Is it they (human beings) who would share out the mercy of Allah (to others)? It is We (Allah) who share the possession of those bounties among them as their means of livelihood in this temporal world. And it is our duty to elevate some of them over others in ranks and in statuses. So that some of them can be masters while others are servants. Definitely, the blessings apportioned to you by your Lord are by far better than those which the ignorant ones are struggling to amass” Q.43:32
Preamble
Human life in the midst of other creatures is a paradox. And the paradox is due to the reasoning faculty with which man is endowed.
However, rather than using that exclusive grace to gratify Allah for honouring him with leadership and control of the environment, man seems to have turned that endowment into an instrument of competition with Allah.
But for the undeniable reality of death as the main determiner of the limit of life, man would have proclaimed himself God.
Unfortunately for him, however, death is not an attribute of God. Thus, it is impossible for anybody who might have tasted or can taste death to be God. No living organism, animate or inanimate, has ever escaped the dragnet of death and none can ever do. That shows one of the manifest distinctions between the Creator and the creatures. As humans, our passage through this ephemeral world is a mere transit just as our imagination of God is far from the reality of His being. We only live to die as against feature of God who neither sleeps nor dies.
Breaking News
On Monday, February 15, 2016, virtually all Nigerian local electronic media throbbed with the news of the birth of a set of quintuplets at the University of Ibadan College Hospital (UCH), the first of its type in Nigeria (Quintuplets are five children born at once by the same woman). Within a few hours, the news reverberated across the continents of the world through the cable network and newspapers.
The mother of the bountiful gifts, Mrs. Shakirah Razaq Yusuf, a woman in purdah, is a 28-year-old wife of an Ibadan born Alfa by the name Abdur-Razaq Yusuf Ewenje. Both the wife and her husband are of very humble backgrounds who are forced to live an ascetic life by virtual penury. That confirms the promise of Allah in Qur’an 42 verse 50 thus:
“To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. He creates whatever He wills. He bestows female children upon whoever He wills and bestows male children upon whoever He wills. And He bestows both male and female children upon whoever He wills even as He renders whoever He wills a barren. Verily, Allah is all-knowing and capable of doing all things”
Madam Shakirah and her husband had had two children before the birth of the quintuplets. Their immediate reaction to the birth of those unexpected quintuplets was one of dilemma and confusion.
Yes, they prayed for safe birth of a healthy child or children from Allah, but they never dreamt of such unimaginable Allah’s blessing that came to be too much of a divine largess.
Thus, the gift that would have ordinarily brought an aura of joy immediately turned into a mixture of threat and fear. How to settle the hospital bill and how to feed and clad the quintuplets as well as the older two children that became a foremost matter of concern for the couple.The children have since been named. The three boys are named Ahmad, Muhammad and Mustapha respectively. The girls were named Hamidah and Hamdalat.
Other quintuplets
In the olden days, bearing more than one child was perceived as a demonic aberration which some people considered as a taboo. Thus, children like twins, triplets and others were seen as a shame to the family which must be disposed of immediately.
Such children were therefore secretly killed or openly offered as sacrifice to the then gods. This situation was not peculiar to Africa. It was global. With education and advancement of civilisation however, the world came to realise that birth of multiple children was rather a blessing than an aberration.
In modern times, the first publicised quintuplets were reportedly born on April 29, 1896 in the United States of America. Called the Lyon quintuplets, they were the first American quintuplets born alive. The last survivor among them died on May 14, 1896 barely two weeks after birth.
Later on, in 1934, another set of quintuplets was born in Ontario, Canada. The children were all girls and identical. Born to the family of Dionne, this set was known to be the first quintuplets to survive to adulthood.
Many other quintuplets have since been born in different parts of the world with various traits and characteristics. But the lack of records about them does not help their exposure through the mass media.
Paradox of Life
Of all treasures in the life of man, there is one that cannot be legitimately purchased with money. That treasure is children.
Children are a special natural gift from Allah that cannot be replaced or exchanged with any commodity or chattel. Those who have the stupendous means of caring for children may not have the grace of bearing children.
Those who have no means of nurturing children may be divinely favoured to bear them in abundance. The paradox is evident in the case of the Yusuf family that is now grappling with a dilemma and confusion over the upbringing of the quintuplets with which it is blessed.
A Yoruba musician once succinctly captured this situation in a rhythmic and captivating song that vividly described the value of children thus:
“No moneybag can legitimately purchase them; no royal fiat can fetch them legitimately without the will of Allah; which commodity on earth can be likened to children? Is there anything that is comparable to children in human life?
“Children are the ultimate treasure whose value cannot be measured in terms of diamond, gold or silver; they (children) are like a sharp sword in the capable hand of a strong warrior; they (children) are owned at early age but they grow up into adulthood to own almost everything that can be purchased….”
MUSWEN @ UCH
Moved by the milk of humanity and kindness, as usual, last Sunday, the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) paid a purposeful visit of joy and glorification of Allah to UCH.
The objective was to rejoice with the family of Alfa Yusuf Ewenje whose wife delivered a quintuplet penultimate Monday. Three of the children were males while two were females. All the children were said to be responding very well to medical care and pediatric nurture.
