SEGUN OLUGBILE and SODIQ
OYELEKE narrate the dramatic
story of a 22-year-old student of
the Obafemi Awolowo University,
Ile-Ife, Osun State, who just gave
birth to a baby inside one of the
toilets in her hostel.
When the news first broke, a lot
of people vilified her. It was
reported thatshe wanted to get
rid of what many would describe
as a bundle of joy. People thus
wondered why a 22-year-old
undergraduate would try to
flushaway her baby in one of the
toilets in Moremi Hall, her hall of
residence at the Obafemi
Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun
State.
Without clarifying the
circumstances that led to the
delivery in the toilet, they went
on to social media networks,
putting on trial Miss Oyinlola
Rotimi, the 400-Level student of
Agricultural Extension and Rural
Sociologyat OAU, who delivered a
baby boy on Wednesday.
While the news went round the
campus, the traumatized young
mother was hurriedly taken to
the institution’s Health Centre by
two cleaners, Mrs.Shipebi Grace
and Mrs. Cecilia Ologbenla. The
social media was further flooded
with stories that Oyinlola wanted
to kill her baby. The OAU
management investigated the
matter and found out it was not
true. Rotimi,who was discharged
from the hospital on Friday, has
also narrated her ownside of the
story.
In spite of the trauma she had
passed through since last
Wednesday, the student, a native
of Ijabe, a border town between
Osun and Kwara states,says she
is happy that the embarrassment
she received from the
controversy that surrounded the
birth of her baby has turned into
a blessing for her.
She says the baby’s birth has
made her more popular and
important in the society.
‘God has the best plan for me’
“Why would I flush or kill my
baby after going through the
pains of carryinghim for about
good nine months? I am not
heartless and I thank God for my
life and the safe delivery. I know
God has the best plan for me and
my baby. I seriously appreciate
the cleaners for their assistance
because I got here (health
centre) before I understood
everything that happened to me.I
am happy that I am alive and my
baby is alive too. I’m also using
this opportunity to thank the VC,
the doctors and nurses, my
lecturers and everybody because
they all stood by me. They all
became my father, my mother
and everything to me.
“Right now, I can call myself a
celebrity and definitely I’m going
to be greater than a celebrity. My
baby too is going to be great.
Look at the circumstance that
surrounds his birth, just some
days old, he is already all over in
the news around the world and
everybody is happy to see him or
hear about his story. He will
surely go beyond where I am
now. He has turned me into a
kind of celebrity. ”
Circumstances surrounding the
baby’s birth
“I was purging all through the
night and I had no idea of what
labour pain was all about.
Actually, I was feeling pressed, I
can’t call it a labour pain because
I was visiting the toilet all
through the night till that
morning. I just went to the toilet
to go and purge when I noticed
something just came out of me
which I found out was the baby.
The baby entered the closet. I
was just there shouting, bleeding
and people who saw the blood
came out to help me alongside
the baby.
“I was really scared! I was not
expecting a baby. I went to the
toilet but seeing a baby was
terrifying because I was not
expecting him or her to come
out yet. It is absolutely not true
that I took to my heels when
peoplecame to help me. It
happened in Moremi Hall toilet
and the toilet is a publicone
where everybody takes their
bath, fetch water and clean up.
So, somepeople were around
fetching water, having their bath
as usual, while I was in the toilet
planning to defecate. My friend
called the cleaner for help
because she was an elderly
woman. I was very scared and
people around too couldn’t help
because we are all young female
students. The cleaner later helped
to carry the baby out and
brought it to the Health Centre
along with me.”
Her plan for the baby
“I will continue to keep him more
handsome, healthier and nurture
him to attain greater height in
life. But what he will become
later in life is not for me to
decide but he will definitely
become what God wants him to
become.I will just try to train him
in God’s way and I am sure His
(God) plan for his life will be
realised.”
The bean cake she ate deceived
her – CSO
According to the institution’s
Chief Security Officer, Mr. Paul
Ogidi, Rotimi thought she had
stomach upset instead of labour
pains because of the bean cake
she took before going to bed.
“She got to campus late at night
on Tuesday and it was learnt that
she could not immediately get
herself something to eat but later
resolved to buy beans cake
within the campus. After eating
the snack, she complained
severely of running stomach,
urinated and defecated at
regular intervals.
“She felt her stomach disorder
was caused by the bean cake
that she took the previous night
– not knowing it was labour
pains.”
