Abubakri Adedokun, a polygamist and father of seven, has blamed the National Association of Resident Doctors’ strike for the delay in the evacuation of the dead bodies of his unborn twins from one of his wives, Halimat.

According to Adedokun, the postponement of his pregnant wife’s hospital appointment for antenatal due to the last public holiday led to the loss of his wife’s pregnancy.

The 53-year-old polygamist welder said the General Hospital Mushin had shifted the date of an earlier appointment scheduled with his 33-year-old wife, Halimat, and that she eventually lost her pregnancy before she could return to her doctor.

Recall that the doctors had been on strike for over a week, calling off the strike only last night after an agreement was reached with the federal government. Despite the agreement, the doctors warned that they will return to the trenches if in 40 days if the government does not fulfil its side of the deal.

But for Adedokun, the end of the strike action is just too late. Speaking to newsmen at the General Hospital Mushin on Thursday, he said the strike had caused more trauma and pain for him and his family.

“On Wednesday morning, my pregnant wife called me on phone and told me that she noticed that the twins were not kicking,”he said. “She said that she would go and do a scan to know what was wrong. So, when she went for a scan, it revealed that the twins were dead.

“When she told me the result, I asked her to come to General Hospital Mushin, where she had registered for antenatal care for proper medical evaluation.

“We do not live together. She lives in Sango, Ogun State, while I live here in Mushin. I have two wives, she is the second.

“I decided to register her for antenatal care at the General Hospital Mushin because I believed that she will get better care there.

“So, she later came that Wednesday evening and we quickly rushed her here. We got to the hospital before 8:00 PM, and a doctor, after examining her and doing all the necessary checks, also confirmed that the twins were dead.

“He then told us that the babies would be evacuated on Thursday morning by 8:00 AM. But this is 1:00 PM and the doctors have still not attended to my wife. The babies have not been evacuated.

“They must not allow anything to happen to my wife because if they had not postponed her antenatal appointment on Monday, they would have been able to detect that something was wrong with the twins and quickly correct it,” Adedokun said, adding, wistfully, “And they are boys that I have been desiring to have!”

The welder explained that his wife was 28 weeks [seven months] pregnant and attended antenatal every two weeks on Mondays.

“Monday, April 5 was her next appointment date, but the hospital postponed it because it was a public holiday. They said they don’t run clinics on public holidays but could only attend to emergencies.

“The doctor has not told me the cause of their death. But my wife was not sick, neither did she complain of anything concerning the pregnancy before she noticed that the babies were no longer kicking.”

Expressing his feelings, the troubled husband said, “I am not happy with the hospital. I have seven girls; and when I learnt that she was pregnant with twin boys, I was overjoyed. But now, the joy has eluded me.

“My first wife has six girls, while Halimat also has a daughter before becoming pregnant with the twin boys.”

Hospital reacts

The authorities at the General Hospital Mushin acknowledged that they don’t run clinics, including antenatal clinics on holidays, but are usually on hand to attend to emergencies.

Medical Director and Chief Executive Officer of General Hospital Mushin, Dr. Mobolaji Sojinrin, told our correspondent that routine antenatal care was postponed that Monday as a result of the public holiday; adding, “But pregnant women are always informed at the antenatal clinic to come if there is an emergency.”

Continuing, Sojinrin said, “As regards her [Halimat’s] management, I will try and find out if there is a delay and to know what the consultants’ management plans are for her.

“Obviously, the husband might be upset over what has happened, but our own job is to care for both the husband and the wife in terms of their emotional state. It is never an easy thing for a family to lose children.”

He explained that the delay in the evacuation of the babies was not deliberate but that the hospital had other critical cases to attend to, stressing that the hospital has continued to witness an increase in the number of new patients visiting the facility since the commencement of the strike.