Scorned, tagged and derided, Mrs. Ayoade Basirat Azuka Jebose Molokwu
suffered humiliation in her attempts to conceive and give birth to a
baby. For 12 years she waited, lost hope and confidence in herself but
not in her faith. Her first marriage, she recalled, collapsed on the
pretext that she could not have her own baby and the ex-husband dumped
her, married another woman and had a baby.
With sober spirit, she restored her confidence, faced life and
eventually fate made her path to cross with Azuka Jebose Molokwu, the
bohemian and celebrated entertainment journalist behind The PUNCH
column, Jebose Boulevard, who married her`about two years ago.
Azuka chose to carry her burden and the size of their belief that they
would have a baby together doubled.
Last Saturday, Ayoade, fondly called
Alhaja by Azuka was delivered of a baby girl at the Catholic Church
Hospital, Ijede and E24-7MAGAZINE’s Editor-in-Chief, BIODUN KUPOLUYI on Monday afternoon spoke with the joyful mother in this inspiring interview.
Q: How do you feel now that your dream to be a mother has been fulfilled?
A: (Tears of joy). Of course, I’m happy now. I’m very happy. It’s a very
nice experience for me as a woman. It is every woman’s joy to conceive
and a deliver a baby, I feel counted among women and mothers in this
world and to all women waiting on the Lord for the fruit of the womb,
their prayers shall be Aed sooner than ever.
Q: Did you feel a day like this would ever come, a day that you will carry your baby?
A: No, I never thought of a day like this in my life would come, I have
lost hope, so that I will carry my baby in my hands it’s just a miracle.
I have actually given up on it. I lost hope. I never knew something
like this will come my way. I’ m very happy you know, that I’m just
experiencing motherhood.
Q: These past years that you were experiencing not being a mother, what
was going through your mind, what attempts did you make, did you think
science failed or something was just natural?
A: Well, my husband and I have made a lot of attempts, through medical,
herbal and so on. I have gone to different places you know in an attempt
to have a baby. So at a time, I just gave up stopped hoping and I
stopped everything, hoping that one day miracle would happen.
Q: Now let’s look at the society and your situation until last Saturday, did you feel unwanted, rejected?
A: Yes. Normally when there’s any family party or a friend’s party, I
don’t go there, because I felt unwanted due to the circumstances I found
myself.
Q: How were you able to break the news to your husband that you are pregnant?
A: He was around then. That was February this year. He came home to
celebrate my daddy’s 70th birthday. During this period; I thought i had
malaria, so I took malaria pills. Not until I had gone for check-up,
then I got the news that I was pregnant.
Q: You were in a marriage and the circumstance you left that home was on
the fact that you cannot conceive, and do you think it was a right
judgment for anybody to have made on you at that time?
A: No, no, no.
Q: Why do you think your ex-husband should have exercised some more patience then?
Yes, he should have exercised some more patience. Because I told him
then that he should be patient with me that God is going to do it.
Q: Did he leave you or abandon you?
A: Yes. He just left me and married another woman. After five (5) years of marriage.
Q: How many years were you with him?
A: I was with him for nine (9) years?
Q: So for nine years you were with him and you did not conceive?
A: Yes, I did not conceive and after he left, I was on my own, all alone.
Q: So he left after the ninth year?
A: Yes he did.
Azuka and Ayoade Molokwu
Q: So how did you meet Azuka, the father of your baby?
A: I met him through a friend.
Q: What was the attraction really?
A: A friend of mine actually introduced me to him and we started talking
on phone in 2013. He was living in the United States. But before we got
talking regularly, I told him I was not interested. Due to my past
experience I told my friend I was not interested. Then, she persuaded me
saying that ‘all men are not the same that I should give him a chance
and just go ahead. So in 2013, we started talking. Then in January,
2014, he came home from the U.S.A, where he resides. Then he came to
Nigeria so that we can meet. We got closer, knew each other better.
Later, we decided to get married, that was in February 2014.
Q: Now in 2015, barely a year after you met each other, you are a
mother. Is that what is called miracle, having waited for that long?
A: Yes, oo. It is indeed a miracle.
Q: That means you waited for like twelve (12) years?
A: Yes, I did.
Q: How are your parents, how did they feel about this new bundle of joy?
A: Oh, my mother is full of joy now. Before now they were not happy, you
know, especially my mother. She kept on telling me that there is no
problem that I will give birth to my own child one day.
Q. At close to 40, did your baby come through Caesarean or natural birth?
A: Yes, it was Caesarean.
New baby, Oluwadarasimi Molokwu
Q: can you just share with me the moment you realized you were pregnant? Did you believe yourself?
A: I could not believe it that I was pregnant. Sometimes I would look at
myself and ask myself ‘Am I I dreaming? If I am dreaming, God please
don’t let me wake up from my sleep.’ Even up till the day I was taken to
the theatre, I still couldn’t believe it. I was still thinking asking
myself if it was really a baby in my tummy or not. The reality did now
dawn on me until when I saw my baby. Then I started to believe, I was
actually pregnany and had a baby like every other woman. It turned out a
reality.
Q: Can you recall how you shared the good news that you were pregnant with your husband?
A: He was around then. That was February this year. He came home to
celebrate my daddy’s 70th birthday. During this period; I thought I had a
malaria, so I took the malaria pills. Not until I had gone for
check-up, then I got the news that I was pregnant. He was excited about
the fact that it turned out to be a pregnancy.
Q: What time did the baby girl arrive last Saturday?
A: It was 2:00pm in the afternoon.
Q: If you don’t mind how old are you now?
A: I’m 39 years old.
Q: Can you recall the first thing you said to the baby ?, when the baby came out.
A: The first thing that came out of my mouth when the baby came out?
Okay, the doctor that performed the operation asked me what S*X was it,
and I replied ‘female.’
They thought it was the anesthetic injection that they gave me ws still
in my system, so they wanted to confirm if I’m back to life. So I told
them it’s a girl, they then gave the new baby to the matron to wash her
body. That moment I said to God, ‘I’m so grateful Lord.’
Q: And where was your husband at that moment?
A: He was outside, waiting anxiously.
Q: I can see you are so full of joy, do you have a name on your mind for the new baby?
A: Yes ooo. Oluwadarasimi, because God has been good to me. Then, Azuka, my husband’s first name.
A: Once again, congratulations Madam.
A: Thank you.