To adherents of the Catholic faith, Mother Theresa is associated with kindness and giving help to the helpless. In fact, her selfless services during her era turned her into a matyr and resulted in her canonization by Pope John Paul 11, after her death. Last week in Lagos, Mother Theresa resurrected in a middle-aged woman, Hajia Binta Bakari, who came all the way from Jos, Plateau State and was driving through Adeniyi-Jones in Ikeja when she noticed a lady lying helplessly on a foam, just by the major road, beside Asogbo Estate.
She quickly ordered her driver to stop and on inquiry, she was told by sympathetic onlookers that the lady was thrown out of her apartment by her landlady because she was sick. This is in spite of the fact that her rent had not expired.
Hajia Bakare who was in a hurry to finish her business and fly back to Jos there and then, abandoned all her engagements and sought a way of helping the sick lady. She was scorned, berated and even ignored by some of the people she approached including the Police until she proceeded to Alausa where the welfare department quickly listened to her pleas and rescued the dying lady.
She narrated her story to Crime Alert.
“I woke up this morning with lots of positive things going through my mind,like thank God its Friday and the weekend is here again,but that’s for me, Not Fumilayo who woke up this morning not in her usual comfortable bed,but on the street with no bed, no laughter from her room mates in the hostel where she used to stay. Why did Fumilayo find her self on the street? That is the baffling questions that came out from residents of Ashogbon street, off Adeniyi-Jones, Ikeja, Lagos and other passersby.
Encounter with the landlady
“This young woman is not mental, nor destitute and yet slept on the street,in the open for 24 hours, putting her life at risk of rapists or ritualists, anything is possible these days in our society. Her crime-she is a very sick woman in need of medical attention, but instead of her land lady or her room mates offering her the assistance she urgently needed,she was thrown out of her room (which has been paid for by Fumilayo ) until the end of the year by the very same woman who is eager to collect her rent but not eager to assist her in time of need simply because her land lady,lacks the maternal instinct of a mother and have no conscience as a human being.
“I was on my way to the market around 10:30 am when I noticed a woman lying by the road side, I quickly asked my driver who she is? He told me that she has been lying there since yesterday. I asked my driver to turn back and let me find out why.
When I interviewed the people around there,I was told that her landlady threw her out from the hostel. I went to the hostel to inquire, I was told by the security guard that there was no body to escort her to her village after Shagamu because the taxi he got was not willing to take her with out any escort or relation.
So, I asked to speak to the landlady but instead of the landlady, a maid came out and told me that she was asked to go and get herself treated before coming back to the hostel which she did, and later returned only for her to get ill again.
“I even offered to pay for her transport fare if the landlady could instruct any of her staff to do so. But after about 5 -10 minutes, the maid came back and said they are very busy and there is no spare staff that can escort Fumilayo to any where,the only solution is to leave her there to die. But my maternal instinct and conscience told me otherwise. I became frustrated and angry at the situation.
Police reaction
So, I headed to the nearest police station to look for a solution,because (I don’t live in Lagos. I came to Lagos for other business). I then went to Mancenter Police station. After narrating the incident to the police woman behind the counter, she was very sympathetic and immediately took me to the D.P.O. But, to my amazement, the so-called D.P.O. who was busy on the phone buying under wears at the station, did not even allow me to finish my story, he quickly and arrogantly dismissed me with the word, “this is not a police business, besides, this is not a welfare office.” I asked what do I do or where then do I go to for help since I’m not resident in Lagos? One of the officers told me to call 199,I dialed the number believing to get the response I needed but MTN told me this number does not exist. So, with no help from the police, I headed to the Lagos state Secretariat, Alausa, for assistance. It was from there I was given an emergency number(112) to call.
Alausa to the rescue
“To my amazement, a young girl’s voice came on the line with a soft, polite voice and asked me what was the emergency and I narrated the story and she promised that an ambulance will be dispatched immediately. After several phone calls from me and also from the emergency response unit, Fumilayo was finally taken away to the hospital. Now, the question I asked is, what do we do with the wicked landlady?what does it take to go the extra mile to save a life? After all, ain’t we supposed to be our brothers keepers? Well, thank God that we have a government in Lagos state that cares about the welfare of its citizens,God bless the government of Governor Fashola and his entire cabinet for coming to the rescue of Fumilayo.”
Source: Vanguard
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