In my country, rarely would you hear the average man complain about the healthcare system, even if he recently just got well from a terrible illness. And this isn't because he got nurses back to health in an hospital where he was treated well, but mainly because over here in Nigeria, the majority of us self-medicate, and only visits the hospital when it's something really bad and death threatening. So the majority of us don't know how bad the healthcare system over here is because we haven't had a firsthand experience with it. 

![photo-1504813184591-01572f98c85f.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/prayzz/23tvVWmED2Y9s2KBBWG6sZfkmzghpC7xAzEwZGSj4Cna9GUqfzpGAyRJth9zo1Dp91J5E.jpg)
<sub> [photo by Piron Guillaume](https://unsplash.com/photos/medical-professionals-working-U4FyCp3-KzY) </sub>


It is for this reason why no one has really raised their voices to protest about how bad and expensive healthcare is in this country.

The other day, a friend of mine had complained about some serious stomach pain, and when everyone with him realized it was something serious, he had been rushed to a nearby hospital. When he got to the hospital, he was asked to pay for some sort of form, in the price of about ten thousand naira, then he was also asked to make a deposit of the sum of hundred thousand naira before he would even be examined, to know what's wrong with him.

Over here where I stay, the average salary most people are being paid is around thirty-five thousand naira monthly, so before this friend of mine even got examined, or asked what was wrong with him, he had been asked to make a deposit of times three the amount which the average man makes in a month.

According to my friend, the moment he heard them say those amounts, he instantly got a little bit of relieve from the pain and asked everyone to take him back home. It was like the charges gave him an instant healing. He ended up going to a government hospital the next day, where he ran some tests and also bought some drugs. He said everything he did there cost him about twenty-five thousand naira, which was a quarter of what the other hospital had asked him to deposit.

This story, although it sounds a bit funny, just goes to show you how bad and expensive the healthcare in this country is. And I say that because what would have been the case if this was a very severe case where the person needed immediate medical care or could lose their life when not attended to?

I'm sure without a doubt that a lot of people have lost their lives this way, but unfortunately there was no one for them to cry to because afterall, they're poor and don't have the resources to take the case to the necessary department. It's the sad truth, and also a scary one.