Varsity law does not forbid
pregnancy – OAU
Authorities of OAU have blamed
the improper use of the social
media for the allegation that
Oyinlola attempted to flush her
baby away.
The Head of Public Relations, Mr.
Biodun Olarenwaju, who spoke
on behalf of the management,
described the incident as a
“social media rumour.”
He said, “Social media is
designed primarily to
disseminate information. Butin
the Nigerian context, many
people disseminate rumours. The
only information that should be
seen there should be those
persons who have the authority
to speak concerning that
particular incident.
“The only truth in the social
media episode is that a bouncing
baby boy was delivered in the
toilet of the female hostel in our
university. Other tales on the
social media were totally
incorrect. Students should not
encourage rumour mongering
because of the image of the
person involved. They have to be
careful not to make rumour the
news.”
He explained that it was legal for
the student to have delivered the
baby in the school, stating that
universities are institutions for
adults.
“It is not a crime for a student to
be pregnant. There is no law or
decree that states that a student
should be punished, an adult for
that matter, forgetting pregnant.
And there is no law in this
university that states that an
undergraduate cannot become
pregnant,” he added.
‘My friend didn’t plan to kill her
baby’
Rotimi’s friend, Oluwayemisi
Satope, who was in Room 103,
Block B of Moremi Hall, together
with the undergraduate mother,
the night before the incident,
said Oyinlola was willing to have
the baby.
She explained that there was no
attempt by them to kill the boy.
She added, “The truth of the
matter is that we don’t know
how to go about it when we saw
the baby. It was our first time
and we didn’t want to make a
mistake. I had to call Mama
Cleaner to assist us. Immediately
it happened, I was the first
person to shout for help and two
cleaners appeared to assist.
“Diana (Rotimi) had to spend the
night on campus to enable her to
preparefor her 8:00 am
examination the next day,
because she stays off-campus.
That mid-night, she started
complaining of stomach upset
and was visiting toilet regularly. A
few minutes to 7:00am, she
went to the toilet to defecate but
delivered a baby.”
Students name baby after VC
And as soon as the birth and
survival of the baby became
known on campus, students in
their characteristic manner,
launched into an unsolicited
naming feast for the baby. Before
the official naming ceremony
scheduled to hold on Wednesday
(tomorrow), OAU students have
named him after the institution’s
Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Bamitale
Omole.
At the Anglo-Moz Car Park of the
university, they gathered and
named thebaby Moremigbemi
(Moremi-blesses-me), Oriyomi
(My-head-saves-me), Oluwadayisi
(God-protects-this), Eniolorunopa
(He-who-God-does-not-kill),
Bamitale (Be-with-me-
permanently) Omole.
Others at the Moremi Hall named
the baby Orisamoremi (Deity
Moremi), Moremidayisi (Moremi-
protects-this), Omomoremi
(Child-of-Moremi), Olorunwa
(God-exists), Oniyapupo (One-
with-many-mothers) Moremioku
(Moremi-is-alive), Iyabo (Mother-
Moremi-is-Back), among others.
Moremi is a mythical legend of
the Yoruba race.
We forced the door open
to rescue Oyinlola, baby –
Cleaners
Also, the two cleaners, Mrs.
Shipebi Grace and Mrs. Cecilia
Ologbenla, in a chat with our
correspondents, said there was
no evidence to prove that
Oyinlola wanted to kill her baby.
The cleaners noted that they had
to force the door open when
they were called to ensure the
safety of Oyinlola and her baby
who was crying.
According to them, the baby was
in the water closet when they
entered the toilet.
“She would not have wanted to
attempt to kill the baby the way
we saw her. She only panicked
when we forced the door in. We
had to force the door in because
of the cry of the baby. In fact, it
was one of them that came to
call us, but you know some
students are impatient. They
didn’t confirm what happened
before they started spreading
rumour.”
Undergraduate father keeps
mum
Meanwhile, efforts made by our
correspondents to speak with
the baby’s father proved
abortive. He is a 400 Level
student of Mechanical
Engineering, and is sitting for the
second semester examination
currently on at the institution.
One of his friends who spoke on
the condition of anonymity
explained thatthe young father is
very sober about the
development. The friend alleged
that the young man and Rotimi
had been friends for some time.
Along the line, Oyinlola got
pregnant and they decided not
to abort it in order not to
compound their ‘sin’.

Source
www.nigerianuniversitynews.com/2013/06/oau-undergraduate-student-my-baby-has-turned-me-into-a-celebrity.html

*sobs quietly* source pls