For 50-year-old Eno Essien Asuquo, who had been battling breast cancer since August 2003, the Christmas season brought good luck as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, reached out a helping hand.
Asuquo, who hails from Ini Local Council of Akwa Ibom State, but lives in Calabar, sits by the roadside, along Ekorinim, near the Ministry of Works, daily, begging for help.
The Guardian learnt that she chose the location to catch the attention of Governor Bassey Edet Otu, who uses the road on his way to work. But each time the governor passes, security personnel, reportedly, rush forward to keep her out of his view.
However, fortune smiled at her on Saturday, December 22, when a concerned citizen and human rights lawyer, James Ibor, who had been driving by, sighted the big sore on the woman’s breast. He approached her, and after a conversation, put a call across to the minister, who was returning from the ‘Otomo Obong’ festival.
The minister rushed to the scene. Upon seeing Asuquo, she immediately directed that the woman be taken to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) for medical attention, with a commitment to foot the bill.
By last Saturday, Asuquo’s sore had been dressed and preliminary treatment had started. She was, thereafter, admitted at the UCTH female ward, where she had a Computed Tomography (CT) scan on Monday; with the hospital saying the result of the scan would determine the course of further treatment.
Confirming the development, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Edu, Rasheed Olanrewaju Zubair, said: “In her characteristic manner of quietly showing empathy and love for the vulnerable, the minister was overcome with emotions when she picked up Asuquo from the Ekorinim area of the Cross River State capital for full rehabilitation, medication, and humanitarian assistance.
“The woman, a poor food vendor, who has sold all property to treat her breast cancer, was in tears as she couldn’t believe a minister would stop by to pick her up for treatment.
“The 50-year-old petty trader, who has been abandoned by her family, lives in Calabar and had been battling the deadly disease for years with no financial capacity for medical attention, could not hold her gratitude as she went down in tears, full of praises for Edu.
“The ailing woman who could not contain her joy told the minister, ‘God specially sent you to me during this season to save my life. I thank Jesus, I thank you, and I thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who appointed you into this office. You are a humble, kind woman. You are proper and fit for the kind of humanitarian response Nigerians need. And I am today a bona fide beneficiary of this. I will shout for the people to hear’.”
Ibor, who drew the minister’s attention to the case, described Edu as a “humanitarian per excellence”. He said: “I know Edu and her humanitarian antecedents before now. But what I saw her doing today was life-saving, timely, and an immediate response during the festive period. It’s commendable.”
The minister, who refused to say much on the development, simply noted: “God will Save Eno Asuquo Essien’s life from this deadly state I met her.”
