•Jobless parents of newborn quadruplets seek help, beg Enugu govt, firms for employment
Felix Ikem, Nsukka
For the family of Mr. and Mrs. Uchenna Nnadi, November 16, 2017, will remain an unforgettable day.
It was the day the couple, from Amikwu Village, Ohom Orba, Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State, got a memorable blessing. The wife, Mrs. Maryann Oluchukwu Nnadi, was delivered of a set of male quadruplets.
Before the birth of the quadruplets last year, Mr. And Mrs. Nnadi, who got married in 2012, had been blessed with a son in 2013.
But there is a snag. It was gathered that since the birth of the babies, the economic base of the Nnadis, which was already considerably weakened, has further been stretched to breaking point. The family has since been on bended knees, seeking public help to enable them cater to the needs of their bundles of joy.
This reporter was recently at the home of the Nnadis at Amikwu village, Ohom Orba. Their condition clearly emits sympathy and dejection. Indeed, the condition demands immediate help from both government and private individuals before the family loses the four children to hunger.
The mother of the quadruplets explained that though the birth of the quadruplets has been a source of joy, the family is now living in acute hardship due to the fact that neither she nor her husband has been doing anything tangible.
Narrating her journey into the valley of hardship, Mrs. Nnadi, a graduate of Public Administration from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, explained that members of the family have been living from hand to mouth.
She said: “Initially, when I was told at UNTH that I was carrying four children, all of them boys, I fainted at the hospital. I wasn’t happy at all. I thought about how we were going to feed them and take good care of them with our harsh economic situation. The doctors advised me not to panic, and that God who sent them to me would surely provide for them.
“Then, on November, 16, 2017, I was delivered of the four babies, Chiemerie, Chimdindu, Chiagozie and Chiemezugo, through caesarean section at Parklane Hospital, Enugu. The bill they gave us at the hospital was more than N150,000, which we were not able to pay. We borrowed some money and paid about N90,000 and they discharged us. Since then, those whom we borrowed the money from have been calling us on phone, threatening to take us to the police, if we don’t pay them their money.”
Asked if the family had received any financial help from any person, group or government since the birth of the quadruplets, Mrs. Nnadi said: “There has been no government help coming our way. It is just some people who have been coming to give us some clothes, soap or money ranging from N500 to N1,000. There has been no government help so far.”
On how the family had been surviving, she noted that “We have been surviving by the grace of God. Sometimes we will be so hungry and be thinking on what to do, and before you know it, somebody will just come here and give us like N1,000 to buy food.
“But I will like the state and federal government to help me and give me employment. If I am gainfully employed, I wouldn’t be begging for help like this. I am not doing anything tangible. Please, help me tell the Enugu State government to help me and give me employment. I am also calling on goodspirited individuals to come to our help before I lose these children to hunger and starvation.
“Whenever I remember what I am passing through because of these children, I become disturbed. Two months ago, I developed high blood pressure, and was taken to the hospital. Also, one of the children developed a strange illness. When we took him to the hospital, they diagnosed him of hernia. He had a surgery, which gulped over N100,000, and we are yet to finish payment of the medical bill.”
Father of the babies, Mr. Uchenna Nnadi, also narrated his family’s predicament. He said: “We got married in 2012. In 2013, God blessed us with a male child. My wife had caesarean section and we were advised to give the child enough spacing. After about two years, my wife conceived again, but she had a miscarriage. Then, she conceived again last year, and when I was told that she was expecting a set of quadruplets, I was very shocked. I couldn’t understand what was happening to me.
“This is because I lost my job with Peace Mass Transit. I was doing menial jobs to sustain my family. As I am talking to you now, we have incurred a debt of more than N200,000 in less than five months that these quadruplets were born. Right now, these children consume at least two tins of milk which costs N2,500 every day. You know that the mother cannot breastfeed all of them. Right now, as I am talking to you, I don’t know how, when or where the next meal for the children might come from.”
Asked what he could do to sustain the family, Mr. Nnadi said: “I have driving skills. If anybody can employ me as a driver, I will be so happy. I also appeal to the government to help me by giving my wife employment. Even those helping me and my wife to take care of these children, we don’t have money to be feeding them too.”
Mr. Nnadi gave his phone number as 08166627270. His First Bank account name is Nnadi Uchenna and the account number is 3098858641. His wife may be reached on 08069686158. Her First Bank account name is Eze Maryann Oluchukwu, while the account number is 3040807947.