‘She went for antenatal but never returned alive’

He sat on a sofa in his sitting room, looking forlorn with blood-shot eyes, evidence of prolonged weeping and agonising. He was inconsolable. It was the seventh anniversary of the sudden death of his wife, Rita. He was ruminating over the tragic death of the mother of his three children, who was snatched away by the cold hands of death in the most bizarre manner without any premonition.

Mr. Adolphus Peters (not real name) is one of those ‘from grass to grace’ stories. For many years after graduation from a federal university where he bagged a Bachelor’s degree in Food Science &Technology, he moved from one company to the other in search of a job. Somehow, luck smiled on him as he got a job in a bakery as manager.

Within two years of working there, he had saved enough money to rent a decent apartment and also get married to his long time sweetheart. But shortly after marriage, his appointment was terminated on allegations that the fortunes of the company were nose-diving. The owner of the bakery needed another person to manage the business to profitability.

The loss of his job threw Adolphus back to square one, as all his efforts to get another job failed miserably. The wife though a graduate could not get any paid employment to support the family so she resorted to mixing starch in drums, a trade she learnt from her mother. She would wake early to sell get it ready for sale, after a while she had customers who placed orders and so with this, the family was able to feed and take care of other daily needs. The process of preparing the starch was not an easy one but she managed without complaints.

Two years after he lost the bakery job, favour smiled on him and he landed a fantastic one with a federal government agency and life became rosy once again. But, today, life is bitter for Adolphus.

In this encounter with ThisLife, Adolphus shares an unforgettable experience that left him traumatised and devastated seven years on.

Below are the very sad words of a broken Adolphus.

I’m a product of a polygamous family. My father married three wives, but my mother was the first. We are seven from my mother’s womb and I happen to be the first born. My father never bothered about our education and in fact, he abandoned our mother as soon as he took a second wife. Because of his attitude, there was constant division in the family; rivalry between the wives and fights among the children.

I remember clear as day, I was 16, a few months to my 17 birthday when we were abandoned by my father. Somehow, I managed to complete my secondary education. And because there was no money to further my education, I started taking on menial jobs to cater for my mother and younger ones. I was choked up by the ever-increasing responsibilities, coupled with my mother’s unstable health condition but I had no choice that to keep pushing to make ends meet.

When I was 35, my mother died, but I was able to assist my siblings; today, some of them are working in good places and are doing very well. I could not marry on time because of the numerous family responsibilities, so I married at 46 with a lot of stress and struggle. We then decided to rush child-bearing, because even my wife was approaching 40 at that time. Within four years of our marriage we had three children, all males.

I had wanted us to stop but my wife insisted she needed a female child, a daughter. Some years after, she became pregnant again; the scan showed it was a female child and my wife’s joy knew no bounds. One day she went to the clinic where she used to give birth for the weekly antenatal, unfortunately, the owner of the clinic was not around at the time. She was being given her routine checks, when she complained of headache and dizziness. She had gone to the clinic with one Okada man (commercial bike operator) from our area that was like her personal chauffer at such times. The Okada man was waiting outside when my wife’s loud shout attracted his attention and he rushed inside to witness the commotion.

My wife had just died; stone dead just like that. He was asking why, how, without anyone volunteering an answer. It was gathered later that after she complained of headache, one of the trainee nurse on duty, who attended to her, had drawn an injection and administered it. As soon as the nurse drew out the needle, my wife shouted, collapsed and became motionless. That was all. We later discover that the owner of the clinic had instructed in her (My wife’s) case file that on no account should any injection be ministered to her. It was said that on a particular day she nearly died but for the fact that the owner of the clinic was around; and quickly gave another injection that countered the effect of the earlier one. So, my wife died at the hands of a trainee nurse with an unborn baby.

I could not think as I was overtaken with grief at my loss. Was I supposed to sue the hospital? Would that bring my dear wife back to me? Should the hospital have offered compensation? But who would have been compensated with that- my children who have lost their mother or I who have lost my life partner and companion? Can money bring back a loved one?

Whenever I think about the nature of the death and what I have been through in life, I am forced to say that life is unfair to me. Sometimes I begin to ask God why me? It is seven years now and it is like yesterday, very fresh in my memory. I can’t even imagine myself marrying again; the incident devastated my life. Yes, our three children are doing great, but my wife didn’t deserve to die that way. I don’t wish anybody such an experience, even my enemy. That was how my wife, beautiful and ravishing, left in a most shocking way. It’s a cruel life.