The agony of helplessness swept through the corridors of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, as the weight of an unprecedented power cut bore down on Nigeria’s foremost medical institution, leaving doctors, patients, and families in a state of despair and uncertainty. After a prolonged blackout for 109 agonizing days, from 26th of October, 2024, to 12th of February, 2025, the hospital—a ray of hope for thousands—was turned into a scene of dismay. The disconnection of Electricity by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) over an unpaid debt of ₦495 million in over six years left the hospital in complete darkness, and the consequences were nothing short of tragic.
During those 109 days, the lack of electricity made what ought to have been simple medical procedures into potentially fatal situations, while some people lost their lives to avoidable causes. Medical students, physicians, and nurses had to put up with working conditions that bordered on the inhumane. Treatment was conducted under the faint illumination of mobile phone flashlights and torchlights. Without adequate lighting, daily tasks including drug administration, IV line insertion, and patient monitoring all become risky. Healthcare professionals were forced to use antiquated, manual techniques as the buzz of life-saving devices like ventilators and monitors was replaced by quiet in the absence of electricity.
Lives were lost to darkness as critical procedures delays.
Every shift was a test of endurance and an improvisational challenge, with the constant worry that one mistake may result in death. Reports of some dire scenarios reported by Healthwise Punch revealed that a family of four was brought to UCH’s emergency room in December 2024 after suffering severe burns in a gas explosion. Their fragile bodies required ventilators to breathe, but with no electricity to run the machines. In the absence of electricity, medical professionals and students had to turn on resuscitators by hand, taking turns every half an hour. Heroic as their attempts were, they were unable to replace proper medical equipment.
Eventually, two members of the family reportedly succumbed to their injuries—victims not of their injuries alone, but of a power failure that stole their chance to live. Another victim of the darkness was a patient with breast Cancer who had an urgent operation to remove fluid from her lungs. The attending doctor, concerned about performing such a delicate procedure under poor lighting, chose to wait until morning. By morning, the patient had passed away in her bed, her life snatched away by circumstances that should never have occurred in a medical institution.
Recent power cuts expose UCH’s financial strain.
As the issue unfolded, it became evident that UCH was dealing with decades of neglect rather than merely a power outage. The hospital’s electrical system was dreadfully antiquated, having been established in 1957. According to reports, UCH’s monthly electricity cost reached as high as ₦80 million, which would be an unmanageable expense for an already overburdened institution. The issue became even more complex when it was revealed that UCH was shouldering the electrical bills for private companies operating within its premises—such as banks, pharmacies, and other commercial organizations—that were housed on its property.
Following this disclosure, Adebayo Adelabu, the Minister of Power, stepped in, facilitating the restoration of electricity and promising that these enterprises would now be responsible for their own expenses. As a lasting solution, the federal government announced plans to establish a solar mini-grid at UCH to guarantee a steady Power Supply moving forward. While this initiative offered some hope and relief, the anguish of the previous 109 days could not be erased. More than just a technical failure, the blackout served as a harsh reminder of Nigeria’s health sector’s ongoing underfunding and deteriorating infrastructure.
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Moreover, the 109-day Power Outage at the hospital was a national catastrophe rather than just an administrative lapse. It dampens healthcare workers’ morale, splits families apart, and lays bare the fragility of a precariously fragile health system. Also, it serves as a painfully loud cry for immediate reform. The nation runs the risk of seeing more hospitals go dark—and more lives lost in its shadows—if it does not make quick and sustained investments accompanied by tangible advancement in energy solutions and medical Infrastructure in the country’s healthcare system.