The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sunday magazine

  • ‘Traditional bone setters don’t know their limitations’

    ‘Traditional bone setters don’t know their limitations’

    Dr Orlando Ugwoegbulem, an Orthopaedic Consultant and Trauma Surgeon at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos tells Hannah Ojo about how to avoid congenital and acquired limb loss in children.

    HOW does congenital limb loss occur?

    It can be caused by a lot of things. It could be genetic in the sense that there are things that programme what part and form some stages of organogenesis, so when there are environmental insults at that stage, it can lead to deformities. For instance if mothers are exposed to radiations or have viral illness during that first eight weeks of the embryonic stage, some deformities tend to occur. Drugs ingested during that period can cause congenital abnormality at that stage as well.

    Also, there are conception bands-something like a rope that can tie round the developing limb. They can concentrate it in such a way that there are no blood supply on all hands and it can cause what you call auto- amputation. You can see children that are born with amputated limbs; there is something that has prevented that from growing in the womb. Even though it is not inherent in the mother but outside it, there are structures that can constitute such a thing to the point that the limb fails to develop or drop off.

    There is always a case of gangrene resulting into most amputation, how does this come about?

    When we talk about gangrene it means that first there is an infection. Gangrene can be wet or dry but the most important thing is that there is loss of blood supply to that extremity. Loss of blood supply can be due to trauma or mismanagement in the case whereby someone has a fracture and in the course of treatment, they go to traditional bone setters. They can apply tight things to constrict blood so much that blood is prevented from flowing to those extremities. Once blood is not getting to any particular place, that region is bound to die. Once that happens and there is gangrene, a dead part cannot co-exist with a living part. If you do that, the person’s life is in danger, the infection from the gangrene might sweep into the person’s system and the person dies. So the easier thing to do is to save a patient’s life by removing the dead part. That is why a limb is amputated because there is no way you can repair that limb because what you do is to remove the part to enable the patient to live. It can be wet it can be dry.

    Administering injection on a child that has fever; how can this lead to limb loss?

    It is difficult to say this is the cause of a fever in a child immediately. That is why it is advisable not to give them injections when they are having fever because if it is viral like polio. When you give an injection trying to stop the fever it tends to worsen the viral infection and the person ends with paralysis. The teaching used to be if a child has a fever, you give oral drugs rather than injection because the injection gives a trauma and that trauma radiates any polio infection.

    What is the place of traditional bone setters in the management of fractures?

    Traditional bone setters have been there for a long time but things change with time. The soft tissue is very important when it comes to covering the bone. The soft tissue is the muscle, the nerve and the blood vessels; one must understand this before fracture can be well managed. It is not that traditional bone setters should not manage fractures, but they should realise that there are important structures they have to respect and that is the difference between us and them. For you to treat the bone very well you have to respect the soft tissue. First of all, to avoid infection, you need to be clean, that is why we take our bath everyday but instead they would rub cow dung or chicken droppings. If they tie it so hard, the blood vessel becomes compromised so it does not supply blood again to it. In the process of rubbing these things, gangrene sets in, infection sets in and the person might end up not only losing the limb but losing the life as well. If you go to our casualty ward, 75/80 percent of cases are complications from the traditional bone setters. They don’t know where their limitations are.

    From your wealth of experience as an expert, how would you advise parents and guardians to prevent cases of limb loss resulting from common incidence?

    It starts by education. If you tell would-be mothers that by the time they are getting into the fifth week of pregnancy to the 10th week, you find out that the legs and the limbs are getting formed, what we advise is that they should try as much as possible not to ingest drugs that are harmful. Secondly, fractures heal very fast in children when treated by medical experts. In case of a home fracture, what they need is simple splinting and they should come immediately to hospital. When they come early, they may be spending less than N5,000 but there is this phobia that it is better done by the traditional bone setters. When the child has a fracture, just splint it and then you leave it. Even if it is deformed it can always be corrected rather than taking it to places where they are tied.

    Can child amputees live a normal life?

    Since that part is lost, we recommend an artificial limb for them. When they come to a stage that there are some other complications rather than loss of the limb, we do some reconstruction to make them achieve reasonable level of function with that particular limb. Children use prosthesis better than adults so they get used to it but like we say the best thing is to prevent such cases except for the congenital ones that we may not have control over.

  • A courageous ‘walk’ through life

    A courageous ‘walk’ through life

    Her story touches the heart. Adenike Abraham Oyekan, nee Akinbola, suffered from poliomyelitis very early in life which left her with thin legs to wade through life. Now, in her late 30s. She graduated from Yaba College of Technology in 1998 with HND in Secretarial Administration, has a PGD in Management from LASU and then, proceeded to Ladoke Akintola University of Science and Technology in 2010 for her MBA. Today, happily married to Abraham-Oyekan with a beautiful baby girl who is a year six month old. Her story is a book waiting to be written. She attended Yaba College of Technology, Lagos. Joke Kujenya met her.

    SHE heaved a deep sigh as the discourse began, and then asked, “Are we really talking about me being married, and now a mother?” Without awaiting answer, she said, “Okay, I got married on Saturday, April 2011, to Mr Abraham Oyekan. It has been a beautiful learning process and another school on its own entirely. I met him when he came to take care of those of us with special challenges. This lasted for about two years before he told me one day that God said he should take me for his wife.

    “The mystery of it all is that, I had thought I knew my husband before we tied the knot, but now, I am just knowing him and he’s been wonderful. There is this saying that you cannot know yourselves perfectly well so, there is bound to be new things every day. I am discovering him just as he is discovering me. It has been fun, there is no cause for regrets at all.”

