Secret Reporters No place to hide
The baby in the picture arrived this afternoon. Her mother is a 23 year old woman named Grace who is from Benue State. Grace lost her both parents some years ago. Though, a very beautiful girl by nature, in order to survive, she took to petty trading in the Naval Base in Makurdi where she met a Navy personnel who took advantage of her vulnerability of being beautiful but without parents and exposed to the vicissitudes of life without the support of extended family members.
The Navy officer turned young woman, Grace into his sex toy and she became pregnant for him but he rejected the pregnancy. Shocked and troubled, Grace watched her belly swell up as the pregnancy progressed. Being without food and care, she sought help from her estranged sex maniac and Navy friend but he rebuffed her. In frustration, she sought to complain to the Commandant of the Naval Base but in connivance with other Navy ratings she was not allowed access to the Navy Commandant in order to complain about the abandonment by her Navy boyfriend.
When the pregnancy reached 9 months, she thought to herself that for the many good works that she has heard about Dr Eneche, the Senior Pastor of Dunamis Church, she would come to Abuja to seek the benevolence of the anointed man of God. But when she arrived the Dunamis Church in Area 1, Abuja, she was shocked when the security men did not allow her to see the man of God.
According to her, she said that she slept in the church compound for 4 days after which the security men asked her to leave. She then began to sleep in the open air around the church and in the night she would sneak into a half open traffic warden’s cage in order to keep from the cold nights. All these she was going through with her 9 months pregnancy.
It was at this peak of her suffering that she was brought to the Omnibus Human Rights Show which I host and present every weekday on Love 104.5 FM, Abuja.I entertained her live testimony on the Show and attempted to reach the Navy rating on live radio but he cut my call. I bemoaned and reprimanded the acts of the security men who did not allow the young woman to see the man of God. I extolled the good qualities of Dr and Dr (Mrs) Eneche, both medical doctors by training and wished that they were aware of the young woman’s plight and that I believed that the story would be different if they intervened.
I however, personally decided to take the pregnant woman in company of one of my most trusted female assistants, Mrs Temidayo to the National Hospital for an emergency examination. At the National Hospital, I was able to secure express medical attention for her through the intervention of the P.R.O of the hospital, Dr Tayo Haastrop. I arranged for the registration and payment for the tests from the donations of N5,000 from Patrick Otoro, my friend and N10,000 from a strange fellow by the name Emmanuel Ozika. Another Olumide and his Urhobo wife traced us that morning to the hospital and pledged to defray the bills with N10,000. Some other amounts came from me and another N25,000 from the Omnibus purse being the remainder of the last donation of N250,000 from Sir Godfrey Ohabunwa’s Charity, Help Without Boundaries.
Meanwhile, one Pastor Sarah of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG ) who had phoned in into the Show, volunteered her home and care, also joined Temidayo and Grace, the pregnant woman at the hospital that morning.
The next day I got a letter from the solicitors to Dunamis Church and Pastor Eneche that I had defamed both the church and the man of God and therefore they demanded an apology to be broadcast on the Omnibus Human Rights Show continually for 7 days or face an undisclosed consequence. I was not bothered in the least by that solicitor’s letter. Being a practising litigation lawyer myself and fully aware that I not have not offended God’s righteous authority in any regard, I thought I didn’t have to bother.
But I do sincerely think that the Dunamis church lost a golden opportunity to express the love and power of Jesus Christ by not properly responding to the situation. Even when the church ought to have given a correct impression about what constitutes true Christian charity, it sought to intimidate and cow me into apologising for the indiscretion of its security personnel who made the church to turn its back on a helpless young woman who was without, father, mother, family and was carrying a 9 months pregnancy in an unfamiliar place like Abuja.
Pastor Sarah of the RCCG convinced us that the RCCG has an hospital in Abuja that would offer better care at little or no cost. I was moved by my own notion of a missionary hospital in the category of the highly famed Baptist Hospital, Eku, Delta State and to think it was almost free made it irresistible for me to direct that the young woman be taken to that RCCG hospital.
I was made by Pastor Sarah to call a certain senior female pastor of the church to allow the young woman to be admitted for late antenatal. After much pleas, the RCCG hospital agreed to do antenatal for her. I was later informed that when my assistant, Temidayo and Pastor Sarah took the young woman to the RCCG hospital, the female pastor began to lambast the pregnant woman to the point that she began to cry uncontrollably without any consolation.
I was further informed that the female pastor said she was ready to give the pregnant young woman a bucket for her tears. I was also informed that the said female pastor at the RCCG church hospital asked the young woman whether she was ready to give up the baby for adoption after delivery. At that point I became miffed and ordered that they cease to go back to that church hospital which did not have a medic with enough of Jesus’ compassion to spare the battery of the self-esteem of young woman with a 9 months pregnancy and who was about to deliver. I sincerely thought that was a callous act with a veneer of Christian rebuke.
