Testimony Atoe, aged 4, is a Nigerian child whose sex presently is neuter. The reason is that 4-years after he was born at Blessed hospital on Murtala Muhammed (MM) way in Benin City, the poor parents have not been able to raise the half a million Naira needed at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital to bring out the real sex! To the mother, he is a son!
According to Charity, the mother of Testimony who had two others before him, “He was born on 10th October 2011. When I was pregnant with him the female Medical doctor who works at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital that took my delivery told me that the baby breeched”.
She said the doctor also told her that she should be prayerful. “We were actually two expectant mothers who had breeched pregnancies. The other woman later had a normal delivery”.
Mrs Atoe had taken an ultra sound when the pregnancy was 9-months old to ascertain the sex of the Child and it turnout to be a male. The happy mother said sheclooked forward to her delivery date only to be shocked at the turn of events.
“My child’s delivery was very tough. Besides, after a successful delivery, the health workers refused to show him to me immediately …they spoke in low tones and did all they could to prevent me from seeing my baby”.
She recalled an episode one morning when a lady visitor to the Maternity Ward spoke in Esan dialect saying, “don’t allow this woman to see his child, else, she will faint because she is restless”.
At dusk on that same day, she said Testomony’s father, Mr. Osabuohien Atoe,who is her husband arrived the Hospital and started walking around with some health workers helplessly.
Testimony’s mother said two weeks after his birth all one with her husband the baby was taken to the Special Care Baby Unit of the UBTH, ” where we saw scores of Children with similar health challenges waiting to see a doctor. My child was kept among them”.
She said the son’s genital organs were later operated upon two weeks after delivery even as the UBTH Management assured her that the Bladder extrophy which was the medical condition of her son would require 3 subsequent surgical operations before it can be fully corrected.
“One Dr. Eguakhide, was my doctor who carried out the first surgery and still remains my doctor. While, we were waiting for the second surgery to be done, the first surgical operation failed while we were returning from his father’s house”, one morning.
She said, “When I arrived the scene, I saw the protruding reddish organ of my son, I fell and cried, oh God, help, help. My cry attracted my neighbours who came to console me to keep faith”.
Ever since she says , “I have been to several Miracle Pastors, including Pastor T. B Joshua, of Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN)… In search of solutions to no avail”.
She recalls however she left Benin for Lagos in search of solution but ran into the dubious arms of a Christian sister who helped raise funds from publicly spirited individuals running into millions of Naira and made away with the huge sum.
“Frustration in Benin took me to Lagos where I was made me to know one Blessing Uzatu, who hails from Abia state, South eastern Nigeria. This was after the father of my Child sent me away from his house along with our two other Children over Testimony’s ailment”.
She spoke of how she was wondering around Ojuelegba area in Lagos in search of financial assistance to enable her son undergo the surgical operation and ran into Blessing Uzatu who encouraged her to take up shelter at the Lord’s Chosen church headquarters in Lagos.
“One day, I took Testimony to a market to beg for Alms. I met a boy who advised me to take my son to Redeemed church God at Ikeja, Lagos state headquarters. I became hungry and started scouting for food before I meant this pretty Lady at a shop where I bought sachet water”.
“The Lady who claimed to be a widow rode in a spot utility vehicle (SUV); when we met after an initial interaction with her, she wanted to know what took me and my three other children to Lagos”.
She said days after she met Blessing, she invited pressmen to interview her and even gave out her own name and account number to the public in the guise of raising funds for her son, Testimony.
“I got a phone call from a Germany based-Nigerian who claimed to have heared about my travail. The man sought to know if I was the mother of Testimony. He told me that he had donated an undisclosed amount into an account opened for my son in a bank by Blessing to enable Him carryout the operation”.
Mrs Atoe did not know the bank account or how individuals gave to her son until she saw pictures of herself and her son until she saw her son and her own photographs in some national dailies on the streets of Lagos and curiosity got the better of her.
“I was initially happy, thinking that the woman was a true helper. I became curious until a certain woman brought N500, 000 to Blessing Uzattu’s shop. They counted the sum of N100, 000 for Testimony. I was so foolish and ignorant. I though she meant well for me and my son”.
“Another man who brought the money one day met me looking pale and hungry, and promised to settle me with additional money so that after the operation I can rehabilitate myself”.
Mrs Atoe said she was aware that Blessing Uzattu who I nitiated the move to raise funds for Testimony’s surgery, opened a Zenith Bank account at Ikeja, for the purpose without any input from her.
“I’ve became suspcious on a certain day when we went to pay an undisclosed amount into the Zenith Bank Account at Ikeja, Lagos state. I was not privy to the details when a bank official , a lady stood up and said “Who is the mother of this baby -Testimony” between the two of you?”.
She added that, “The Bank official demanded to know why my photograph wa in the joint Account. After initial skepticism, she Blessing Uzattu, promised to provide my photograph to the Bank. Consequently an argument ensued between us over the total amount that was paid into the Account”.
“I learnt from Blessing Uzattu that the total amount paid into the Account was N3 million as against the N5.3 million which she initially admitted had come into the Bank Account on the day the bank officer challenged her over the Motherhood of the child”.
It was the altercation at the bank that led Blessing into withdrawing all the donations for Testimony’s surgery and disappearing into thin air, a development which saw Mother and child back in Benin City, still searching for a solution.
Will help come? Can Testimony have his manhood restored? At what cost? Fortunately the same UBTH had rescheduled the second operation for the umpteenth time to no avail.
The sum of N500, 000 is standing between the boy and life. He is out of school as a result of stigmatization and though ears like every other child, in the absence of a natural escape for urine, he bathes in the fluid.
The frustrated mother says, “The extension of dates was to enable me source for money to enable my son undertake the second and subsequent surgery for the Bladder extrophy as well as rehabilitation thereafter”.
She says, “I’m tired and I love Children. I do not want to throw away this child”