    Reminded that ours isn’t a society prepared to help people with her peculiarities cope with pregnancies, let alone giving birth to children, she hinted that her case has been riddled with bright hopes. “I was truly looking forward to having babies. But my husband was cautious because he did not want me to go through the stress. Left to him, he did not marry me because of babies. He loved and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. I told him I needed to show the world by God’s help that I am a complete woman with her own children. Doctors had told me I could have my own children, anyway. I pleaded with him to let us give it a chance. And when it happened, none of us knew I was pregnant because we were both first-timers. That month, I had a promotion interview exam in Kubwa, Abuja. On my way, I gave a ride to two pregnant women in my specially built hands-opearting car. I did not know that I was pregnant at all as we went along.”

    For a woman with a peculiar challenge, she was encouraged to share her pregnancy experience.

    “It was hectic,” she began. “I did not want to capitalise on the early signs of every woman missing her monthly period. The fact that I missed it for the first time in my life did not hit me as anything special. When I told my husband, he advised we should hold on a little, thinking it was the usual anxiety with women. We waited for about two to three weeks after I missed my period. In between, I took ill with malaria and had to visit one of our gynaecologist doctor friends who treated me for malaria. He also carried out a pregnancy test on me. He was, however cautious not to do virginal test because he did not want to take chances. Right there in the hospital, a pregnancy test was carried out. We were told to wait for the result to be ready in an hour or thereabout. Then I left and went back to the office. Later, I got called by the doctor who told me that I was a month gone. I felt so excited.

    “I started asking myself if I was truly pregnant. I looked at my tummy expecting to see the bulge and signs of movement. Each time I would ask my husband, is my tummy not getting big? And he would say it is not. But when I started seeing it getting bigger and bigger, I was proud to show the world that this is one of such rare miracles God can do. I also saw myself trying to hide the pregnancy. But sorry, I could not. I wore big clothing. Other women mocked me that it is often like that with first-timers. I thought people would mock me when they see my protruding belly, especially in my office, because one of my bosses usually say women always lie if they are pregnant; that if you want to know the truth about women and pregnancy, wait until their tummy begins to show. And like I feared, in the early months, my colleagues and others taunted me and my boss too was able to jokingly affirm his claim.”

    Asked how did her legs carried the weight of her pregnancy for the nine months period? She recounts:

    “The first three months was filled more of evening sickness. I could be strong in the mornings, but towards the evenings, I would feel sickly. I still went to the office, but evening period, the sickness would start. I never vomited. I was spitting, but never went about with cans because to me, that was disgusting. So rather than carry cans about, I chewed gum. Before I entered my office complex, I would park somewhere and empty my mouth and then put the chewing gum in my mouth. I slept more in the office, especially if I was not working or there was nobody to gist with. By four months, I started contracting.

    “That was how I coped from one health challenge to another till the nine-month duration was completed. Then on July 23rd, 2012, I went to the National Hospital Abuja, around 12noon with my husband and sister-in-law. I actually went for the regular ante-natal session. But the medical officials took me to the ward. Later in the evening, nurses came, checked my BP, pulse rate and every other thing, and pronounced me okay. Later in the same evening, the anesthesia team, whose job was to talk to me and prepare me psychologically, came in and said I would be given a spinal epidural to keep me awake to witness the delivery process. I was injected to block the lower end of my spine to deaden the pains from my waist down, so that while they cut me open, I would not feel the pains. I asked what were the chances of me still being able to use my legs. I was told that it had nothing to do with me losing the little reserves that I have.

    “Today, all that is history. I was told to stop eating by 12a.m but I had already stopped eating by 10p.m. I was quiet anxious, I could not sleep on time. Very early the next morning of the 24th, the nurses came to wake me up and gave me the theatre uniform. They asked me if I was ready for it, and I said yes, I am in for it. At that point, there was serious anxiety which arose from the fact that people had gone through epidural and some not able to use their legs again. Epidural is the injection on the spine which instead of the normal general anesthesia that makes people sleep off, with epidural, the woman will be awake and see everything that is happening on her body. When I was taken into the theatre and the medical officials bent me over, I saw God reallyworked for me. They wanted to get my spine where they would put the injection. The more they kept putting the injection, because the surgeon that was to perform the surgery discovered that before I was moved in for the operation, I was already contracting, he sat there, thinking. He said he didn’t want this to continue and that the more they kept pinning me, my nerves were already sensitive. So they made me sleep back and said, ‘sorry Nike, you’ll be fine and we’re going to give you a GA but before you know it, you will be awake.’ So that was all I knew. He just said just look at this man and that was it, and before I knew it, I found myself awake. I was taken to the theatre around 3a.m, and my husband said by 4a.m, they already brought out the baby.

    “By the time I regained consciousness, I was shivering. I was cold, although, and then the pains. My hands kept moving to the place where I was feeling the pain but they held me back. It seemed as if I was awake all through, but I was not conscious and I was not coherent. My husband was not allowed in the labour room. The following day after the surgery, I was sitting up. Their normal routine thing is, since I wasn’t given blood during the surgery, they wanted to be sure that my blood level was still perfectly okay. So that prompted the issue of the PCU test. I do not know the full names for the acronym PCU, but I know it is used to detect the blood level.

