By Jane Eze
Lucky Elohor was still conscious when they placed her in the ambulance.
The 29 year old founder of Digital Creator Chic had built her career connecting young Nigerians to digital opportunity. After a serious road accident in Ilorin, doctors suspected spinal cord and head injuries.
To know the full extent of the damage, they needed an MRI scan.
They did not have reliable access to one.
Ilorin, a major state capital, could not provide immediate, functional and accessible MRI imaging in that critical moment. The decision was made to stabilise her and transfer her to another city. She died before reaching definitive imaging.
Her death highlights a national problem that extends far beyond one tragedy.
A National Deficit
Nigeria has about 58 MRI machines for roughly 218 million people. That equals 0.3 scanners per one million citizens.
By comparison: Ghana has about 0.48 per million, The United States has nearly 39 per million and Japan has more than 50 per million
Even more troubling is distribution. Nearly all MRI machines are located in urban centres. Rural Nigeria has virtually none.
Within cities, access is unequal. Many scanners are in private facilities where a single scan costs between fifty thousand and two hundred thousand naira. In a country where most healthcare expenses are paid out of pocket, this cost alone delays or prevents care.
In public hospitals, unstable electricity is a major obstacle. The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has repeatedly warned that erratic power supply leaves many public hospital MRI machines non-functional. MRI systems require constant power and cooling. Voltage fluctuations damage sensitive components.
A machine on record is not the same as a machine that works in an emergency.
Geography Determines Survival
Advanced imaging in Nigeria is concentrated in a few cities such as Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, with smaller numbers in other major urban centres. Patients from smaller states often travel hundreds of kilometres for scans.
For conditions such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage and cancer staging, delay in imaging can mean permanent disability or death.
Studies show that more than seventy percent of cancer cases in Nigeria present at late stages. Limited access to diagnostic tools contributes to that delay. Tens of thousands of cancer related deaths occur annually, many with poorer outcomes because of late detection.
For families, the economic burden is severe. When public facilities cannot provide imaging, patients are forced into private centres. A single scan can equal months of income. Some delay testing. Others never receive it.
Why the Gap Persists
MRI machines require more than purchase funds. They demand uninterrupted power supply, specialised rooms with shielding, stable cooling systems, liquid helium, trained technologists and biomedical engineers.
A new 1.5 Tesla MRI machine can cost between two and three million dollars before installation. Even refurbished machines remain expensive. Without maintenance and stable electricity, they deteriorate quickly.
Policy choices have also shaped the crisis. Investment in advanced diagnostics has not matched population growth. Public private partnership models have concentrated high end imaging in profit driven centres, reinforcing inequality. This means hose who can pay are scanned. Those who cannot travel, wait or gamble with time.
What Must Be Done
Solutions are practical and achievable: Conduct a national audit to determine which of the 58 MRI machines are functional and which can be restored.
Stabilise power supply at designated MRI centres before purchasing additional machines.
Ensure every federal teaching hospital has at least one reliably functional MRI unit.
Mandate insurance coverage for medically indicated MRI scans to improve affordability.
Invest in local training for biomedical engineers and MRI technologists to reduce downtime.
Deploy mobile MRI units to underserved state capitals while permanent infrastructure is developed.
A Question of Priorities
Lucky Elohor’s story is not only about a road accident. It is about diagnostic distance. It is about a country where access to lifesaving imaging still depends on geography and income.
The MRI crisis is not a technical mystery. The machines can be bought. The expertise can be trained. The infrastructure can be built.
What remains uncertain is whether access to advanced diagnosis will be treated as a national priority or continue as a privilege.
Jane N Eze is a Research and Data Analyst.
