The world as we knew it is over; Nigeria and indeed Africa as a whole must choose its place in what comes next.

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

By Funke Egbemode

Funke, do you know that a man’s manhood also needs recharging?

Excuse me, is a man’s manhood a phone or a power bank?

It is both.

What kind of corruption is this on a Monday morning? I muttered.

Daddy Abe is a man with white hair and I am just a woman. I have a few strands of grey and I do not possess ‘manhood’, even though some people think I am a suspect. Whatever, I am not a man and I don’t want to be a man. Anyway, I was curious. I wanted to learn more about this ‘manhood charger’.

“Here is how it works. When a man has to sleep with the same woman, year in, year out, his manhood gets bored. It needs another website to surf. What I mean is a man who has to keep to one wife for decades, sleep with only one woman for 30 years, for instance, all in the name of one-man-one-wife is a man who is susceptible to erectile dysfunction. He needs another woman, a fresh body and all his problems will disappear.”

Oh wow, all that preamble just to justify getting a new wife! Men and their upside logic. Why was Daddy Abe determined to spoil my anointing and disrupt the flow of my creative juices with this kind of narrative, and on a Monday too? I was already sorting my thoughts on a king being chased out of his palace before the ’old man’ came up with this penile charger story. True, I was struggling with finding enough words to remind us all of a new angle to our national woes (and there are weekly angles in this sweet country), this suspicious charger being introduced was an interesting diversion.

I do not believe that a new wife is the much-awaited cure for erectile dysfunction. There is no science to prove or back it up but Daddy Abe insisted he knew what he was talking about. He is the man, he insisted. Men who are reading this, does getting a new body wake up a man’s retiring giant? Do be truthful and speak and share from experience.

Most Nigerian men are closet polygamist. They are pretending to love the wives of their youth forever while their eyes are roving to and fro seeking a woman or women to devour. They would do anything to even make it law or even mandatory like NYSC. Tufia kwa! It will not, never, happen. But wait, is it not already happening via something now elegantly called side chic? A man marries one wife with funfair and white frills and some years down the line, he strays into another bossom, stays for as long as he wants, clandestinely doing his unsanctioned doings. Then he strays again, and again. One wife at home, and three outside or worse still, he acquires and discards in multiples of three.

He is constantly charging his manhood, all over the place but has it ever stopped a man’s manhood from timed or untimely retirement? None that I know of. I have not heard, either, that men who keep their harems in plain sight, I mean the openly polygamous, are still able to perform their husbandly duties as they used to. The men who have four or five wives to pick and chose from every night, do they not suffer the consequences of diminishing returns even when they are charging and recharging their things in different sockets? Or are they also looking for something new, something different from their Type-C chargers? You never really can tell what is going on in the heads of men now, can you, especially when it is about keeping their side dishes out of sight?

Because a man can produce millions of sperm does not mean he is “designed” for many women. That a man can satisfy four women in his 40s does not mean he will still be able to rise to the occasion each time he is called up for duty when he is 60. Isn’t that why some men stay back in the living room to ‘treat files and catch up on work’ when their wives tell them to come to bed? If they can fix it at home and away at 50, there is no proof that they will be able to at 70. Oh okay, let me not speak for all men. Raise your hands if you are 65 and are still able to ascend and descend like you used to 20 years ago. I don’t see many hands up. Yeah, they ain’t getting it up so fast now, hands or third legs.

I think this polygamy thing is more cultural than biological. That charger logic is just men around here wanting to dominate.

Across history, many societies permit or celebrate male polygamy, openly or secretly even in the year of our Lord 2026. That is why nobody is arresting the man who takes one bride to church (because the bride’s parents are Christians), takes another to the registry, and then observes Nikkah for two more and he lives with all of them in one big opulent compound. Marriage around here is most often tied to inheritance, lineage power and wealth, patriarchy and control of women’s sexuality.

Over the years, all of that have gradually hardened into a myth: “men are naturally polygamous.”

But culture is not nature. A culture that excuses men’s infidelity and punish women for the same behavior tells you the argument is less about design and more about dominance. Argue with that, if you can.

Have you also noticed that men who sing ‘men are polygamous’ do not want their daughters to become second wives? No, they do not want their precious daughters to bring home married men as suitors, ah ah. Think deeply about that too.

Some men seek multiple women not because they are “designed” that way, but because of ego, insecurity, fear of intimacy or access without accountability.

Plenty of men want one woman who feels like home. Others want many women because they are running from themselves.

Most moral and religious systems that value responsibility insist on discipline over desire. Even where polygamy is allowed, it comes with heavy conditions—fairness, provision, emotional responsibility—that most men conveniently ignore while chanting “nature”.

The inconvenient truth is this; if men were truly designed for many women, commitment would be unnatural. But they want commitment, in fact, ownership. Monogamy would collapse universally and jealousy would not hurt so deeply. Betrayal would not wound men so badly.

Yet it does. No man, whether he is a man of God or a man of the gods, wants or can share. Even when they cannot satisfy their women, they don’t want their fellow polygamists to stray into their plots of land. What is there is theirs even when their chargers are no longer charging.

What is the reality?

A man is capable of desiring many women but he has to choose and live with his choice. He must charge his equipment according to the manufacturer’s specification. If he overcharges, there will be consequences. If he spreads himself too thin out of greed, his grid can collapse. If he collapses with his grid and greed, other men will be called up to continue the service. But men don’t like to be told that they can expire and that blue pills and bottled concoctions can even lead to forced leave or retirement. They love what they love and prefer to die in active service. And when they do, you will think their successors will learn from the mistakes of their ancestors. No such luck. The cycle must go on. Even Daddy Abe won’t agree. He insists that a droopy dangling modifier can be brought back to life by a new woman.

No man who loves a harem will go unscathed. It is just sad that they realise it too late. Think of the emotional burnout, the trouble and exhaustion of mind and soul trying to please different women. Managing multiple relationships requires maturity many men lack. Just looking at the physical satisfaction angle alone is totally unwise. There is more to a relationship than just firm ‘fronters’ and ample derrieres.

What about the financial strain, desire that multiplies faster than income.

Finally is the loss of legacy and support of children when charging comes to a final bus stop and the once desired fine man becomes old and dependent. The children do not forget. They remember daddy’s absence, mummy’s pain and tears through lonely years.

Polygamy may promise power, dominance and spicy variety, just don’t forget that too many sweets can also deliver debilitating chaos.

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.