Ewanle Omage, whose wife gave birth to quintuplets last year, has asked for financial help from the Lagos state government and Nigerians as the children get set to be enrolled into kindergarten.
Omage, a staffer of Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria, said the economic hardship in the country had made it increasingly difficult to cater for the five babies.
“We need help from individuals and the government at this stage,” said Omage, a graduate of Agriculture from the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma.
“We have weathered the storm right from their childbirth but the heavy load is weighing us down.”
Omage, who hails from Owan West local government area, Edo state, married his wife, Foyeke, from Osun state in 2014. But for the next six years, the union was not blessed with the fruit of the womb, leading to pressure from families and relatives.
“There were pressures from family members who questioned her ability to carry a baby,” Omage said.
“It was even worse among her friends as they made fun of her but we kept our faith despite pressures to seek diabolical solutions to our childlessness. The seven years were like hell on earth as friends and family eventually gave up on my wife’s chances of having a baby.”
The couple’s joy knew no bounds when Mrs Omage eventually conceived in May 2020; Mr Omage, however, said the happiness was cut short in December of that year after a scan showed there were four babies inside his wife.
Although Mrs Omage, a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, has a First Class degree in Microbiology and a Master’s in Business Administration, she could not secure a good job. Before her pregnancy, she worked at a diagnostic centre where she earned N30, 000 monthly.
