| TRIPLETS
...
And the father vanishes
By NGOZI UWUJARE,
Ibadan
Wednesday,
March 14, 2007
 |
• The triplets
PHOTO : THE SUN PUBLISHING |
|
In the household of Latifa
Adeniyi, an unemployed young lady living at Oritagbaemu, Osogbo in Osun State,
these are not the best of times. A situation that should have brought immense
joy to her entire household has, ironically, become a source of untold pain and
anguish.
Since February 25, when she gave birth to a bouncing set of triplets,
joy seems to have taken flight out of her life. Soon after she delivered her babies,
their dad suddenly vanished. And while she was trying to get over that, two of
the babies died. And now, she can no longer hide her sorrow.
“I have
been very unfortunate,” she tells Daily Sun. “I was very happy when
I gave birth to the triplets. But my joy was cut short on the first day and now,
things are finally falling apart for me and my family.”
Latifa’s
agony started shortly after the birth of her babies. A young lady without any
visible means of livelihood, she had been intimately involved with a young commercial
motorbike operator named, Adeniyi Ajibola. According to her, their relationship
was “accidental,” and they never planned for a pregnancy. But the
young man still stood by her until she delivered.
“As soon as he
discovered that this young lady had given birth to a set of triplets, he shouted,
“‘Oh my God! What is this?’ He then went out. And since then,
we’ve not seen him. He has run away,” said Latifa’s grandmother,
Madam Hasanatu Shittu.
Both Mama and Latifa were still contemplating how they
would cope with three kids when two of the babies fell ill. Before they could
get any help, both had died. Latifa’s grandmum explains the reason for their
sudden death.
“They lacked nutrition. I was the one breastfeeding
the triplets before the two died. When they fell ill, we had to rush them to the
native doctor because we had no money to take them to the hospital. We have been
crying for help since the babies were delivered, but we never got any positive
response.”
Latifa’s health has taken a turn for the worse since
her babies died.
“She has been bleeding and I had to take her to
the hospital. Latifa is appealing to good Nigerians to come to her assistance
in order to save her remaining baby. I’m appealing to Governor Olagunsoye
Oyinlola and his wife to come to our aid. We have no money. But I don’t
want my remaining baby to die. God will bless anybody that comes to our aid,”
she says with tears in her eyes. |