    When the doctor returned with the result of my blood level, he said it was 17, which meant it was extremely low, very risky. But the doctor said no, it cannot be 17 and she’s still here. He said it should be redone, they did it again and it is 18. The doctor insisted no because I was not showing any symptoms. Other doctors came, but the doctor that did the surgery was not around. I called him and told him. He said if I don’t want the blood since I was not showing any symptoms of a person with shortness of blood, that I should hold on; they shouldn’t transfuse the blood. They brought the blood on two different occasions, but they had to return it back. Then on Sunday they took my blood and repeated the PCU level test and to the glory of GOD, by Monday, it was 24. I did not take any blood transfusion. I was not given any medication except antibiotics, like a woman that had normal birth. And up till now, I have not. Not that it is a bad thing but I do not want and I thought there was no need for it. So they asked me what I would want them to do with the blood. I told them to keep it for whoever will be in need of it because it is my husband’s blood. We paid for the screening and the cross-matching after donating his blood. And since then, it has been wonderful. My baby is now a year and six months old. She has been a healthy child all through. Her names are: Perfection, Iseoluwa, Oluwafimidararere, Mosasinuoluwa, Covenant, Adeshewa Abraham Oyekan.”

    The excitement was infectious as Nike’s husband, Abraham Oyekan, said, “I can only thank God for everything. Though the whole period was challenging, I did not have any emotional stress during my wife’s pregnancy. As a man with a divine mandate from God, I was not taken unawares and that is why I have the inner strength to scale through the period of pregnancy. There was no anxiety when the delivery time came because I knew that everything was in God’s hands. My assurance and rest was in God. So I had nothing to worry about. After all, He was the one that initiated it and has it all planned out from the beginning and I had the assurance that no matter what, He would see us through it all and perfect everything.”

  • It’s tough being an orphan and physically challenged’

    It’s tough being an orphan and physically challenged’

    When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, the onus is on you to show it that you have a thousand reasons to smile. This is especially true of Kelechukwu Nkwocha Pope, a disabled and orphaned undergraduate of the University of Lagos, who recently wrote his final examinations. He shared his highly emotional story with GODWIN SIMON.

    KELECHUKWU Nkwocha Pope or Pope, as he is fondly called by his campus friends, moves about the campus on crutches, a condition necessitated by his two paralysed legs. His condition is as a result of a polio attack, which dates back to when he was just one year old. The story passed down to him was that all efforts to arrest the terrible ailment fell through and his parents thus resigned themselves to managing his unfortunate fate. As fate would have it, he later lost his father, thereby transferring the family responsibility to his mother. Five years ago, he again lost his mother, leaving him wondering what worse fate life really had in stock for him.

    He, however, began to find succour when some well-meaning Nigerians took it upon themselves to assist him by committing themselves to sponsoring his tertiary education. With their help and support, he was thus able to pull through his university education. Although his days at the University of Lagos were very challenging; Pope is a fresh graduate of Political Science today and ever ready to regal you with his story of triumph.

    According to Pope, he decided to study Political Science due to his desire to be in government and effect changes to how public offices are being managed in the country. “There is a general notion that politics is a dirty game, but over the years, I have been re-orientated and I now believe that government is not a dirty game. What makes it dirty are the individuals practising it. So I feel I could be useful in any of the levels of government and help put things back on the right path.”

     

    Tough road to success

    Commenting on his days as an undergraduate, he said, “To be frank and candid, it was strenuous. It was tough and really challenging going through all the hustles and bustles of academics in a school like the University of Lagos. This is one school you can’t just come in and hope to bag a degree without working hard for it.”

    He revealed that his challenges were aggravated by the need to move from one place to another for lectures. “Our lecture venues were never at one spot. They are not even close to each other. So, it was quite challenging; but I thank God.” Words of encouragement and advice from friends and relatives, however, kept him going, while his determination to study hard and come out in flying colours also kept him going.

    He recalled moments when things got so difficult that he thought of giving up, adding that he was sustained by a determination to make a difference. “I remember when I was in my second year; I was so down at a point because I never knew that school was going to be so demanding. The funds were not coming as expected and yet I didn’t want to bother my sponsors much; often I wanted to give enough space for about a month before making another demand. So I was totally fed up then; but something inside of me told me that I didn’t need to give up.”

    He attributed his sustenance during his trying periods to God’s benevolence, noting that his pastor also played a crucial role in his ability to cope with life. His words, “God kept me going during these unforgettable moments of distress. I also have to mention the role of my pastor. Most of his messages at times addressed my issues. I mean messages that re-invigorate my inner mind, putting me up on my feet again anytime I become weak.”

    Pope, therefore, says that his campus experience was a stepping stone to a greater height, in spite of everything. His four-year experience has taught him that there is no impossibility under the sun. Rather, he believes that individuals should learn to see possibility in any seeming impossibility.

    “When I was in the first year”, he recalled, “our classes were on the ground floor, but when we got to the third year, our classes were scheduled for the upper floors, even as far as the last floor. In the final year, we had classes at the top floor, middle floor and also on the ground floor. This made everything become so stressful for me. Looking back, however, I can now say everything was interesting because I don’t know what I will face outside school. I may secure employment in a company where I would be climbing from one floor to another; so I will be able to draw from this experience and encourage myself that if I could survive on campus, then I should be able to do same wherever I find myself. So now, I do not see those experiences in school as stumbling blocks but as stepping stones to a greater height.”

    He revealed that his physical disability has adversely affected his relationship life, as all his efforts to get a marital partner have gone down the drain. Most of his partners have been unable to withstand pressures aimed at discouraging them from continuing with him.

     

    Love gone sour

    Recounting one of the instances when his relationship collapsed, he said, “I was once in relationship with a lady but she broke up with me. I guess the reason was that she couldn’t just cope with societal and peer pressure. How can you date someone like this? That is why I often ask myself how people like Cobhams got their partners. I have gotten into two relationships but they all went down the drain. Because of the experiences I’ve had, my mindset now is that no girl wants to date somebody like me. I just want to concentrate on what I am doing. If they come, fine, and if they don’t come, I have no choice.”

