Epilepsy: Seizures are medical, not spiritual; early treatment is vital

Afeez Adesina, professionally known as Destiny Boy, was a 22-year-old Nigerian singer whose music bridged generations. By blending the percussive depth of traditional Fuji with the rhythm and accessibility of modern Afrobeats, he helped shape what fans came to call the Afro-Fuji sound.

His rise began in 2019 with a Fuji-style cover of Davido’s hit ‘If’, a performance that quickly spread online and introduced him to a national audience. From that moment, he became one of the most recognisable young voices carrying Fuji into a new era.

His death in January 2026, following a long-term illness described by his mother in an online interview, has since sparked a broader conversation about epilepsy, stigma, and access to medical care in Nigeria. What makes the loss especially painful is that the condition he appeared to experience is widely recognised, diagnosable, and treatable when managed early and consistently.

ALSO READ: Lagos APC screens 27 aspirants across 20 LGAs ahead of congress

According to his mother’s account, the young singer had suffered recurrent nighttime episodes for more than two years.

In Yoruba, such attacks are often described as “Oku oru” or “Ogun oru”—terms used to explain sudden nocturnal events in which a person collapses, convulses, briefly regains awareness, and may then become confused or agitated. While these descriptions are culturally familiar, medically, they are consistent with seizure activity.

Videos that resurfaced after his passing showed friends attempting to help him during these episodes by pressing or tapping his chest in an effort to revive him. The intention was clearly to save his life. However, medical experts caution that this approach can be harmful.

Forceful chest pressure during a seizure can lead to rib fractures, breathing difficulties, or aspiration.

The recommended first aid response is to gently place the person on their side, remove nearby objects that could cause injury, avoid restraining their movements, and seek medical attention.

Protecting the airway and allowing the seizure to run its course safely is far more effective than attempting to “bring the person back” through physical force.

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder defined by repeated, unprovoked seizures—brief disturbances in the brain’s electrical activity.

It affects approximately 70 million people worldwide and is one of the most common neurological conditions. The burden is especially high in sub-Saharan Africa, where limited access to neurologists, diagnostic tools, and anti-seizure medications leaves many patients untreated.

Cultural interpretation plays a significant role in how seizures are understood and managed. In many communities, episodes that occur at night or without warning are framed as spiritual attacks, ancestral afflictions, or acts of unseen enemies. As a result, families often turn first to prayer houses, traditional remedies, or rituals.

While these responses are rooted in belief and hope, they can delay hospital visits and allow seizures to continue unchecked.

Repeated uncontrolled seizures increase the risk of injury, cognitive decline, and life-threatening complications such as prolonged status epilepticus.

Professor Morenikeji Komolafe, President of the Nigerian Society of Neurological Sciences, has repeatedly emphasised that epilepsy is not a curse and not a nocturnal assault. It is a medical condition that, in most cases, responds well to proper diagnosis and consistent medication.

She declared: “When patients are brought to a health facility early, clinicians can take a detailed history, perform necessary tests, identify seizure patterns, and prescribe appropriate anti-seizure drugs. With adherence to treatment, many individuals achieve good seizure control and return to school, work, and daily activities.”

The tragedy, she said, is that many young Nigerians die not because epilepsy cannot be treated, but because it is not treated in time. Delay transforms a manageable condition into a fatal one.

Recognising the signs of epilepsy is therefore essential. In children and young people, seizures may not always appear as dramatic convulsions.

They can present as repeated staring spells, sudden unexplained falls, jerking movements of the limbs, brief loss of awareness, confusion, lip-smacking, eye-fluttering, or unusual behaviour followed by extreme fatigue.

Any pattern of recurrent, unprovoked episodes should be treated as a medical concern requiring prompt evaluation.

Professor Komolafe declared that public education is critical to breaking the cycle of stigma and delay. Families need to know that epilepsy is neither contagious nor a sign of spiritual failure.

“It is a neurological disorder that can be controlled in the majority of cases with medication. Early treatment reduces seizures, prevents complications, and significantly improves quality of life,” she added.

Experts also stress that epilepsy care must be holistic. Treating epilepsy without addressing nutrition and general child health leaves vulnerable patients at continued risk.

Professor Edwin Trevathan of the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health highlighted at the 2026 Nigerian Society of Neurological Sciences conference in Kano that malnutrition is a leading contributor to mortality among children with epilepsy.

Poor nutrition weakens the immune system, increases susceptibility to infections, reduces tolerance to anti-seizure medications, slows brain development, and makes prolonged or severe seizures more likely.

Integrating epilepsy services into primary healthcare, improving access to affordable medications, training frontline health workers in seizure recognition and first aid, and expanding public awareness campaigns are all necessary steps.

Despite these challenges, the outlook for people living with epilepsy is far from hopeless. When seizures are controlled, children attend school more regularly; adults maintain employment, stigma decreases, and families experience greater stability. Effective treatment transforms lives.

Destiny Boy’s story is therefore more than the loss of a talented young artist. It reflects a wider public health issue shaped by limited access to care, cultural misunderstanding, and delayed treatment. It is also a powerful reminder that epilepsy is a medical condition, one that can be managed successfully when recognised early and treated consistently.

Changing the narrative requires shifting how seizures are understood and responded to. When communities replace fear and stigma with knowledge, when families seek medical care without hesitation, and when health systems provide accessible treatment, fewer young lives will be lost to conditions that medicine already knows how to control.

In the end, the most meaningful tribute to those lost is prevention: recognising the signs, responding safely during seizures, seeking prompt medical care, and ensuring that epilepsy is treated not as a mystery, but as the manageable neurological condition it is.