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Overwhelmed by bundles of joy…

By Joseph Wantu, Makurdi
30 July 2015   |   3:15 am
THE birth of a child into a family in the Nigerian society is always considered as a blessing, but this seems not to be quite the with a young couple, Mr.Terngu Gbaeren and his wife Mrs Iember Gbaeren, who just delivered a set of triplets in Makurdi but cannot afford to feed and take proper…
Mr.Terngu Gbaeren, his wife Mrs Iember Gbaeren and a relative with the babies

Mr.Terngu Gbaeren, his wife Mrs Iember Gbaeren and a relative with the babies

THE birth of a child into a family in the Nigerian society is always considered as a blessing, but this seems not to be quite the with a young couple, Mr.Terngu Gbaeren and his wife Mrs Iember Gbaeren, who just delivered a set of triplets in Makurdi but cannot afford to feed and take proper care of the three bundles of joy.

Terngu, a 27-year-old school dropout, survives on the stipends he realizes from his commercial motorcycle business popularly called Okada in Makurdi.

Speaking with The Guardian at the weekend, he cried out to the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom and his wife, Eunice for assistance.

More worrisome is the fact that the 19-year-old mother of the triplets is also not engaged in any trade to support the family, even as she opened her hands to accept the gifts brought to them by God.

During her labour hour, Iember, like any other woman, was expecting to give birth to only one child, but Mother Nature surprised her, blessing her with two boys and one girl on the blessed day of June 2, 2015.

Apparently out of frustration, the couple was at the weekend seen with the babies at the gate of the Benue People’s House, in the protocol department, making frantic efforts to see the governor or his wife, but to no avail.

The Guardian gathered that they met stiff resistance from security operatives at the gate of the Peoples’ House, even as the protocol staff on ground directed that it was the responsibility of the governor’s wife, not the governor, to look into their plight.

Narrating his ordeal to The Guardian, Terngu said he is happy for his bundle of gifts from God, but he does not have the financial muscle to cater for the triplets.

The father of triplets, who explained that he married the young lady about a year ago and was happy when she became pregnant after one month of their marriage, however, said he did not bargain for three kids at a time.

“We didn’t even know she was pregnant with triplets because she was strong all through the period of the pregnancy and we did not go for any scanning. I was surprised when she gave birth to three children. Thank God she had them through normal delivery but I didn’t bargain for triplets. With my meagre income, I don’t have the financial capability to cater for them.”

When asked how much he makes per day on his okada business, Terngu said he makes between N2, 500 and N3, 000 daily out of which he has to remit N12, 000 monthly to the person who gave him the motorcycle.

“I am the breadwinner of my family. I dropped out of school in SS1 when my mother took ill and eventually died. My father who is over 90 years old has 13 wives. I have been taking care of my four siblings from my mother’s side and my wife is not working.”

Terngu, however, revealed that the multiple-birth trait lies in his genes. He is a twin and his wife’s family, too, has a similar history of twins. He promised to embark on birth control measures if he is able to pass through the social trauma they are into now.

Terngu lives in the North Bank area of Makurdi and could be reached on 08110254086.

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