At about 10 p.m. on 21 February 2024, Kehinde Ogundipe immediately went into labour, unaware of the shock that awaited her.
The natural tea vendor from Obele, a border group in Ohunbe Ward of Yewa North Native Authorities Space in Ogun State, south-west Nigeria, had gone by means of her being pregnant and not using a single antenatal go to, relying as an alternative on conventional herbs—simply as she had finished for her earlier kids.
However on this specific evening, all the pieces took an surprising flip. With none medical help, Mrs Ogundipe delivered not one, not two, however 4 infants—three boys and one lady, in her dwelling.
She didn’t know she was carrying quadruplets, and by the point the final child arrived, panic had set in. Realising the urgency of the scenario, her neighbours rushed her and the newborns throughout the border to Hôpital De Zone De Pobe, Pobe in Benin Republic, the closest place they believed might present enough care.
“I didn’t know they have been 4. I additionally didn’t really feel a lot discomfort to guess what number of they have been in my stomach,” she informed PREMIUM TIMES.
None of her 5 different kids, she stated, was born at a public well being facility in Ogun State due to the poor state of the amenities.
What occurred in Benin
The day after Mrs Ogundipe and her newborns have been admitted to Hôpital De Zone De Pobe, they have been transferred to Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Departemental De L’Oueme in Porto-Novo, Benin’s capital, for extra specialised care.
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For 2 weeks, the quadruplets acquired intensive medical consideration earlier than the household was moved again to Pobe, the place they discovered lodging within the Ahoyéyé district, near town’s basic hospital. This was to make sure they may nonetheless entry medical care when wanted.
In Pobe, the Ogundipes acquired overwhelming help from the native authorities and residents, lots of whom felt they have been fellow residents. Donations poured in, protecting medical bills and different necessities.
The Mayor of Pobe, Simon Dinan, made a public enchantment for help, prompting Rachidatou Fatolou, a member of the Benin Republic Home of Meeting, to go to the household on 27 March with money presents, groceries, and toiletries.
“From Pobe to after they moved the kids to Porto-Novo, individuals gave us meals and garments. We spent over N400,000 from the money donations on medicines and different wants inside two months,” stated David Ogundipe, the kids’s father, who misplaced his driving job a 12 months earlier.
Then, in April, tragedy struck—the household misplaced one of many child boys.
Struggling to outlive
Now, a 12 months later, Mrs Ogundipe and her surviving triplets stay stranded in Benin, unable to return dwelling.
The preliminary wave of help has dwindled, leaving them in uncertainty – caught between a overseas land the place they discovered care and a homeland whose healthcare system had failed them.
In accordance with Akande Abdulwaheed, Mrs Ogundipe’s brother-in-law, the donations slowed as soon as NGOs and people who had supported them realised they have been Nigerians looking for care, not Beninese.
“It’s actually tough now. Even when they return to Obele, they are going to have little or no entry to healthcare. The Nigerians on the border who helped earlier than are additionally struggling,” Mr Abdulwaheed informed PREMIUM TIMES. “At this level, the household desperately wants the Ogun State authorities’s help.”
Their story additional highlights the deep inadequacies of Ogun’s healthcare system, particularly in border communities, and the measures residents of its border communities take to entry fundamental medical care.
Why Nigerians look to Benin for healthcare
Reaching Ohunbe and its surrounding communities was not simple. This reporter navigated deeply rutted, pot-hole-filled, dusty roads the place industrial bikes struggled to manoeuvre. At some factors, this reporter alighted and continued on foot.
Whereas entry to the group is hard due to unhealthy roads, accessing healthcare is harder.
Many residents of the border city lamented the poor state of well being amenities and the shortage of expert beginning attendants. For some, attending Benin hospitals isn’t just an choice however a necessity.
Among the residents confirmed this reporter the beginning certificates they acquired from Benin after giving beginning within the nation.
Ohunbe ward has 4 public PHCs: Agbon Ojodu, Ibeku, Pedepo, and Ohunbe healthcare centres—however they’re in such poor situation, with insufficient personnel and assets, that sufferers worry they may “contract infections” there. In consequence, many residents desire looking for therapy throughout the border in Benin.
When this reporter visited Pobe Basic Hospital in Benin Republic, the rationale Nigerians in Ohunbe search healthcare throughout the border turned evident. In contrast to the deplorable roads resulting in Ohunbe and its environment, the street from the Nigerian border into Pobe was well-constructed, making it simpler to move a pregnant girl or commute effectively.
Additionally, the hospital had a secure energy provide and operating water, and well being staff have been obtainable of their numbers. The wards have been well-lit, and the overall atmosphere was clear – in contrast with the under-equipped and poorly maintained PHCs in neighbouring Nigerian communities.
Regardless of earlier experiences by PREMIUM TIMES detailing the dire state of Main Healthcare Centres (PHCs) in choose LGAs of Ogun State—particularly in Yewa North—and the federal government’s acknowledgements of the findings in 2023, no tangible enhancements have been made. As an alternative, situations have worsened.