Therefore, I immediately directed my assistant to ask that the young woman should resume at the National Hospital for her antenatal. I was later informed that the said Pastor Sarah on her own volition had taken her to Wuse General Hospital for some check ups without even informing me. At that point, I sent a message to Pastor Sarah that she would be on her own if she takes decisions on the lady without me.
This morning at about 7:20 am, on my way to present the Omnibus Human Rights Show, I was informed that the lady had gone into contractions and that they were on their way to that same RCCG Hospital where she had cried profusely from a heavy dose of condemnation. I was shocked at Pastor Sarah ‘s unilateral decision to still take her back to that church hospital.
During the live show, I asked one devout woman to lead a prayer for the young woman as I had just received an sms that she had gone into labour. I explained to the listeners that I had directed that she be taken to National Hospital but that she has been taken to a church hospital.
After presenting the Show, I went to do a matter at the High Court of the FCT and when I returned to my office, Temidayo called me that the RCCG Hospital authorities have decided NOT to admit the pregnant woman to deliver in the church hospital despite her being in intense labour pains. I was again shocked beyond description. They gave a reason that they had heard me say on Radio this morning that I had earlier directed that the lady be taken to the National Hospital and for that reason, they wouldn’t admit her into the RCCG Hospital to deliver her baby.
I became more troubled when Temidayo kept calling that the lady was in pains. It reached a crescendo when she told me that the water membrane of the pregnant woman had broken. Yet, the church hospital authorities said she must be taken away from their hospital. Temidayo later toubled me the most when she said the pregnant lady couldn’t move anymore as a result of tiredness and spasmodic pains yet the church hospital authorities were adamant that she must be taken away.
At that point, I called my pastor friend, Dr Ojo Osazee who used to be a consultant in Askoro General Hospital but he said he wasn’t in the hospital and had been transferred to Kubwa. Respite came when I contacted Dr Agidee, a surgeon at Wuse General Hospital who said that the lady should be brought immediately to Wuse General Hospital. I mobilized resources to get her out of RCCG Hospital. I drove ahead of them to Wuse General Hospital to arrange for a stretcher to evacuate her and when she was brought to Wuse, she couldn’t lift herself but a taxi driver, a very strong man lifted her from the car unto the wheel chair and she was taken immediately to the labour room. I pledged my credit to the Wuse General officers and dropped only N5,000 with Temidayo for card and folder registration and another sum of N,7000 with Ruth Alenu, a widow of a policmean that was killed by Boko Haram who recently enlisted as an Omnibus volunteer. I asked her to use the money to help pay for any other thing that may be needed and to buy recharge card to keep me posted .
I thereafter decided to race back to the radio station to collect some gift items and cash donations by one Hajia Fatimah Jimeta who responded to the on-going Radiothon for Maternal Health care being carried out by the Omnibus Human Rights Show.
While I was on my way to the radio station, I got a call from the doctors that they intend to do an operation by C – Section since the baby was coming out with her legs instead of her head. I gave my approval expressly.
About one hour later, I was told that the young woman has been delivered of the beautiful baby girl you see on the picture. I have visited both the baby and the mother and they are certified to be stable.
There is a lot of lessons to be learnt by this case. A lot of work would still have to be done.
I want to give all the glory to the Almighty God who has taken control of this case.
I want to thank all the Omnibus Human Rights Show (Council) Members who assisted me, viz: Temidayo, Ruth Alenu, Henrietta, Ejikeme, Godwin Ani, Jonathan Joel and James. They were all at the hospital to offer help and show con ern for a comelet stanger to whome they are bound with the hunity we all share.
I also want to thank my staff at Forthright Chambers, Cynthia Shemang and Bulus who sought to get the woman from the RCCG Hospital to Wuse General Hospital when the RCCG Hospital authorities became intransigent.
I want to thank the management of Love 104.5 FM, Abuja, particularly Mrs Lilian Anele, the GM and Sir Godfrey Ohabunwa, the GMD of Multimesh Broadcasting Company for enabling me to use the platform of radio to carry out local human development programming which has proven to be so helpful in such a short time.
I have merely striven to improve on the model which Ahmed Isah had started and I do always recognise him for his inspiration and courage.
I am deeply humbled by this opportunity to be useful to young woman through the Omnibus Human Rights Show which is just about 3 months old.
Finally, I want to thank all my professional clients for putting up with my absence from the office for the whole of today. The call to help two needing souls overtook me. I am so sorry. Thanks for your understanding.
Thank you all again.
Frank Tietie,
Executive Director, Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights ( CASER ) and
Radio Presenter of the Omnibus Human Rights Show on Crowther Radio, Love 10r.5 FM, Abuja.
