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By Emma Njoku
Popular skitmaker and social media influencer, MC Always, popularly known as “Egbon Adugbo,” has turned the pain of losing his wife to Stage 4 cancer into a campaign for a more functional healthcare system in Nigeria.
The entertainer said his family’s struggle to secure treatment for his late wife exposed him to challenges confronting patients, particularly those battling cancer, including access to timely treatment, high cost of care and inadequacies in medical facilities.
Speaking during a programme on TVC, MC Always said what began as an attempt to tell his wife’s story had developed into a wider campaign after cancer patients and caregivers began contacting him with accounts of similar experiences.
According to him, the volume and nature of the responses convinced him that his family’s ordeal was not an isolated case, but reflected wider problems in the country’s healthcare system.
He said the experience had transformed his advocacy into what he now regarded as “a calling” to provide a voice for Nigerians struggling to obtain adequate medical care.
MC Always explained that his decision to speak out was not driven merely by anger over his wife’s death, but by what he encountered while trying to save her and the experiences subsequently shared with him by other Nigerians.
He raised concerns over the cost and accessibility of cancer treatment, availability of appropriate medical facilities and difficulties patients and their families face while navigating the healthcare system.
The skitmaker said many cancer patients and relatives caring for loved ones battling the disease had reached out to him since he began speaking publicly, recounting difficulties they encountered while seeking treatment.
For him, the testimonies underscored the need to move the conversation beyond individual tragedies and temporary expressions of sympathy on social media to sustained advocacy for improvements in healthcare delivery.
His campaign has also drawn attention to the healthcare situation in Lagos, where his family had its experience while seeking care for his late wife.
The entertainer said Nigerians battling serious illnesses should be able to access timely and quality healthcare without having to contend with systemic difficulties that compound the burden of their conditions.
He also wants the campaign to provide a platform for patients and caregivers to share their experiences and draw greater attention to shortcomings in healthcare delivery.
MC Always said his wife’s death might have prompted him to speak out, but the stories subsequently shared by other Nigerians had convinced him that the campaign was now bigger than his family’s experience.
He said he would continue to use his platform to advocate a healthcare system that gives Nigerians access to affordable, timely and quality treatment.