Arriving at Agbon-Ojodu PHC, this reporter was met with a disheartening sight. From the surface, the centre appears like an deserted, unfinished constructing. Bats fly out and in, leaving droppings on each floor. Inside, the air is thick, with a foul stench from leaking roofs, cracked partitions, and rotting furnishings.
At Ohunbe PHC, the closest facility to the Ogundipes, this reporter solely met one well being official who spoke anonymously. The official admitted the dire scenario of the ability, which has just one ward that they “handle for pregnant ladies.”
“The roads are unhealthy, and we aren’t absolutely geared up,” the official admitted. “I can’t blame the individuals for selecting Benin as an alternative. Think about making an attempt to hurry a pregnant girl or an unconscious affected person right here. Once we encourage residents to make use of our facility, they inform us they like Benin. However we stay hopeful that the federal government will intervene and supply the requirements to regain their belief.”
When PREMIUM TIMES contacted Ogun State‘s Commissioner for Well being, Tomi Coker, for an replace on border group healthcare amenities and a response to the earlier report, she ended the decision, saying, “I’m in a gathering.”
Subsequent makes an attempt to succeed in her have been unsuccessful, and messages despatched to her went unanswered.
In 2023, whereas reacting to the preliminary findings, Mrs Coker said that there have been 531 registered PHCs in Ogun State.
The Particular Adviser to the Governor on New Media, Emmanuel Ojo, added that 42 PHCs had been renovated and geared up, with work ongoing at 60 others. Nevertheless, the reporter noticed no traces of renovation on the PHCs coated on this report.
ECOWAS and Regional Well being Cooperation
Nigeria and Benin are member states of the Financial Neighborhood of West African States (ECOWAS), an organisation established to foster financial cooperation, enhance dwelling requirements, and drive regional growth.
In December 2023, forward of the ECOWAS Summit 2024, Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, welcomed Benin’s President, Patrice Talon.
On the assembly, Mr Talon sought to strengthen commerce relations and reinforce the free motion of individuals and items, whereas Mr Tinubu described each nations as “conjoined twins held collectively on the hip.”
Past commerce and mobility, ECOWAS has made efforts to enhance regional well being safety. It established the West African Well being Organisation (WAHO), a specialised company chargeable for safeguarding public well being throughout member states.
By means of WAHO, ECOWAS has promoted cross-border well being initiatives, developed regional insurance policies, and labored to cut back well being inequities.
Nevertheless, persistent public well being challenges—corresponding to outbreaks of Lassa fever, yellow fever, monkeypox, measles, and cholera—proceed to show gaps in Nigeria’s healthcare system, significantly in border communities.
In Ogun State’s border cities, insufficient well being infrastructure and workers shortages additionally power many residents to hunt medical care in Benin.
When PREMIUM TIMES reached out to Rolande Kougbi, Communications Supervisor on the Beninese Company for Built-in Administration of Border Areas (ABeGIEF), she confirmed that her nation positioned no restrictions on Nigerians accessing healthcare in Benin.
Nevertheless, she emphasised that people crossing over should acknowledge they’re coming into Beninese territory.
“The individuals on either side of the border are brothers,” Ms Kougbi stated in French. “Because the African Union recommends, they will profit from fundamental companies in a neighbouring nation if these companies are missing in their very own.”
This open-door method has arguably allowed the Ogun State Authorities to evade accountability, as residents, somewhat than demanding higher healthcare, have normalised looking for therapy throughout Nigeria’s borders.
Extra Tales
Olugbami Kehinde, a resident of Gbokoto, one other group underneath Ohunbe, had his three kids in Pobe, Benin.
“I used to be born right here, and we’ve got by no means had a hospital,” he stated. “All my kids have been delivered in Benin. Now, my kids are having their children there too.”
For antenatal care and supply, Mr Kehinde stated households spend between 40,000 and 50,000 CFA (about N70,000 to N90,000), whereas a caesarean part can value as much as 100,000 CFA (about N180,000).
Mr Kehinde, a reverend, famous that many residents even purchase Beninoise voter playing cards, known as LEPI, simply to entry healthcare.
“We would like the federal government to grasp that we’re Nigerians and we vote,” he stated. “We want correct healthcare amenities right here.”
For Ruth Fanihun, a girl in her late 70s, the wrestle has lasted many years. She had her 5 kids in Benin as a result of her village had no well being amenities.
“The federal government has uncared for us,” she lamented.
“Because the days of Obafemi Awolowo, we’ve got voted with the hope that our group will develop. However we nonetheless don’t have good healthcare.”
She described how pregnant ladies generally trek lengthy distances or depend on bikes to succeed in Benin for supply.
“Some give beginning on the best way due to the space,” she defined. “Should you’re fortunate, you discover a bike close to the border. If not, you stroll.”
Pulling out some CFA banknotes, she added, “We use Benin’s cash right here greater than naira.”
Bose Kushade, one other Gbokoto resident, has seven kids, together with two caesarean sections, all in Benin. She lamented the financial hardship, saying, “With the best way the naira has misplaced worth, it’s even more durable now.”
The late conventional ruler of Gbokoto Ketu, Oba Ganiu Olakunle—who died in August 2024 after talking with PREMIUM TIMES—stated he had spent 26 years advocating for fundamental facilities, but little had modified.
