THE NATION MONDAY, MAY 23, 2011
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CITY BEATS ‘I wanted to run away after their birth’
•The triplet.
PHOTO: WALE ADEPOJU
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I would have run away but for my friend who encouraged me. He said there is nothing impossible for God but the economic situation in the country is critical
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FROM THE COURT
He drinks a lot, wife tells court
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trader, Mrs Saratu Dauda, has dragged her husband, Mr. Ismaila Dauda, to the Grade ‘A’Customary Court, Mushin, for the dissolution of their marriage. Saratu told the court that after she left her husband’s house with her child, he has refused to pay the feeding allowance for the child with her. She said the last money he paid was the one the court forced him to give in December. She said it was ironic that though her husband would not have any money for the upkeep of their child, he always had the money to drink, and often drank to stupor. She said her husband never asked after the children’s upkeep. My Lord: “He has left his responsibilities as a father for me, I am the one feeding and paying the children’s school fees,” she said. She, therefore, pleaded with the court to dissolve the marriage with immediate effect and to grant her the custody of the children. But the respondent, Mr. Dauda, said he was not making any payment because he has no money, due to the nature of his job.
•Mr David and wife, Josephine
HEY are bundles of joy. But their arrival jolted their parents, especially, their father, who contemplated running away when he got the news that three babies were waiting for him at the hospital. Why? He does not have the means to take care of the triplets - all girls - delivered by his adorable wife on May 4. David Olelewe, a commercial motorcyclist and his wife , Josephine already had two children - Princess (three), and Angela (16 months) - before Divine, Destiny and Diamond were born. The couple live on Olelewe’s meagre earnings from his okada business. The arrival of the triplets has, therefore, put a heavy strain on his lean income so much so that he wanted to leave them all and run away. He said: “I would have run away but for my friend who encouraged me. He said there is nothing impossible for God but the economic situation in the country is critical. Can I say I do not wish for these babies? They are God’s blessings but it is difficult if a man has to cater for three babies at once. May be one would have been more acceptable. However, I am still very grateful to God.” Josephine, 30, a qualified nurse/ midwife could not get an employment, everything needed was placed on the little that her husband brings. So, it was a little surprising to occupants of 24, Olapeju Street, Papa Ajao, Mushin, where the couple reside, as they stood in awe. The mother of five said she could not carry the pregnancy to term because of swelling in her limb which is known in medical parlance as odomatous. Josephine, who got married on December 28, 2006, said the babies were 33 weeks old (eight months) before doctors took delivery through a caesarian section (CS). “The babies have jaundice. That was why they were placed in the incubators. They are prone at that age to the disease,” she added. She said the doctors had envisaged that there might be complications, so they put her on bed rest for two weeks and two days. Recounting the mystery surrounding the birth of the triplets, Mrs Olelewe said, she
He, however, promised to pay up before next month. He said there was a time he went to his child’s school, to give him N500 for feeding. He said he has been away for about a month, which he said was responsible for why he seemed to have abdicated his responsibilities as a father. The court observed that there has not been any meaningful effort from him to reconcile with his wife, though he pleaded to withdraw the case. The court president held that there has not been any evidence to prove his claims that he still loved his wife. The court told him that he
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He has left his responsibilities as a father for me, I am the one feeding and paying our children’s school fees
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might lose the custody of the children, if his wife could prove beyond all doubt that he didn’t care for them, adding that his attitude towards the children will determine if the children will be in his custody. The court president asked why he has not bothered to perform the necessary traditional marriage rite of his wife, if he still loved her and ready to be a good husband. But responding, Dauda said he has not been able to do that because “his wife has refused to tell him where her family resides.” The court said after three children, Dauda has shown the least seriousness and has not been able to prove that he is ready to keep his marriage. Mrs Dauda lamented: “I cannot continue to live with him, his drinking habit is unbearable. He beats the living hell out of me anytime he drinks and at the same time rains curses on my family.” The court told Saratu to be patient with him at least for the sake of the children. They also advised her to give him some time to see if there would be changes from him.
