President Goodluck Jonathan has said that his late special adviser on research and documentation, Mr. Oronto Douglas chose to die in Nigeria to save the cost of bringing his body home from the United States, where he had gone for routine medical attention.
In a tribute he read at the funeral of the late Douglas on Saturday at Okoroba, Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, the president said during the last medical visit Douglas made to the United States, his doctors informed him that he had three weeks to live and gave him the option of staying back in the United States for the remaining period of his life.
According to Jonathan, the US doctors told Douglas they would parcel his body to Nigeria for burial but that if he chose to die in Nigeria he should leave early enough in order to be strong to board flight home to Nigeria.
Jonathan said: “He (Douglas) told me that he decided to come back because staying there he will incur more money because the people will take care of you until you die and that of cause bringing the body home too will be more difficult. So he decided to come.
“He came home and I visited him one week after, that was two weeks to the time he was to die and I expected to see somebody who would be so sad, but it was not Oronto. All his discussion with me was how to document this, to document that, to immortalise this, to immortalise that.
“In fact he was not talking as somebody who was sick. He was very, very courageous, very strong willed. Oronto was Oronto until the last moment.”
[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
Douglas died on April 9 at the State House Clinic, Aso Rock, Abuja from complications arising from stomach cancer. He was aged 48, leaving behind a wife and two sons.
you may also like:
