By Chidi Okorie

Two hair-raising incidents last week brought back to focus the chilling practice of child theft in our hospitals. One was in Ogoja in the northern part of Cross River State while the other was in a private clinic in Olokoro near Umuahia in Abia state. In both incidents the mothers had delivered their children safely in public hospitals but were later told that their babies had died and were already buried. Those who know better than me say that the stolen children are sold at huge amounts to barren couples or slaughtered in secret shrines as human sacrifices. 

It is quite benumbing to imagine the trauma that the parents of such babies go through after seeing their babies safely delivered only to be unconvincingly informed that the babies have died. There is an urgent and serious need for legislation that will seriously criminalize such behavior including the prosecution of all involved, shutting down of such hospitals, the public shaming and deregistering of both doctors and nurses involved. 

Which reminds me of the experiences of a friend of mine who lived in Lagos a few years ago. His wife went into labour and he rushed her to a well-appointed maternity hospital located in the better side of town, the wife delivers safely, but the baby disappears! The hospital management explains nicely to the aborted father that the baby developed complications and died and has since been buried. 

Johnson, my friend, was nonplussed!What complications? Who took the baby for interment, where was it interred? Why couldn’t the parents see it before it was buried? Where was the baby buried? There were more questions. But miserably,  there were no answers. No one was taking responsibility. No one was talking to the parents either. It seemed as though everyone working at that hospital had taken an oath of silence.

Johnson Okoebor Ebhodaghe, the father of the baby thought he was dreaming in the huge Island Maternity Hospital, Onikan Lagos as the staff of the hospital urged him to take his wife home. “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh”.  Yes, but Johnson was not going to be consoled by quotations from the Good Book or the false condolences of the staff of the hospital. He headed to the police station in search of justice and the truth. 

Johnson had only recently been embroiled in a fiery political struggle during the general elections in which he worked for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  in the Ejigbo council ward of Alimosho local government area of Lagos against the powerful All People’s Congress (APC) . When the henchmen of APC attempted to rig the elections at his ward, Johnson had fought against them and they had threatened to seriously deal with him. He was quite sure that what he and his wife were going through was the handiwork of those politicians. Several times he had noticed rough boys tailing him. He always knew that they were looking for every opportunity to do him in. 

This was in 2014, inside the center of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial and wealthiest city. He went to his old lawyer friend, to help him sue the hospital and give him justice. They say that the wheel of justice turns slowly, but surely. In Nigeria, it sometimes does not turn at all. And soon the powerful men behind the child-theft ring descended on Johnson, bearing death in their hands. It was not long before he became a fugitive in Lagos, having sent his wife back to the village in Edo state, in mid-western Nigeria. 

The lawyer took up the case without hesitation and petitioned the police. Some management staff of the hospital were invited for questioning by the police. For a while it appeared as if the police investigations were yielding good fruits as more people from the hospital were invited to make statements. Both Johnson and his lawyer continued to hope for the best, then the police suddenly became cold and hostile to Johnson.

The lawyer also stopped showing up at the police station. Nobody paid attention to Johnson anymore each time he went to find out about the investigation until one day a police officer advised him not to push any further so as to save his own life because some very important people were involved in the matter. From that day Johnson’s life became a nightmare. Two ruffians came after him one night in Oshodi and accused him of being a false accuser. As he started to deny the accusation, they fell upon him and beat him without mercy until approaching headlights sent them sprinting into a dark alley. 

Johnson could not show his face again on the streets of Lagos because he didn’t know who was out there waiting to kill him . The only option left for him was to keep running until at last he ran out of the country. This is the story of Nigeria where the “accuser” can become the “accused” by the snap of the fingers of powerful men. This is the country we have created, a heaven for the rich and powerful politicians and a dungeon for the rest. The value of life has become very cheap and few people can dare the powerful politicians and live to see another day. 

Johnson’s travails and resultant migration is an everyday experience for Nigerians, many of who can face certain death if they dare to return to their country of birth. How is it that a country with an elected government can become so unlivable and mortally dangerous to its citizens. When you travel around Europe and the Americas, you see suffering Nigerians to whom returning home is no longer an option. And every four years the people troop out in their millions to cast the vote and hope for the best that yet remains in abeyance. 

CHIJIOKE OKORIE In Lagos