By Francis Ewherido
The eight nightmarish days of the Mr. and Mrs. Leke Orekoya finally ended on the night of Tuesday, April 14, when they were reunited with their three children: Demola, six; Adedamola, four, and 11 months old Aderomola, who were kidnapped by a nanny, Mary Akinloye (real name Funmilayo Adeyemi). The family had employed Adeyemi two days earlier via OLX, an online portal.

Expectedly, the media — print, electronic and social — were awash with the news. Some commentators blamed the Orekoyas for taking in a total stranger and entrusting her with the custody of their children without due diligence. But what the Orekoyas did is not different from what many of us do. We should rejoice with them for the safe return of the children and learn from their mistakes. Thank God the long arm of the law also caught up with Adeyemi, a mother of four, who said kidnapping is a family business. Before you engage a nanny or house helps, please take the following steps.

One, determine your needs. Do you need a resident help or a non resident nanny. Sometimes all you need is somebody who will help you keep the house clean, while you put the children in a day care and pick them up after work. Second, how do you source the person you need? Is it through family, friends, online sources like OLX or other service providers?

Three, if the person is a stranger, you need to do a thorough background check with the written (not oral) information and photo provided. You must go the extra mile by tracing his/her roots to a permanent address, such as his/her village, not the temporary city address. The photograph must also match the name during your due diligence.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kayode Aderanti, has also advised would-be employers of domestic staff to approach the divisional police officer (DPO) of the nearest police station for data capture and background check, which he said is free. Wonderful, but I hope this service does not end up like bail. Bail is supposedly free, but you scarcely get a bail without parting with money in police stations.

Four, the person must have a guarantor of fixed address and a permanent home address; somebody who can be held accountable when things go wrong, like we just witnessed in the Orekoya’s case. Five, whoever you are employing should be 18 years or above. Do not employ children to bring up your children. That is immoral and counterproductive; it is also child labour. Do not stunt other children’s progress for your children’s. Five, like every employment, the terms of the engagement should be clearly spelt out to avoid bickering later.

Six, if the person meets your expectation and satisfies all the above, he/she should undergo a thorough medical check before moving into your house. Check for HIV virus and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), hepatitis and other communicable and non communicable diseases. Children are vulnerable… so they need all the protection.

Beyond that, many parents might not know, but their children are being defiled and deflowered by their house helps. It is bad enough that a domestic help is introducing your under aged children to sex, but to infect them with HIV virus or other STDs is double tragedy. And you might not know until the STD has wrecked much havoc.

Once the help is in, put checks in place. It is in the nature of man to overstep his bounds; that is why we have laws to keep us in check. Some people employ modern technology to monitor what goes on in their homes, no matter where they are. That was how the Ugandan nanny-from-hell, Jolly Tumuhiirwe, whose who was recorded brutalizing an 18 months old toddler, was caught. If you live in a compound or community with common security, be friendly with the security men.

Let them know, for instance, that your house help cannot take the children outside the compound without prior information. They should have your number and your spouse’s in case of emergency. Also be friendly with your neighbours; discuss with them. They probably have a similar situation as yours and you can watch one another’s back.

Sometimes people who can afford it engage two house helps. Beyond sharing the chores, they act as check against each other. Not that this arrangement is foolproof because they can collude and perpetuate evil. I have also seen a neighbour’s two house helps fight each other to a standstill on who rightly “owns” the neighbour’s married driver.

Occasionally, you should make surprise trips to the house. It is usually an eye-opener. You catch domestic workers off guard. People have caught helps maltreating their children, sleeping when children are about to come to harm and having sex or bringing in their lovers. A neighbour’s driver used to take the help on driving lessons after dropping the children in school. I do not have issues with adding value to the young lady’s life, but were these lessons being done with the Oga’s consent?

In the cause of learning how to drive, there can be an accident resulting in third party death, injuries or property damage. There can be own damage too. If the vehicle insurance covers only third parties, then the owner is faced with the expenses of fixing his own car. Sometimes, people go to motor parks or licensing offices, instead of approaching insurance brokers or underwriters, and unknowingly purchase fake motor insurance.

If that is the case, the owner will be faced with third party liabilities as well as own damage because of the nefarious activities of his driver. Beyond that, it is a breach of the Road Traffic Act which forbids the use of a vehicle on a Nigerian road without the minimum motor insurance protecting third party interests. You might not have a foolproof strategy, but you cannot be too careful on issues of domestic workers.