When Amoke Matthew, an Okada rider and his wife had a set of quintuplets last year, their joy knew no bounds but what started as a source of joy for them is now becoming a source of worry.

The quintuplets celebrated their birthday recently at their St. Cyprian’s road residence where their father Mr. Amoke Matthew expressed gratefulness to God for blessing him and his wife with four children at first birth but noted that the upkeep of the children is becoming a serious challenge and it has become extremely difficult for him as a commercial motorcycle (Okada rider) in an academic town of Nsukka to sustain the children.

“ Since the birth of the four children, two boys, two girls, my family has found the upkeep of the children very difficult and my wife is only a house wife. The cost of the kids’ upkeep increases in geometrical progression while money trickles in, in arithmetic progression, placing me on high demand”.

According to him, “what I am saying is better experienced than imagined. The major problem of the quintuplets is that whatever you want to buy must be bought for the four, be it toy, shoes, or clothes, the issue of whether you cannot afford is not their in their dictionary.”

Shedding tears while explaining what he is passing through, Amoke noted that the quality and quantity of food the children eat increase on daily basis as they have started eating solid food and eat up to six times daily.

“Their mother is always busy at the kitchen preparing food for them and we have no maid nor nanny as we cannot afford it”.

The kids

The quintuplet parents told Saturday Vanguard that they are always on their toes putting one and two together to eke out income for the children.

“ The worst of it is that at night, when one of them wakes up at night to demand for one thing, others will equally wake and join in demand for that particular thing. They consume the average of N1, 500 worth of milk everyday.”

Amoke further explained that his problem has increased as the children have to be into a nursery class at the cost of N4, 500 each of them, excluding school uniform and socks.

“There is more problem with transporting them to school on daily basis. They are too tender to stay on motor bike, and I am compelled to taxi them to and fro to school at a very exorbitant charge. There is no money to make permanent arrangement to ferry them to and from school”.

Gnashing his teeth in total disappointment, Amoke said that they have not received any assistance from federal, state or local governments.

“The only assistance the children received from birth till now came from good spirited Nigerians mainly from outside Enugu state. On one occasion, the quintuplets were able to meet the First Lady of Enugu state, Mrs. Clara Chime, wife of the state governor who admired the children and promised to take up their matter with her husband. We are still eagerly expecting to hear from her.”

While thanking their donors, Amoke said that they are constrained to renew their appeal for assistance as lives of the children could be endangered by lack of fund.

“ It is not easy in the country now and yet, a lot of people have been of immense help to the family but our problem has persisted. That the children are eating at all is due to the contributions made by various individuals but that has not been enough and we want Nigerians to come to our help by donating more to the upkeep of the children. Children belong to everybody and if mine turn out good, those who contribute to their upkeep will remain part of their story. Please my children need help”, he pleaded.