November 11, 2024

TNN Newspaper

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When Public Outcry Reaches The Heavens Over Dumping Of Babies In The Gutter

5 min read

Edith Chuku

The incessant practice of dumping new born babies in gutters and waste bin has become so worrisome. Parts of the country have continued to witness in shock, the dumping of newly delivered babies, some in gutters and others in waste bins.

Most appalling of this ugly development is that most of these babies who were thrown away in this manner may not have been still born or born prematurely.

In some instances, doctors confirmed that some of these babies were duly delivered after nine months of pregnancy. Unfortunately, some died at the spot where they were abandoned, while others died while in the hospital.

But why would a woman discard her new born baby after carrying them for nine months. The man responsible, is he not bothered about the whereabouts of the child? Was it really the mother who disposed the child? If so, why is it so difficult to apprehend her or the perpetrators of this inhuman act?

Not too long ago, residents of Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, were thrown into disarray on a Saturday morning, following the discovery of a newborn baby boy who was dumped at a waste bin.

The child was reported to have cried helplessly before he gave up the ghost. The baby was said to have been kept in a carton and dumped in one of the waste evacuators.

A wailing crowd gathered very early that morning at Community Primary School, Okutukutu, along Melford Okilo Expressway, following the sight of the crying baby. An eye witness had said the resonating sound of the crying baby, about 6am, attracted passers-by who then stopped and brought the baby from the waste bin and placed it by the road side, suggesting that the baby might have been secretly kept there in the night by an irresponsible mother.

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TNN learnt that the baby was kept in the carton with the placenta still connected to the body and its body open to the early morning cold weather, as he neither wore a shirt nor was he in a blanket. When our correspondent got to the scene, he saw the lifeless body of the baby placed on the roadside while members of the public rained curses on the mother of the innocent child.

The unfortunate incident took a more emotional twist when a housewife who had been crying for a baby for the past 10 years arrived at the scene and broke into tears on hearing that the baby had already died.

Recently in Elikpokwodu Community at Rukpokwu Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State, residents were awoken by an unrecoverable shock when they woke up to behold the dreadful sight of twin baby boys thrown into a gutter in the area.

The sympathetic incident which was discovered in the early hours of Monday, January 20, drew pity from natives in and outside the community. Report has it that out of the two boys dumped in the waterlogged gutter, one had died before they were discovered while the second died while some eyewitnesses were taking him to the hospital.

The heart-breaking sight prompted residents to rain curses on the unknown mother of the dead twins, while others expressed concern, wondering what state the woman was in.

 

Speaking with TNN in an exclusive interview on the matter, a renowned prophetess, Mrs Beloved Greatness Ukeme said “no reason, for goodness sake, is good enough to justify such barbaric, inhuman act. This is evil before God and man; it is evil of the highest order.

“Why get pregnant if you are not ready to have children? Flee from immorality, flee, Jesus Christ, after carrying a baby for nine months, you deliver that child and throw the child, full of life away? God forbid. What about the mothers of these girls? Even if you conceived out of being raped, I condemn it totally. This is evil.

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“We have duly married couples looking for children, orphanage homes are there; why for Christ sake, should such evil exist? If this act was done by a ritualist or someone who wants to show wickedness to the mother of any of these children, such a person will suffer, but the shocking thing is that no one has come out to say my new born baby was stolen or this baby is mine, or someone took my baby from me. No one has done that. Or did they lose their life during delivery? What exactly happened?.

“It’s high time we mothers tried to draw our daughters closer, closer now than ever. Yes, most teenagers were enticed with things we as mothers should have provided for them and unwanted pregnancy becomes the case, abortion, deliver and throw away becomes an option. We have to teach our sons and daughters on the future danger that awaits those involved in an act such as this.”

Speaking on what might be responsible for such act, she said “I must add that frustration is the beginning of all evil thoughts. Some women are frustrated and depressed; this contributes to the high increase of wickedness amongst these frustrated ones.

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“Dumping and killing of babies is becoming a norm, backed with very funny excuses. Some women get frustrated in their relationship or marriages, others, the fear of how to take care of these kids, and to some, it is just a pay back to their spouse for abandoning them.

“Whatever may have given rise to this mayhem should be addressed by the ministry of women affairs. This has to be properly looked into. Women, young girls need to be helped morally. Measures have to be taken to help such persons through counselling, skills acquisitions, job creation. Women have to be actively engaged, duly occupied.

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“Apart from government, churches, schools, individual organizations will have to step in also in terms of counselling and creating awareness. I implore everyone to also look out for your neighbours, friends, family, religious partners, co-workers, etc, be your brother’s keeper, report any life threatening case to the authority, this case of dumping babies must be eradicated.”

 


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