What would have being a bundle of joy has turned to a thing of sorrow for the family of Mr. and Mrs. Emmanuel Olawale Jacob. The family of six had another three added to the family when Emmanuel’s wife, Muibat gave birth to triplets recently.
While the arrival of the triplets should have brought joy and celebration, the couple are lamenting. This is as a result of their economic standing.
According to report, the family live in a dingy room at No 14 Ola Mummy Street, Pipeline area of Aboru, Lagos State.
The man of the house, Emmanuel who is an Okada rider has been lamenting his fate.
According to him, I am still struggling with raising four children as an okada (commercial motorcycle) rider. He, therefore, described the birth of the triplets as a nightmare.
Emmanuel’s wife delivered a set of triplets on December 17, 2023, thereby, turning him into a father of seven children. Six boys and a girl.
But neither Emmanuel nor his wife was excited at the news of the arrival of a set of triplets. This is because they never planned to add any more to the four they already had.
Their anguish is coming from the failed family planning treatment Muibat underwent at a public hospital in her area.
According to depressed mother, she said, “We didn’t plan to have seven children. It was the family planning treatment I received at a public health centre in Alimosho that failed me.”
“It was my fourth attempt at family planning. I had done three before and they failed, but did not result in pregnancy.
“I was assured by the health centre’s doctors of the family planning treatment’s efficacy. He told me that it would expire by the end of 2024. I was, however, shocked last year, when I became pregnant. And I was delivered of a set of triplets in December 2023.”
According to reports, Muibat is a street sweeper attached to the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA). She used to sell foodstuff until she lost her capital after her husband suffered the misfortune. The husband was displaced from his auto-mechanic workshop some years ago.
“The birth of the triplets was not without challenges. Shortly after they were born, defraying the medical bill for their delivery became a problem. The babies and their mother were detained in the hospital for weeks. Until a kind-hearted man of northern extraction helped to settle the bill.
“But while the couple were celebrating the gesture, they were again confronted with a shocking news. The landlord of their house had the building where they lived with their children.
According to Muibat, “Since I was delivered of these babies, life has not been fair to me and my husband. We didn’t expect three babies at all.
“At the hospital where I gave birth to them, we could not pay the money required for delivery.
“As a result, I was detained at the hospital until a Good Samaritan came to our rescue and cleared the bill.
“While we were still rejoicing over this, information got to us that our landlord had sold the house where we lived. While the new owner had ordered that all the occupants must move out within one month.
“The small room the nine of us are sharing now is one of the storerooms in our church. It was given to us for free by our former pastor who has since sold the church building and relocated to somewhere else.
“Again, the new owner of the building has told us to leave by the end of this month (April). We don’t know where to go to because we don’t have money to get a new accommodation.”
The 40-year-old native of Ilero community in Oyo State added that the cost of feeding the triplets has taken a toll on the family.
“We cannot afford the cost of processed infant food. What I have been doing now is to give them breast milk and cornmeal.
“Even at that, we can no longer afford the cost of preparing the corn meal.
She, therefore, called on well meaning Nigerians to come to their rescue. She cried that she does not want to lose triplet babies and others to hunger.
source: Vanguard