Indian hemp breaks 10-year-old marriage
By Wale Adepoju
was attending ante-natal at Regina Mundi Catholic Hospital, Mushin, where she was advised to have a scan to check the progress of the pregnancy which was by then four months. The scan result shows she was carrying a set of twins, but another scan test result at Mecure at Oshodi, indicated she was carrying triplets. The latter test was confirmed at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). Josephine said producing babies was initially difficult. “When I got married I could not get pregnant for seven months and it looks like 10 years. I was frustrated but see what has happened now.” During those trying periods, I went to the laboratory to have a scan and the Labortaory Scientist said I have fibroid based on the test result. I then went to my church, The Lord’s Chosen, and offered prayer. I went back for another test later and they told me I was pregnant and the fibroid vanished. It was a miracle.” David said immediate help from the governments, philanthropists groups and well-meaning individuals will make his joy full. My wife had been discharged from the ward and she had to pay for everyday for her accommodation because she can’t be far from the children. She must express breast milk for the babies from time to time. The experts also conduct serum bilirubin test on the babies to know if they have cure of neonatal jaundice. Perhaps, the greatest fear is how to breast feed the babies exclusively, Josephine Uloma Olelewe said, this cannot be possible, unless somebody wants her dead. But buying baby formula would not be easy for a poor family like hers. She also feared that the family who could barely survived before the birth of the triplets, may go hungry and may not be able to give the children good education. “Every day we buyN1, 350 worth of pampers. I need help from the president, Lagos State Government and other good people of our great country,” David said. At the moment the babies are still at the LUTH and bills have to be paid. David and Josephine Olelewe are appealing to the consciousness of kind hearted Nigerians to come to their aid.
By Uchechi Nze
“A
LL what I’ve got from my husband in 10 years of marriage is constant battery, especially after he has smoked Indian hemp,” a 34-year-old teacher, Adeshola Ogunyemi, told the Grade “A” Customary Court in Mushin. Adeshola, the petitioner in the divorce suit, urged the court to dissolve the marriage between her and her estranged husband, Adeyinka, 41, as she was no longer interested in the relationship. She described her husband as “a chronic Indian-hemp smoker, who batters me at will, while I was still living in his house. “Since I got married to Ogunyemi, I have been responsible for the education and upkeep of our three children”, Adeshola said.
She told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), outside the court, that her husband had concealed the fact that he earlier had two wives and many children until after she married him. “It was my mother in-law who revealed to me that Ogunyemi’s two wives left him because he was quarrelsome. “I decided to pack out of the matrimonial home on May 11, last year, because I could no longer bear the constant battering,’’ Adeshola said. She also pleaded with the court to grant her the custody of the children, adding that her husband had denied her access to them, in spite of the court order. The husband consented to the dissolution of the marriage on the ground that his wife was not faithful to him. “I cannot allow Adeshola
free access to the children because I constantly consult them and the first child told me that she would not like to stay with their mother,” Ogunyemi said The Court President, Dr Abayomi Ipaye, who presided over the divorce suit, said the marriage had broken down irretrievably. “The petitioner is married to another man for whom she is currently pregnant. “We are only concerned about the welfare of the children because they need to relate with both parents.” Ipaye ordered that the petitioner’s current partner and the respondent’s sisters should appear in court at their convenient time before the next adjourned date for dialogue on free access to the children. He adjourned the case till May 26 for further hearing.
'Hard work secret to success'
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MMANUEL Ajulo, a brilliant young man, stole the show at the induction of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). Not only did he go home with awards in five categories, he dazed even the audience when he was named the best overall student of the diet. He recorded the rare feat in one year. Ajulo confessed that he was taken aback when his name kept on resonating in the honours roll call at the event. “I was dazed myself, though I had prepared so hard for the examinations, I never expected to cart away so many prizes like I did today,” the graduate of Accountancy from the Federal
•Ajulo with his prize
Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, said. At the event, which took place at the ICAN Centre, Amuwo-Odofin, on May 11, Ajulo emerged winner in all categories of the award. According to him, he started his Professional Examination (PE I) in May last year and wrote the second stage same year, having qualified for the PE I. He
became a chartered Accountant this May. What took Ajulo a year, had taken many others between five and 19 years or more. Though he attributed the feat to hard work and diligence, he admitted he never knew he would be setting a record as the best student for the diet and for the year he enrolled for the examinations. It did not end there, his name was called again in the subject prizes. He was the first in Strategic Financial Management and Advanced Taxation courses. Ajulo was also the first winner of the Akintola Williams Deloitte prize of N100,000.