The news of these Allah’s wonderful bounties had been in the media for some days as it was the first time that UCH, in its 59 years, of existence, was having an airy but joyful feeling of such a divine gesture.
While holding its Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Ibadan last Sunday, MUSWEN decided to establish a foundation for the upkeep and education of the quintuplets to the University level. Thus, led by its President, His Excellency, Alhaji (Dr.) Sakariyau Olayiwola Babalola OON, a team of MUSWEN representatives broke out of the meeting to pay a visit to the quintuplets in appreciation of Allah’s bounties and in assuring the poor parents of the Ummah’s support and solidarity.
After seeing the condition of the quintuplets and their parents, the President of MUSWEN announced a foundation in the name of MUSWEN to see the five children’s education through the University. This means that MUSWEN has taken up the finance of the children’s education from the primary school level to the University degree level.
MUSWEN President also made an instant personal donation of a handsome amount to the couple and prayed for the survival of the children and Allah’s wherewithal to enable the couple take proper care of them.
Alhaji Babalola then called on all goodhearted Nigerians to join hands with MUSWEN in maintaining the proposed foundation for the well-being of the quintuplets.
Meanwhile,a special bank account has been earmarked for the foundation pending the inauguration of a committee of trusted people who will manage it. Those who are interested in lifting their brother’s load and tilling the holy land may request for the account details. God bless you all!
Variety of motives
Before MUSWEN’s visit, quite a number of individuals and groups (Muslims and non-Muslims), had rushed to see the quintuplets at UCH with different motives.
Some had been there to adopt some of those children; some had cunningly attempted outright purchase of the children while some others had seen that divine gesture as an opportunity for undue evangelism.
But as the umbrella body and ultimate mouthpiece for all Muslim individuals and Organisations in the South West, MUSWEN decided to act promptly not only to save the young couple of any embarrassment (financial or psychological) but also to give a sense of spiritual coverage to the concerned family.
This further confirms the fatherly role imbibed by MUSWEN as a responsible umbrella of the Muslim Ummah in South West region. Bravo! God bless MUSWEN.
UCH’s gesture
Contrary to the general impression about UCH by members of the public, the famous teaching hospital displayed a unique gesture.
Following the naming of the quintuplets at the children’s ward of the hospital last Monday (February 22, 2016), the authorities of the UCH announced a free medical and pediatric treatment for the mother.
According to the announcement made by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of UCH, Mr. Deji Bobade, the authorities of UCH decided write off the bill incurred by the poor couple as their own contribution to humanity.
They thus returned the amount so far deposited for medical care and treatment of the children saying the outstanding balance would not be collected from the poor couple. Thus, the quintuplets would remain in the custody of the hospital at no cost until the children are mature enough to be discharged.
This humanitarian gesture is highly appreciated and commended by Nigerian public who see it as a new dawn in UCH’s administration.
Brief History of UCH
The idea of establishing a teaching hospital for a proposed University in Nigeria was first nursed in 1943 by the colonial government which set up a commission headed by Sir Walter Elliot.
The Commission consisted of 14 members three of whom represented the British West African colonies. They were Reverend I. O. Ransome-Kuti of Nigeria, K. A. Korsah of the Gold Coast (Ghana) and E. H. Taylor of Sierra Leone. Soon, another Commission of 11 members was set up to complement the one headed by Elliot and to determine the principles that would guide the proposed higher educational institutions in Nigeria. The latter Commission was led by Mr. Justice Cyril Asquith. Following the submission of reports by the two Commissions in 1945,
The University College, Ibadan was established on November 17, 1948 with three founding faculties; Arts, Science and Medicine. Although the construction of the four and a half million pound sterling (£4.5m) Teaching Hospital had not been completed in 1956 when Queen Elizabeth II visited Nigeria, she nevertheless commissioned it in anticipation of its completion in 1957. Thus, the UCH was officially opened on November 20, 1957 with its imposing architectural masterpiece to the delight of all and sundry.
Today’s situation
Today, however, while the UCH remains an intimidating architectural edifice, the needed services therein remain a sorry case due to lack of befitting maintenance. Most of the equipment have become antiquated even as the necessary modern facilities are not provided. It is unbelievable that the eight-storey structures in that hospital are without functioning lifts.
On inquiry, yours sincerely learned that only two lifts are available for use in the entire complex of the 800-bed hospital out of which only one is functioning haphazardly.
Even the only lift said to be functioning is worse than a bakery oven. A rechargeable table fan has to be put inside the lift not as a relief from a possible effect of suffocation but as a mere decoration to show the members of the public that ‘we care’.
The implication of this is that patients who may be rushed to that hospital on emergency who need to be conveyed to upper floors for immediate medical attention may face terrible difficulty in reaching their destination within the complex.
The appalling situation of UCH requires an urgent attention of the Federal Ministry of Health. This once great institution was one of the best four Teaching Hospitals in the Commonwealth. Today, it is probably the worst. In such an environment, it is even difficult for the medical personnel to function as expected. Nigeria deserves a better place to be called a Teaching Hospital for our country’s Premier University.
