PUNCH
A 34-year-old father of three, Adediji Moses, who cried out on social media over the alleged swap of his biological child at birth at the Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomosho, Oyo State, following results of tests that showed that the child given to his wife after delivery had the SS genotype, tells FATTEH HAMID how the issue has affected his family
You recently cried out on social media about the possible swap of your child at birth at the Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomosho. Can you narrate what happened?
My name is Adediji Moses, I’m from Ogbomosho, I’m married with three children and I’m 34 years old. I’m the father of Esther Adediji, a child I believe was swapped at birth.
It happened in 2018. My daughter was born on November 15. Before her delivery, we didn’t even realise that my wife was ready to have a child. She said she didn’t feel too well and we decided to take her to the hospital for a checkup. On arrival at the hospital, the medical workers were on strike and we met only a nurse when we got there late in the night. She stated that she could not tend to her and we were referred to Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomosho, Oyo State. When we got there at midnight, they attended to us and my wife had a baby. After the delivery, my grandmother who accompanied us to the hospital told me to go to bed because she was with us. After the delivery, we were told that my baby had jaundice and something in her brain and that without treatment, she would be dull.
What did the medical workers who attended to your wife advise you to do?
With that said, we were asked to stay back at the hospital and we spent up to a month there. In 2021, my wife and I were already in Lagos where we work and my daughter became ill. My grandmother took her to the hospital for treatment and that was what led to us conducting a genotype test. When I was told that she had sickle cell disease. I said it was not possible because my genotype is SC while my wife’s is AA. Later, I took all my children to Ogbomosho and we conducted several tests. Despite all the tests done, she (my daughter) always came back as SS and this became an issue for me. How is that possible? We were also invited as a family and all of us had our test conducted and the results were the same. We also went to Sickle Cell Foundation, Lagos, and we had the test done and it was the same. This last admission was two weeks ago when she became seriously ill which frustrated me so much that despite not being financially strong, despite finding it very difficult to feed myself and my family, I have a child whose care is taking from me almost everything I work for.
What action did you take?
After this thought, I went back to the LAUTECH teaching hospital and complained, and after a lot of back and forth and not believing my words, I was told to go bring my child and wife, adding that they could only confirm my claims by having a test done. They gave us a day to come and my wife and child were present. They took samples from us and when the result came out, it was the same. That was why I raised the alarm in public, appealing to Nigerians to come to my aid. I have been to no fewer than five hospitals to have a genotype test conducted and we continued to have the same result from the tests, not for my child alone but also for me and my wife. My other children had their genotype tests and they confirmed that their genotype is AS.