    While advising people in any situation that seems hopeless, he charged them to get close to God as he could attest that nothing is impossible for Him.

    His words, “They have to get close to God. When I lost my mum five years ago, I thought it was over for me. It was like the whole earth was coming down. My father had earlier died, so she was the one that served as my father and mother. So, when she too died, I was clueless about what would become of me, but I remember what she used to tell me that even if she wasn’t here, I should always depend on God. I got close to God; I am a worker in church, I am in the choir and I am also currently the youth president of my church. My pastor didn’t look at my physical disability. That’s why I am still surprised because people like him are rare in our society. I want to appeal to people in any condition to develop a personal relationship with God. Even if you can’t do it 100 per cent, just try to do your best for Him. When you are with God, He will navigate your way.”

    He also appealed to the government to prioritise the interest of the physically challenged so, as to ameliorate their predicaments. “Physically challenged people in Nigeria are suffering. We are not being catered for. We are not in their (government) agenda. I really commend Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, for the inclusion of the physically challenged in the budgets, but I have not benefitted from it. Probably there is someone out there siphoning the money. I just want the government to come out with policies and agenda that would affect our lives. The government should also strive to implement all the policies.” He pleaded.

  • Limbless kids tell tales of loss, agony and hope

    Limbless kids tell tales of loss, agony and hope

    WHAT makes Medinat Jimoh different from other babies? It is not just in her radiance or the vivacity of her dainty steps, shown in the manner she warmed up to the inviting smile of this reporter, coiling into her extended hands with consummate familiarity. She is three months away to clocking two, yet she has withstood intense pain and anguish that would jolt an adult faced with the same circumstance. The story of her limb loss commands sympathy; her arm simply fell out with the towel her body was wrapped with on getting to the hospital. According to her mother, Mrs. Motunrayo Jimoh, a fashion designer, who resides in Igbo Olomu, a hinterland in Ikorodu, Lagos State, she noticed some days after Medinat’s naming that she couldn’t wriggle her right hand the way infants are wont to do when they cry to get attention.

    “The third day after her naming, I took her for immunisation at the General Hospital. I had a misgiving when the nurse wanted to inject the same arm that wasn’t moving well but she assured me not to worry saying injecting it would prevent infections from getting into it. Knowing the attitude of nurses in government hospitals, I kept quiet because I can’t teach them their job.”

    It was a week after the immunisation on the injected arm that complications began to set in. Slowly, the arm began to deteriorate and the peace of the baby was disturbed. At barely a month old, Medinat was bearing pains which prevented her from eating and sleeping well. Following the disturbance, her mother took her to a trado-medical clinic at Oworo, a community which she had patronised in earlier times for the delivery of the first three issues she had before Medinat. With the affected arm becoming dark, she was told to rub Shea butter (ori) in order to relieve the baby of pains. By the second day, the hand had darkened so much that the softness of the bone could be felt at just a touch. It was at this point that she was advised to take the baby to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba. Recalling how Medinat’s limb finally came off, she said: “ When we got to LUTH, as the nurses made to remove the wrapped towel from my baby’s body to begin treatment, both the towel and my baby’s arm fell off together. The bone was just standing. I was shocked.”

    To save her life, the remaining part of the arm had to be amputated. Battling to control her emotions while reliving the painful experience of her child’s limb loss which led to her spending close to three months at LUTH in 2012, Motunrayo believed her baby must have been a victim of some spiritual attack. “My baby was attacked”, she said with a firm iota of certainty. However, investigation by this reporter showed a contrary possibility. The eventual loss of Medinat limbs may have been as a result of the circumstances surrounding her birth and the ignorance which trailed the handling of the situation thereafter. Dr. Orlando Ugwoegbulem, a consultant Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, affirmed that weakness at the upper limb of a child can occur as a result of the circumstance surrounding the birth.

    According to him, “There is a possibility that in the process of trying to deliver a child, the hand might have been pulled and the nerve that powers it becomes stretched so the hand becomes weak and the child usually is unable to make use of that hand. Commonly when you notice that, what you do is to rest the hand or send to a physiotherapist, it would regain its power.”

    Asked whether the immunisation which was injected on the same hand could have worsen the case, he said; “That injection would have introduced an infection into the bone which now caused gangrene and the hand dropped off. That is the likely pathology of what happened. It is the immunisation that would have introduced an infection and that infection now caused what you call osteomyelitis, an infection of the bone”.

    In actual fact, Medinat was not delivered in a hospital. Her mother, Motunrayo was rushing from her base in Ikorodu to Oworo, where the trado-medical clinic she patronises is located. “I took an Okada to Igbo-Olumu junction but I could not go on again. There was no hospital around so some women came to help deliver the baby and I went back home. I usually don’t have birth complications”.

     

    A dream on the fringe

    There is a future prospect which makes 10 years old Dorcas Adepitan cheer with excitement. She imagines herself in a white coat holding a stethoscope. Little wonder she tells anyone who cares to listen that she wants to be a doctor. However, a sad development occurred, her dream is on the verge of being washed out as it appears to be hinging on a fringe. The JSS 1 pupil of Elvan Adelaja Secondary School, Bariga, Lagos, was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a cancer of the bone. This led to her right leg being amputated in order to prevent the tumour from spreading. Life was normal until on an ill-fated day; she hit her leg against a desk in school. She relates her experience thus, “I was on my seat and the boy was running so I hit my leg on the desk. I told my mum and she started rubbing it for me. It started swelling up so they took me to LUTH. The result came and they said they had to amputate.”

    Describing her daughter as a loving and happy child, Mrs. Erinola Adepitan, a petty trader relayed her fears for the future: “I need help so that I won’t lose her. She has taken more than six doses of chemotherapy. I am reaching out to Nigerians to help me. If we can meet a helping hand on time, the cancer won’t kill her. I can’t do it alone. What am I selling? For me to spend money on her and end up losing her would be a huge loss.”

     

    Bone setters, phony prophecies and needless loss

    The tales of Adebowale Alabi and Afeez Usman are cases of acquired limp losses which might have been prevented if help had been sought at the right time and the right place. When Oscar Wilde, the Irish poet wrote in his book The Importance of Being Ernest that “Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it, and the bloom is gone”, he certainly didn’t have Mrs Ayomide Alabi in mind. The young woman had been forced to abandon her private business owing to the burden of caring for a child with a missing limb. She did not heed to the doctor’s advice to take her son for surgery when his fracture became complicated because she was told at the churches where she went to pray that her son might die or end up being amputated. So she hoped for miracles and heeded to the advice of an Imam to hire the service of an Ijaw bone setter to treat her son. Her son, seven year-old Adebowale Alabi had sustained an injury while playing ball with his brother. After the passing of time with the bone setter in charge, things took a turn for the worse. The leg later developed a swelling which seems to contain a mixture of blood and water. “Although the bone setter said I should ignore it that the boy was only responding to treatment, I called a nurse who advised that the wound should be pressed to remove the purse. She used scissors to open it and said I should buy antibiotics. After they opened the wand, for five days, later the boy couldn’t sleep again. He was in pains. I didn’t want to go to igbobi because of the message I heard. When I eventually took him there, I was subjected to rains of abuses with the way I handled the case. The doctor said I should take my baby away if I didn’t want surgery”. After the surgery, Debo has been fine. He is looking forward to receiving prosthesis from the Irede Foundation, an NGO dedicated to raising hope for limbless children.

    She learnt the hard way and is quick to warn others. “Don’t listen to people who said it is someone that is behind your situation. If I had not listened to that (the prophecies) and gone to the hospital on time, maybe this would not have happened. The second one I regret is that local treatment is not good. Anybody with any kind of problem should go to the hospital in this case”.

    For Afeez Usman, the lad sustained an injury on his hand while playing with his step brothers at Ilorin. In the course of five days, the hand got swollen and the mum took him to a bone setter in Bariga on returning back to Lagos. The hand, which began to decay, was amputated at a General Hospital at Ilorin. Aware of the limitation that his limb loss cost him, the young lad actually shed tears when the reporter met him and his mum. “Whenever he returns from school crying, I can always guess what the problem is. That means his mate had called him alapakan (one hand man) and I will console him and urge him to leave them to God”. Afeez who has been without a limb for five years is also waiting to get prosthesis fittings at Irede Foundation. Her mum expresses her joy at the prospect. “That means he would be able to help with the house chores and also wear fine cloths”.

    Although it is quite common for parents to employ the use of bone, setters to treat fractures, the trend, however could be dangerous. It was learnt that 75-80 percent of amputations in children which occurred at the The National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi was a result of complications from bone setters. It is in lieu of this that Dr Ugwoegbulem further said the efficiency of bone setters is limited in treating fractures because there are important structures in the bone which they may not be able to identify and treat appropriately.

     

    Congenital limb loss in children

    Congenital deficiencies can be the complete absence of a limb, more commonly, part of the limb is missing and the remaining portion has not formed normally. Sometimes, surgery is performed to straighten the limb or to address limb length inequality. At other times, surgery may be recommended to reshape the limb to enhance prosthetic fitting. Mrs Elfrida Usman, a civil servant who gave birth to a child with congenital limb loss describes her shock when she delivered her baby and noticed his limb was missing. “When the nurse raised him for me to see and one leg was off, I just said wow! She told me ‘ Thank God you have other children. Immediately I just felt this is like having a child and the child dies”.

    At that moment what were you thinking? She was asked. “It was like carrying a child for nine months. I actually tried to console myself that I have other children, I mustn’t die because of one since I have to be there for the others. That moment I didn’t feel too bad at that time but later the impact of what had really happened dawned on me”, she said further. Elfrida, who named her son, Isaac has come to see the special ability in him. Even though one of his limbs is missing and he has no fingers, he attends a regular school and he is able to write and even help with house chores. “There are certain things my son does that other children of his age can’t do. If Isaac should pick up a broom and sweep the floor, you will be wondering who swept it. One of the teachers called me and said ‘this boy is an amazing child, he is going to do great things’. She showed me how Isaac kneaded tiny holes during art work. He feeds himself”.

     

    Hope springs eternal

    At a cocktail event organised by The Irede Foundation in August last year, three year old Beulah Chigbu who was born with a missing tibia and patella in her right leg, came out to render a poem thanking donors for giving hope to child amputees. Her mother, Crystal Chigbu, a top manager with one of the multi-national companies in the country could not hold back her tears. She confessed to her inability to hold back the emotions at other moment when she sees her child aiming for things without limitation. “A case in point would be when she had to compere an event in school and she was standing for over one hour. I can go on and on with such moments when I see her trying to cook, dance ballet and swim. With that I am excited and a lot of times I ‘tear up’”.

    When her daughter was born with congenital limb defeat, Crystal had a hard time accepting her daughter’s fate. With the support of her husband, she moved on and was inspired to start a foundation to help child amputees after seeing the difference a prosthesis fitting made for her daughter. The Irede Foundation was founded in 2012 and with the support donor partners is giving hope to child amputees by providing them with free prosthesis so that they can confidently live a self-sufficient life free of limitations and social stigmatisation. Some respondents who shared their limb loss experience with this reporter have benefited from the foundation while others are waiting in line to get prosthesis. Reacting to how it feels to keep parents on hold before getting prosthesis, she said; “It can be very painful. At those times, I just feel I wished I was the richest woman in the world. We are beginning to learn that life is in phases and things have to be done in phases so, our call is for people to support what we are doing so that we can attend to these children faster and better. We would like to do a lot more than we are doing today but it is tied to a lot of finances. We are hoping that we would keep getting better and we can reach out to more kids”.

    It is more common to see children with disability using more of clutches as against prosthesis owing to the cost involved. Mrs Juliana Aluko, the Assistant Director, Prosthetics and Orthotics, Department, National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi also opined that prosthesis is the best option for a child when it comes to mobility. “Mobility with clutches is not the same as artificial limb. When a child has artificial limb, he would be able to walk and go back to normal life”. She also speaks on the types of prosthesis available for mobility: “There are the conventional types of prosthesis which is called exo-skeletal because the outer shell is hard. It is made of plastic and wood. The second is the endo-skeletal type or modula prosthesis. It has a pipe that represents the bone of the patience. That pipe is covered with foam which represents human flesh and is covered with holes called cosmetic stockings. The foam represents the muscle of the patience such that when you touch it, you feel a soft part of that prosthesis. It is easy to assemble, it is durable, lighter but it is more expensive”.

    According to a development report, every year, 200 children are born with a disability or become disabled before the age of 19. 70 percent of these children are in developing countries like Nigeria. It is said that without access to adaptation assistant tools, 90 percent of these kids born into developing world like Nigeria may never have the opportunity to access education, employment, marriage or even a self-supportive lifestyle. For the countless kids caught in this quagmire, hope can still play its part. It is time for a forward thinking Corporate Social Responsibility from both individuals and organisations.’

  • ‘Criticisms by men of God cannot stop me’

    ‘Criticisms by men of God cannot stop me’

    The General Overseer of Mountain of Liberation and Miracle Ministry, aka Liberation City, Dr Chris Okafor, spoke with Sunday Oguntola on the many criticisms against him and his unique ministerial operations. Excerpts:

    The church clocked 10 last November. How has the journey been?

    We appreciate God who has been helping us to fulfill the mandate that He gave us. He’s been our helper; our sustainer and father. We are not there yet because our best is yet to come. But we give God praise for where we are. God gave us a one billion-soul mandate and we are very far from there. It is not easy to reach one billion people.

    So, how far have you gone in fulfilling the mandate?

    We have reached a lot of people. Last year, we had crusades in Enugu, Abuja, Warri and other places. We were in Cameroon, South Africa and even the United States of America. We are reaching souls.

    We also have our TV ministry. We have a station that reaches all countries in Africa and three in Europe. As I talk to you, we are at the verge of entering into another platform that reaches every part of Europe. We are at advanced talks with Galaxy that covers all parts of America with a view to reaching the one-billion soul mandate. I am not in the church now or at a crusade but we are reaching souls. They are seeing us on TV and other media outlets.

    Your environment and look depict class and excellence. Why these dashing looks, considering you are a preacher?

    You see, this has always been part of me. I grew up in a poor family. My father was a carpenter and my mother a vegetable seller. We were so poor even the poor called us poor. About 11 or 12 of us lived in one room. We used to wear one clothe for a year. I went through what we used to call ‘wash and wear’. You wash in the night, spread overnight and wear the following day.

    So, it is not about wealth but discipline. I found out that the Spirit of God likes excellence. So, that accounts for how I always appear. Jesus was a powerful dresser. John said he was not worthy even to untie the lace of his shoes. Those scandals must be expensive.

    He used designer perfume because the alabaster oil that Mary poured on him was the most expensive in those days. It was so powerful that Judas, who was not there when she was pouring it, perceived the aroma, came over and said it should have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor. That tells us the class that Jesus belonged to.

    People have always wondered just where you are coming from. You just seem to have appeared from nowhere.

    Well, I grew up in a Christian home. I encountered Christ at eight. My parents were elders in the Anglican Church then. Everybody must wake up 5am everyday for devotion. By 9pm, we gathered for night prayers. Everybody in the family must fast three days -on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays – every week. So, the upbringing didn’t allow me anything less. It shaped my ministry and calling.

    Did you work in any church or under any man of God?

    I was indirectly influenced by the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa. We were living in Benin City then. I was privileged to be under him, though not at a close range. There were other ministers who also influenced me.

    Were you a member of any church before this church started?

    No, I was not. We started a fellowship once I was in Lagos, which metamorphosed to this church. I never belonged to any church until then. The fellowship started in the house of an Anglican priest, who was of help to me. And you know it is not difficult to kick off from that angle, considering there was no platform.

    Did you attend any theological school for ministerial training?

    None at all. I was tutored under the late Archbishop Idahosa. We always misunderstand something in life. Bible school does not make you called; it is God that calls people. You can go to Bible school and still not have the calling. I have a study where I have read over 1,000 books. The Bible says Jesus called his disciples and gave them powers. He called, not Bible school. That I did not go to Bible school does not mean I was not called.

    What has kept you going despite all the criticisms against you?

    It is God. There was a time the Apostles were arrested and were at the verge of being killed. A man in the opposition said if what they were doing was of God, they would survive and no attempt to stop them would succeed. Whatever is of God will last. If the opposition is not there, I won’t be on my toes. So, enmity is useful in many ways. When the Israelites were in captivity, the Egyptians left all the jobs to them. Today, the Israelites are the best doctors, engineers and so on. So, enemies can be blessings in disguise.

    Don’t women trouble you, considering your dashing look?

    (Laughs) You see, I don’t leave my house; I am always in my house. There are some deliberate walls I built around myself that are difficult to break. I don’t see anyone except on appointments. I have protocols and security men around me. So, it is difficult for any woman to access me. I don’t go to functions or any social engagement. You can’t find me outside.

    Why?

    I am not called for that. I fast every day. You can imagine if I wake up every 2am, I pray until 8am. I go back to bed and normally sleep at daytimes. So, it is difficult for any woman to access me.

    Many have said you are just a flash in the pan that will soon fizzle away. How do you react to this?

    If I am of God, no man will be able to stop me. I will be around for as long as God wants. This is the same way they fought TB Joshua and the man is still around.

    What is your relationship with TB Joshua?

    No, I don’t know him at close range. We have never met but I know God is using him. I like his charity works and prophetic ministry. I think we are similar but there is no need to meet at all.

    You have a habit of calling people’s cases during services using their mobile lines, home addresses and even car particulars. Many ministers have accused you of manipulating those details. How do you react to it?

    I Corinthians 2:15 says a natural man can never understand the things of the Spirit. The ministers saying that don’t have understanding. Jesus told people things about them. In John 4, he told the Samaritan woman everything about her life. He saw Zaccheaus and said come down Zaccheaus. He needed an ass one day and told his disciples where to get it. He told them to tell the owner he had need for it.

    Those who are talking do not have knowledge. They didn’t realise Jesus ran a prophetic ministry. God tells us everything He needs to. Sometimes, a football match is going on and God will tell us how it will end. So, when people don’t know how something operates, they oppose. I have been doing this as a prophet since eight.

    So, many ministers have things against you. Why is this?

    Listen, the level of what God is doing here is so mind-boggling. I have nothing against anybody; no pastor is my enemy. If there is anything you don’t seem to understand, go to God and ask Him about me. They are not the God that called me. The meat that has fat will throw itself on the fire. If they are against me, look at their results and look at mine. Look at their ministries and look at mine. That will balance the answer.

  • Engaging Praise For Fearful Blessings!

    Praise is a spiritual platform for fearful blessings. We also understand from scriptures that, it is the blessings of the Lord that make rich, multiply and change our stories, without sorrow coming into our lives (Proverbs 10: 22).

    The reason for that is very simple: every time we praise God, we are blessing Him. I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth (Psalm 34:1; Psalm 103:1; Psalm 104:1). That means, praise is a spiritual way man blesses God.

    Also note that, whatever good thing any man does, the same he shall receive from the Lord (Ephesians 6:8). That means, by blessing God, we are provoking His blessings on our lives (Psalm 67:5-7). This is so important.

    What Are The Virtues In Divine Blessings?

    It empowers us to live a struggle-free life: The blessing of God is the gateway to a struggle-free life (Proverbs 10:22).

    Divine blessing makes us indestructible: One of the virtues in blessings is our indestructibility. “…Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it….” (Isaiah 65:8). We are indestructible with implanted blessings.

    Divine blessing empowers us to prevail: We prevail by divine blessings, where others travail.

    Three major channels of blessings in Scriptures:

    Understand that no one can bless himself. It is a mystery! Blessings are channelled through others, which can be classified into three:

    From God directly: In Genesis 22:16-18, God swore a blessing on Abraham. So, we can encounter the raw blessings of God directly from Him.

    Prophetic and priestly blessings: God gave Balaam commandment to bless, and because he had proclaimed the blessings, God sealed it. Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it (Numbers 23:20). When prophets stand in the name of the Lord and implant a blessing, they commit God’s integrity to confirm it (Isaiah 44:26).

    Parental channel of blessings (Ephesians 6:2-3): The blessings of our parents are part of the making of our lives. It was the blessing of Jacob that prevailed in the life of Joseph (Genesis 49:26). It was the blessing of Isaac that caused Jacob to prevail, in spite of all his challenges in life (Genesis 27:22-29). So, there are automatic blessings that accrue to us, through the parental channel. We must get to a point where we have such blessings proclaimed on us, so we can begin to manifest them.

    Blessings accrued to us by the mystery of praise:

    When praise becomes our lifestyle, blessings will become our natural experiences; we won’t struggle for them. That is why men that are addicted to praise don’t run out of blessings. The following blessings, amongst others, are to be expected to flow to us from our praises:

    Divine favour: Divine presence is a carrier of divine favour, and God inhabits the praise of His people (Psalm 22:3). So, when we are in praise, we enjoy divine presence, which naturally engenders divine favour.

    Deliverance from all forms of bondages and captivities: There was a king by name Saul, and evil spirits came to torment him. But, every time David played on the harp, the evil spirit left him (1 Samuel 16:14-23). What does that mean? That means high praises guarantee automatic deliverance.

    Supernatural harvest: He that reapeth receiveth wages as he gathers fruit unto life eternal (John 4: 36). When you sow to the spirit, you reap life eternal.

    It is a platform for executing judgment in the camp of our enemy: Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; to execute vengeance upon the heathen… (Psalm 149:6-9).

    Supernatural Breakthroughs: When God came in the midst of the Israelites, the sea saw them and fled (Psalm 114:1-9).

    Supernatural Restoration: If you have lost anything, you are getting it back seven-folds. As Jesus gave thanks, what was stinking came back to life (John 11:40). As you give God praise, I decree the supernatural restoration of anything the enemy might have robbed you of! Receive it now, in Jesus’ name!

    Friend, the power to access these blessings is available if you are born again. You get born again by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Saviour and Lord. If you are set for this new birth experience, please say this prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. I cannot help myself. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Deliver me from sins and satan, to serve the Living God. Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Now, I know I am born again!

    Every exploit in life is a product of knowledge. For further reading, you can get my books: Understanding The Power Of Praise and Wonders Of Praise.

    I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have four services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:35 a.m., 9:10 a.m. and 10.45 a.m. respectively.

    I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 7747546-8; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

  • Anglican Church honours couples

    Anglican Church honours couples

    Saint Thomas Anglican Church Ese- Ikare, Ondo State last week conferred the proprietor and principal of Greater Tomorrow International School, (GTI) Mr. James Lawal, with the Otunba Baba Ijo title.

    It also installed his wife, Mojisola, as Iya Akorin.

    The officiating Minister, Right Reverend Gabriel Akinbiyi, of Akoko North Diocese, said the couple deserved the honour going by their contributions to the development of the church.

    The Parakoyi of Ikire, His Royal Highness Oba Okeluse, described the Lawals as loving and God-fearing.

    He said: “Lawal is a great philanthropist. He is not arrogant but very humble and has contributed greatly to his hometown in Ikire.”

    Mr. Jide Tububo, a long-time friend of the Lawals, said: “I thank God for the great honour bestowed on him. He has turned down many chieftaincy titles but he appreciates working for God. I will now be calling him chief.”

    Lawal thanked the church for the honour, saying he was ready to do more.

    According to him: “Now I have more responsibilities in the church.

    “I believe we should contribute our own quota to the development of the church, for it is our first home where morals are taught.”

    The couple donated an 18-seater bus and an undisclosed amount of money to the church.

  • ‘Polygamous clerics are fake’

    Church leaders who have more than one wife are not genuine men of God, founder of Voice of Salvation Evangelical Ministry Lagos, Prophet Joseph Olu-Ayeni, has said.

    “Pastors who practise polygamy cannot be genuine men of God; they are fake. If really you are hearing from God, you will not commit adultery,” he stressed.

    Olu-Ayeni spoke ahead of the weeklong crusade organised by the church, which starts by February 24 in Ikorodu Lagos.

    He said: “As a cleric, if you can manage a woman you can manage a congregation. But if you cannot manage a woman, then how can you manage a congregation?

    “So it is not the will of God for any man, let alone pastors to have two wives.”

    He advocated spiritual solution to the raging Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast.

    Olu-Ayeni explained: “Examples of how political leaders run to men of God for solutions during crisis period abound in the Bible.

    “Therefore, government should seek spiritual solution to the Boko Haram menace by asking notable men of God to set aside a period for prayer.

    “Let the federal government gather men of God together in a particular place for days and challenge them to pray for impeccable divine intervention.

    “I bet the solution would come faster than expected and insecurity and Boko Haram would become a thing of the past.”

    Prophet Olu-Ayeni warned pastors who use crusades to make money to desist from the practice because of its negative implications on Christianity.

  • Confab‘ll be a waste of time if…

    The National Director of the Voice of Christian Martyr, Rev Isaac Newton-Wusu, has appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to allow discussions on the continuous existence of Nigeria at the proposed national conference.

    Newton-Wusu made this appeal in an interview with The Nation last week in his office in Lagos.

    He said that the National Conference is a welcome development if President Goodluck Jonathan and the committee are serious and genuine in their intentions to bring about a strong and a more united Nigeria.

    He took a swipe at the federal government’s recommendation that the entity of a united Nigeria should not be discussed or tampered with at the national conference, saying this has clearly shown government has predetermined the outcome of the conference.

    He noted that Nigeria practices America’s democracy which guaranteed freedom of thoughts, movement, speech and religion which have been undermined with the no-go areas.

    Newton-Wusu decried the increasing number of people, most especially women and children, killed in northern parts of the country.

    According to him: “There is no point deceiving ourselves. If we are actually well-meaning for generations yet unborn, let us sit down and work out a nation where we can live together as Nigerians.

    “I want to be able to hug and show love to fellow Nigerians irrespective of tribes, languages or religions which have become dividing factors in Nigeria.”

    He continued: “If the north says we don’t need you, don’t they have their right? We have these situations in many Africa countries where there are divisions upon divisions but it only pays the ruling elites who benefit from these things. I will not canvass for the division of Nigeria, but it should be discussed.”

  • Cleric harps on essence of integrity

    The Chairman, Executive Council of Nigeria Association of Christian Journalists, Apostle Bolaji Akinyemi, has charged Nigerians to maintain integrity and work towards eradicating corruption.

    He spoke when he led a three-man delegate on a courtesy visit to Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation in Lagos.

    Akinyemi was accompanied by the group’s general secretary, Pastor Charles Okhai, and the prayer coordinator, Pastor Toyin Praise.

    He bemoaned the spate of corruption in the country and called for attitudinal change among public office holders and ordinary Nigerians.

    The cleric explained many public office holders loot the treasury because they lack integrity and the fear of God.

    He hinted that the group has been encouraging people of proven integrity through its annual Integrity Awards, noting that one of the recipients, Mr. Tunde Ogunsakin, has just been appointed Commissioner of Police in Rivers State.

    He described The Nation as one of the leading newspapers in terms of balanced and accurate reporting.

    “Everything we see in each edition of your newspaper is truth in defence of freedom. Our association is committed to fighting corruption and we discovered that is the path that you are also treading.

    “We need to network with you for our subsequent programmes to properly channel our integrity message and we look forward to cooperation from you in this regards,” Akinyemi added.

    The Online Editor, Lekan Otufodunrin, promised the delegation total support, stating that the newspaper is always disposed to networking with those committed to sanitising the nation.