The cry of a helpless Nigerian mother O
' 'I wish I will ever meet you again; INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ILLAYHI RAJIOON '' from Allah (God) we came, from him we shall all return. These were the words of Mrs Ibrahim Fatimah, mother of four and a Secondary School teacher in Nurul Bayyan Int'l Academy, Zone 5, Abuja , as she watch her twin babies die helplessly at the Maitama General Hospital , Maitama, Abuja, where they were given birth to prematurely (7 months) on the 21 st day of August, 2010.
All efforts to put the Nurses & Doctors on their toes in finding alternative for her fell on deaf ears, as her voice, including but not limited to her husband's and elder brother's were only mere cry in the wilderness. To use the words of the Nigerian bourgeoisie, ''the cry of a commoner''
Mrs. Fatimah's case is Pathetic indeed like millions of other Nigerian mothers. It is not only pathetic because she lost her twin babies in the cold hands of death before her naked eyes, but pathetic it was because the death could have been averted but for the callousness, cruelty, bestial act and insensitivity of the entire management of Maitama and Garki Hospital and this Capitalist State called Nigeria , the twin babies breathe their last breath.
The Ordeal of Mrs Fatimah Started on 20 th July, 2010 (then 6 months pregnant) when she was rushed to Maitama General Hospital as a result of bleeding from her genital organs. The bleeding was due to a car accident she was involved in a week earlier. However, the bleeding started on the said 20 th July, 2010 .
She was admitted in Maitama General Hospital based on the advice of the doctor who equally said she would be under close monitoring because the tissues covering and protecting the babies have ruptured.
Despite the inhabitable nature of Maitama General Hospital , Mrs Fatimah gave birth to a set of twin -two boys at about 2am on Saturday, 21 st August, 2010 . However, there was an anti-climax. Matters took dramatic turn from joy to fear, panic and finally to sorrow -sorrow in its entirety.
The doctors in Maitama General Hospital informed Mrs Fatimah that the Hospital does not have Incubators to keep the babies who were just 7 months. To this end, the babies were referred to Garki, Asokoro/Wuse and Gwapwalada Hospital but neither of these hospitals has Incubators with oxygen nor space to accommodate these God's Gift except Garki Hospital , Area 3, Abuja .
Alas! When Mrs Fatimah and her twin were rushed to Garki Hospital by her husband and elder brother at about 2.30am they were all treated with scorn, contempt and disdain. The ladies and the young lad at the reception insisted that the sum of One Hundred Thousand Naira (N100, 000) must be deposited before the babies would be attended to. The cries and passionate appeals of Mrs Fatimah and others to the receptionist/nurses to allow the babies be attended to while they source the deposit meant nothing to these ladies but a disco music as the ladies were busy wriggling their heads and chewing gums.
The elder brother to Mrs Fatimah, Mr. Abubakar Yusuf, a level 12 officer with National Defence College, Abuja pledged his Car, (a Honda Academy) and also promised to produce the said sum at dawn as it was too early in the morning for him to make a deposit of One Hundred Thousand Naira cash. These explanations further vexed the ladies and the young lad at the reception and they responded in the most insolent manner that it was the orders of the hospital management .
The poor babies and their mother were rushed to almost all the hospitals within the Abuja Municipal but none of them had an Incubator with which to keep these future Nigerian leaders. Amongst the hospitals visited, Nisa Premier, in Kado, Abuja was the only one with Incubators, but their doctors refused to admit the babies on the ground that they were not responsible for the babies delivery in the first instance, therefore they fear that other babies might be affected.
Left with no other option, the babies were taken back to Maitama General Hospital where they eventually died at about 4am from severe cold because it rained profusely throughout the night. The babies were later buried in Gwarinpa Estate cemetery at about 7am on the same day being 21 st August, 2010 .
What a country called Nigeria ? What a way to be called a Nigerian in Nigeria ? What a way to treat fellow citizen? What a way to encourage patriotism? This is a country where the future of her citizen is still bleak amidst plenty. A country on a rudderless journey. A country where her citizens provide the basic social amenities for themselves. The business of today's government is to enrich self and destroy the future of her citizen. Our Government hospitals are mere empty buildings with only First Aid facilities and same applies to public schools. It is really a pity!
I wish I will never regret being a Nigerian someday.
YUSUF AHMED TIJJANI, ESQ
NO 13, NOUAKCHOTT STREET , NEAR BANK PHB,
WUSE ZONE 1, ABUJA . E-mail: