It was discovered that twin sisters perished, forty eight hours apart in Yobe state.
The late sisters, 28-year-old Dr Hadiyah Usman and Dr Aidah Usman (PharmD) were children of Dr Hadiza Usman and Dr Usman Abdullahi, Daily Trust reported.
The deceased’s mother, Professor Hadiza Abdullahi Usman is the Medical Director of the Federal Medical Center, Nguru, Yobe State, while their father, Professor Usman Abdullahi is a senior consultant.
One of them, Hadiyah, according to family sources, fell ill because of a sickle cell crisis which she had been battling for years and was sent to FMC Nguru. Later on she fell victim to the situation and died on Friday. The funeral prayers were held on the same day at the emir’s palace in Nguru.
Our correspondent gathered that her twin sister, Aidah, was also said to have experienced a crisis within the same period and was being treated at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
“It was not unusual as the twins had a history of falling ill together even when they were apart at different locations,” one of the family members who talked to our correspondent said.
”Well, the family was used to it, really. “Whenever one twin got sick, the parents knew the other one would get sick, too,” he said.
He claimed that after Aidah got well and was discharged from the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, she travelled to Nguru to join her heartbroken parents and grieve the death of her sister.
“Aidah was determined to visit her sister’s grave and pay her respects on arrival. His mother, a medical practitioner, was not happy with it but had to give in when she realised that the daughter was adamant to travel to the site,” he said.
An uncle of the twins, Ibrahim Hasbunallah, who was their guardian in Maiduguri also spoke to our correspondent.
•The twin sisters on their seventh birthday
He said he was lucky to hold the twins on the day they were born as they were passed to him by their parents shortly after they were born.
“They were given to me at birth, and I buried them with the same hands – one on Friday, the other one on Sunday,” he recounted.
“Sisters who were both born with sickle cell anaemia had a bond beyond that of siblings,” he said.
They had no friends, he said, and were completely to themselves.
They were usually indoors; they read together, ate together, played together and slept together. That was their routine,” he said.
“The sisters, though sick, performed well academically and were admitted to study Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Maiduguri,” he said.
It was gathered that following graduation, they worked at the Federal Medical Center (FMC), Nguru.
“Unfortunately, the two sisters fell sick at the same time and one was treated at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) and the other at FMC Nguru, while their mother was in Saudi Arabia,” he said.
The elder twin died before the mother came back while the surviving twin perished a little after their mother returned, Hasbunallah claimed.
“When the younger twin came from Maiduguri, she refused to sleep all nite, insisting that she wanted to visit her sister’s grave,” he claimed.
She went to her grave with her mother, her husband, her younger sister (now the last surviving child of the family), and Hasbunallah.
We prayed and she would not leave. Right from home she informed me she must follow her sister. She responded, Her sister can’t die and leave her. ‘What shall I do here?Hasbunallah remembered. ’ she said,”
Then she became weak and shaky, and her husband and younger sis ran to her side, but she fell before they could catch her. She was taken to hospital at about 3.30pm where she died in the Intensive Care Unit. “She died a few minutes after the Asr prayer at about 4:10 p.m.,” the uncle said.
Our correspondent, when he spoke to their father, was only able to confirm the incident, scarcely able to talk.
He said he would speak to our correspondent at a later date and spoke in a calm tone asking for time and understanding.
In a note of thanks following the funeral, the mother, Professor Hadiza Usman, thanked relatives, friends, colleagues, professional bodies, religious leaders, traditional rulers, government officials, personnel of FMC Nguru and other well-wishers who stood with the family.
“I am truly moved by the outpouring of love, solidarity, prayers and support we have received,” she stated.
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