A woman who had roamed the streets of
Badejo Kalesanwo, in Oduduwa Community,
Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos
State, for the past 4 years has given birth.
It was gathered that the woman who was said
to have slept on the road, eaten from bins and
gone about in rags, was spotted some months
ago with a protruding belly which everyone
dismissed as fibroid growth.
However, the mentally ill woman, who
identified herself as Amudatulai, a native of
Ibadan in Oyo State, went into labour on the
morning of December 25, 2013, and self-
delivered a baby girl as resident watched in
awe.
Eyewitnesses said she immediately named the
baby girl Mariam Olorundamilare Odunayo
(Olorundamilare, means God has given me the
victory, while Odunayo means, the year of Joy).
A resident, who identified herself simply as
Mama Adoyo, said Amudatulai delivered the
baby by the dump site situated along the
newly-tarred road.
She said, “I have known her for a long time.
She used to sit and sleep on that road. When
we saw her protruding stomach, we didn’t
know she was pregnant. We thought it was
fibroid. But around 6am on Wednesday, she
was crying and screaming my name and other
people’s names in the area because we play
with her a lot.
“I later moved close to her and when I saw it
was labour pains, I asked her to let us go to
the hospital, but she said no, insisting that she
could see people bathing her baby, whereas she
had not delivered by that time.
“I kept my eyes on her as she was screaming.
Suddenly, the baby came out. We didn’t know
on time, but a driver who was passing by
called our attention that we should move closer
to her because she had given birth.
“We had to quickly call a nurse who came to
cut the placenta. The nurse later injected her
and cleaned her up.”
Mama Adoyo said one of the community
leaders donated money to assist in buying
some materials, as other people in the
neighbourhood trooped out with old and new
clothes for the mother and child.
A female worker with the Lagos State Waste
Management Authority, Mrs. Modupe Salami,
who cleans the street, told our correspondent
that although Amudatulai still raved after the
delivery of the baby, she was generally well
behaved and could be rescued with a good
medical help.
It was learnt that a man who claimed to be a
brother of the new mother had been calling
some of the residents on the telephone to keep
an eye on Amudatulai, adding that he would
come to take her back to Ibadan.
The said brother was also said to have claimed
that Amudatulai had three other children in
Ibadan.
A community leader, Alhaji Babatunde Shittu,
appealed for the intervention of relevant
government agencies before an imposter took
advantage of the situation.
Shittu said, “I must say that we all are
concerned as to how she came about the
pregnancy. We don’t even know where she
came from since she came here four years ago.
Government should take care of both the
mother and the child. There is no way you can
compare someone who is sane with someone
who is not. Again, she is homeless and needs
good accommodation. People are only guessing
that her family members are coming. If this
lady has good medical care, she will be
normal.”
Our correspondent observed on Friday that she
was being sheltered along with her baby in a
shop on the street.
The dimly-lit wooden structure had a mattress
and a mosquito net for the new baby.
Our correspondent also observed as excited
residents gathered round the shelter to catch a
glimpse of the baby and give her money.
Our correspondent asked Amudatulai how she
felt about her new baby, and the attention she
was getting.
She said, “I am so happy today. I know my
portion is joy in this Lagos. And my joy will
not end…” At this point, she began to rave and
abuse a woman beside her, asking for papers
to show ownership of an unidentified portion of
land.
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