Fresh facts have emerged on how a frontline politician and ex-Governor of old Kano State, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, died on Sunday at the age of 70.

His driver, Alhaji Haruna Adullahi, on Monday, said that Rimi would probably have survived if officials of the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano had not delayed in providing him with emergency care.

At the hospital, Abdullahi said Rimi, who was gasping for breath, was borne by hand into the emergency ward of the hospital after 15 minutes of waiting.

He said, “We spent more than 15 minutes without being provided with a wheelchair to move him to the emergency ward because he was weak and tired.

“In order to save his life, we had to carry him with our hands to the emergency ward. It is very shameful for a former governor of a state to be treated with such ignominy.”

Wipping off tears intermittently, the driver lamented that Rimi, who was also a former minister of communications, gave up the ghost three minutes after he was taken into the emergency ward of the hospital.

Adullahi said that Rimi, his brother, Alhaji Sule Sa’a; and security aide, Sani Maimasara, were returning to Kano from Bauchi, Bauchi State when they ran into members of a local terror group called Kwanta-Kwanta at Gadon Janna, a village about 70 kilometres away from Kano

According to him, the gangsters numbering about 10 ordered them out of the black Toyota Jeep in which they were travelling in and thoroughly searched it.

He added that they were dispossessed of their valuables, including handsets and travelling bags.

According to Abdullahi, Sa’a, who sat on the front seat of the jeep, was beaten with clubs and other dangerous weapons for trying to resist the bandits. However, Sa’a has been treated and discharged from the hospital.

The driver said Rimi, who was not harmed by the robbers, had prayed that Allah should punish them for dispossessing them of their personal effects.

He said that some minutes after they drove off from the scene of the attack, Rimi started gasping, intermittently for breath and at a point asked him if they had arrived Wudil, the headquarters of Wudil Local Government Area of Kano State. Gadon Janna is in Wudil LGA.

Abdullahi said, “As we continued the journey, discussing the incident, Rimi started gasping again for breath. He asked me to increase the air conditioner, because he was sweating profusely.

“At that stage, Sa’a requested Rimi’s security aide to give his telephone, which the bandits did not take, to Rimi. He wanted him to discuss with his son, Nura, (who was on the line). But my boss turned down the idea, saying that they should rather end the discussion with him (Nura).”

According to him, Nura told them if his father’s condition was critical, they should drive him straight to Rimi’s private doctor at Classic Hospitals in Nassarawa Quarters.

He said that on arrival at the Classic Hospital, the doctor discovered that Rimi’s health condition was critical, and promptly referred them to AKTH.

A private radio station, Freedom Radio, said the hospital management denied that its officials did not attend to Rimi promptly.

The station, which did not name its source, said the hospital stated that the former minister was brought in dead.
Source: Punch Nigeria Newspaper – www.punchng.com