lBy Adetutu Audu
Oluyemisi Debo-Adesina, wife of veteran journalist and former Nigerian Ambassador to Togo, Debo Adesina, has issued a public appeal for financial support as her husband battles for his life in a Canadian hospital, with outstanding medical bills exceeding two hundred and five thousand Canadian dollars.
Oluyemisi made the appeal in a statement titled “Urgent Appeal for Support for Adebowale Adesina,” addressed to friends, former colleagues, professional associates and all those whose lives her husband touched over the years.
She said the outstanding medical bills had exceeded CAN$250,000 as at Monday, 24 August 2026 and continued to accumulate daily.
The situation, she said, had grown more distressing after the hospital raised concerns about continuing his care unless arrangements were made to settle the expenses.
Narrating the events leading to her husband’s condition, Oluyemisi said Adesina, former Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian newspaper, travelled to Canada on Monday, 24 June 2026, to visit his children, and suffered a massive stroke on Thursday, 9 July 2026.
He spent more than a month in the Intensive Care Unit, from Thursday 9 July to Tuesday, 11 August,2026 before being transferred to the General Hospital, where he remains under medical care.
Oluyemisi said her husband is gradually coming out of a prolonged induced coma, though his condition remains serious and continues to require intensive medical attention.
On the difficulty of making the appeal public, she said it was not an easy decision.
“This is not an easy appeal for me to make. But at a time when every effort counts and every day of medical care matters, I have had to put aside my personal reservations and reach out to the people who have known, worked with and interacted with my husband over the years,” she said.
She urged well-wishers to stand with her family during this vulnerable period, stressing that any contribution, no matter how small, would make a meaningful difference.
“At this particularly vulnerable moment in his life, I am humbly asking you to stand with him and with our family. Any financial contribution, no matter the amount, will make a meaningful difference towards meeting his mounting medical expenses and helping us secure the continued care that he urgently needs,” she said.
Adesina worked across several editorial positions at The Guardian before retiring as Editor-in-Chief, after which former President Muhammadu Buhari appointed him Nigeria’s Ambassador to Togo.
This account was corroborated by Etim Etim, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Policy and Politics newspaper, who joined The Guardian around the same time as Adesina.
Those wishing to assist Oluyemisi and her family can reach her on +1 (365) 341-2173 or via yemisideboadesina@gmail.com.