“The medication I’m utilizing now got here from Benin,” Mr Olakunle stated. “With out Benin, many lives would have been misplaced. If a girl goes into labour at midnight, the place can we take her?”
His group, Gbokoto, nonetheless has no well being centre—not even a small dispensary.
“We’re Ogun State indigenes. Simply because we stay in border communities doesn’t imply we ought to be forgotten. We now have land for a hospital and are prepared to collaborate with the federal government. We additionally want enhancements on the Ohunbe PHC,” he appealed.
Actuality of Nigeria’s Border Communities
Nigeria has border communities in 21 states, spanning 105 of the nation’s 774 LGAs. Many of those areas endure from poor infrastructure, restricted authorities presence, and weak public companies, leaving residents susceptible to financial and well being disparities.
Talking with PREMIUM TIMES, Simon Adebayo Dinan, mayor of Pobè Municipality and President of the Beninoise Affiliation of Border Municipalities (ABCF), emphasised the deep ties between border cities in Ogun State and their Beninoise counterparts.
“Out of the 36 municipalities underneath ABCF, 16 share borders with Nigeria, whereas others border Niger, Burkina Faso, or Togo,” he stated.
Like ABeGIEF’s Ms Kougbi, Mr Dinan reiterated that there aren’t any inflexible boundaries between Nigerians and Beninese.
“From Ifangni, Sakété, Adja-Ouèrè, Pobè, Kétou, Savè, Ouèssè, and Tchaourou, we converse Yoruba with our individuals and brothers in Ogun State,” he famous.
Whereas language variations—French in Benin and English in Nigeria—might function a barrier, Mr Dinan highlighted Yoruba as a unifying issue that allows communication between the 2 nations.
He careworn the necessity to strengthen cross-border cooperation, significantly in infrastructure, healthcare, and schooling, to reinforce residents’ high quality of life.
“A conference on border cooperation has been signed between Benin and Niger, in addition to between Benin and Togo,” Mr Dinan stated. “We finalised the settlement with Nigeria final 12 months, however the change in authorities delayed its signing. Nevertheless, I consider it will likely be concluded quickly.”
Authorities interventions
To handle developmental challenges in its border communities, Nigeria established the Border Communities Growth Company (BCDA) in 2003.
Chatting with PREMIUM TIMES, the Director and Particular Adviser on Particular Duties to the BCDA’s Government Secretary, Atarhe Akpohwaye-Abuh, described the situations in some Ogun border communities as “a tragic scenario,” citing a scarcity of water and electrical energy in addition to poor academic amenities.
Whereas the BCDA has but to evaluate the precise communities coated on this investigation, Mrs Atarhe requested particulars on their challenges.
“We’re compiling a listing of communities that want boreholes for subsequent 12 months’s funds. We’re additionally planning a medical outreach in some border areas,” she stated.
Nevertheless, she careworn that the BCDA can’t work in isolation. “We want collaboration with state governments. Any construction we put in place have to be supervised on the state degree. Even for PHCs, we are able to’t ship docs from Abuja; the state authorities should deploy healthcare personnel.”
For Ogun State, she stated the collaboration is simply starting. “As soon as the borehole initiatives are accomplished, we pays a courtesy go to to the governor.”
Yewa North LGA Chairman, Ogunyomi Oluwole, informed PREMIUM TIMES that the native authorities was unaware of the beginning of the quadruplets that prompted this investigation. Mr Oluwole famous that the porous nature of the border makes it tough to tell apart between Nigerians and Beninoise.
“Many individuals in Oja Odan stay in Benin however declare to be Nigerians, and vice versa,” he stated. “We coexist as one.”
“Growth is gradual. The federal government is making an attempt, and we are going to get there. Folks in cities are extra lucky, however border communities will expertise enhancements in time.”
Penalties of insufficient healthcare entry
Public well being specialists warn that the shortage of healthcare in border communities has far-reaching penalties, significantly for ladies and kids.
Isaiah Owolabi, a public well being knowledgeable, famous that the absence of enough healthcare results in excessive maternal and baby mortality charges, the unfold of preventable ailments, poor reproductive well being outcomes, psychological well being challenges, and elevated social inequality.
“Insufficient entry to healthcare is a multifaceted difficulty with important well being, social, and financial implications,” Mr Owolabi, challenge director at HACEY Well being Initiative, stated. “By prioritising ladies’s well being and investing in accessible and reasonably priced healthcare, Nigeria could make important strides towards a more healthy and extra equitable society.”
READ ALSO; Nigerian govt restates dedication to strengthen PHCs system
Olorunfemi Olorunsaiye, a public well being doctor on the Division of Neighborhood Medication and Main Care, Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, emphasised the position of PHCs in delivering equitable healthcare to grassroots populations.
Nevertheless, Mr Olorunsaiye recognized poor street networks, insufficient funding, infrastructure deficits, and ability gaps as main obstacles to efficient service supply.
To handle these challenges, Mr Owolabi really helpful “elevated funding in healthcare infrastructure, significantly in rural and underserved areas, alongside enough staffing with skilled healthcare professionals.”
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