Tunbosun Ogundare
13 August 2007
Lagos — Abandoned by parents, rejected by society, deaf and dumb teenage girl with deformed legs, who is too retarded to remember her own name finds new love. TUNBOSUN OGUNDARE reports.
It was 6.00am on a warm Sunday. Olufunmilayo Mensah, a Ghanaian resident at Baale street, Agege, Lagos was on her way to the motor park when her attention was drawn to a girl of about 14 years sitting in an awkward place by the roadside.
"I would have waited to pay attention to her if not that l was hurrying to lkire, Oriade Local Government Council of Osun State and intended to get there before 8.00am. Since l didn't know what the traffic situation would be, l had to go my way. By the time I returned to Lagos four days latter my mind was no longer on the matter. l was surprised to see the girl again a day after my return, but on a different spot within the Tabon - Tabon Agege neighbourhood." says Olufunmilayo.
By this time, according to Oluwafunmilayo, the attention of many people in the neighbourhood had been drawn to the girl. And her matter has also became a subject of discourse for residents of the area. But Daily Champion was informed that despite the controversy, the only thing the residents did for her was to shake their heads in sympathy and thereafter, rain curses on her parents, particularly the mother for abandoning the disabled girl to her fate. She is deaf and dumb, deformed in both legs and mentally retarded.
"The way I view the whole thing is that, it is like people wouldn't want to assist her because of her physical and health condition", Oluwafunmilayo reasoned. "The case of babies being abandoned is not strange in our society especially in Lagos, but the health condition of the girl compounded her plight".
Determined to help her, Oluwafunmilayo took the girl to the Elere Police Station, Agege, where she reported the matter and obtained a police report.
Armed with the report in addition to a sworn court affidavit claiming to be the custodian of the girl, Oluwafunmilayo became convinced that finding a place of succor for the girl would not be difficult.
She took the girl to her home and since that fateful day, Wednesday, June 25, the Good Samaritan has remained the girl's custodian, feeding, clothing and accommodating her. To make things easier, she gave her a name.
"I tried all I could, including giving her a pen and a piece of paper with which to write some information about her identities, especially the name but the effort was futile. So, I have to give her a name, Olushola Mensah Yakub. And with this, it became more convenient to address her by name even though she is deaf".
On how Oluwafunmilayo has been coping with her adopted child, she confessed. "It is not an easy thing at all. Apart from feeding, clothing and accommodation you have to bathe her, and take care of her convenience," noting that all she wished to do originally was to keep the girl for about two days after which one motherless or disabled home would take up the responsibility of absorbing her ".
She took the girl to several motherless and disabled persons home in Lagos and Ogun States where she erroneously thought that the girl would get a reprieve.
"For over two weeks, I have been carrying the girl from one motherless and disabled persons home to another with none of them ready to accept her. Each, after surveying the girl carefully, told me bluntly that they will not like to have anything to do with her", Oluwafunmilayo stated sadly.
She has taken the strange girl to Alakara home in Mushin, SOS Children's village Isolo, the orphanage home in Ijegun and Ikotun respectively and also Modupe Cole Memmorial in Yaba, rehabilitation Centre at Owutu Ikorodu and a disabled home in Shagamu, Ogun State. All, rejected the girl on one excuse or the other.
There was a day she had to carry her to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba and was told that the hospital is not in a position to handle that kind of matter.
"On one occasion, I left home with her very early in the morning and we didn't return until about 11.00pm and yet, there was no organization, either government or private, that was ready to accept the girl," the compassionate lady disclosed exasperatedly.
The story of Olufunmilayo Mensah, a Ghanaian national and her adopted strange Nigerian girl is comparable to the Biblical story of the good Samaritan in which a helpless robbery victim was overlooked by his own kindred and nationals until a foreigner and total stranger - a Samaritan, came to her rescue.
Oluwafunmilayo is now on a cross road. She wouldn't want to leave the girl on the street for fear of her falling into the hands of ritualists or being knocked down by a vehicle or even raped to death by miscreants. At the same time she may not be able to continue harbouring the girl, particularly because of her ill health.
"I believe that a miracle can still take place in the life of the girl. She doesn't deserve to die because of a condition which she was not the author", said Oluwafunmilayo.
For the girl's parents, who believed that the best option for them is to abandon her to her fate, Oluwafunmilayo condemned the act, describing it as barbaric. "The worst a parent should do when it comes to the issue bothering on unwanted child is not to abandon such child to her fate but to take him\her to any of the motherless or disabled homes where reprieve would be given for such child. Any mother who abandons her child doesn't mean well for such child" she noted.
Meanwhile, this wonderful Ghanaian lady who has done for a Nigerian girl what no Nigerian is willing to do for her is hoping and praying fervently at the time of filling this story that some well meaning charity organizations or individuals would hurry over and relieve her of the great burden by adopting the girl.
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