By Lillian Okenwa
His story sounds like Tales by Moonlight. If Aunty Nkem of then Children’s TV show ‘Tales by Moonlight’, or Jimi Solanke of ‘Story Land’ fame, were to have recounted this story, many would have excitedly lapped up their thrilling and animatedly delivered fiction. But as James Hardly Chase would say, This is for Real!
At the time of his delivery at Igbotu town in Ese-Odo local government area of Ondo State, there was no maternity home or any medical facility to attend to the expectant mother and so she laboured for eight days. Traditional birth attendants, Christian, and Muslim clerics were contacted to at least, save the mother’s life. It was a life-threatening labour. Eventually, everybody gave up on both mother and baby.
She finally gave birth on November 23, 1959, but the baby did not cry. He was as lifeless as ever and everyone became convinced it was a stillbirth. So much for eight days of labour! Left with no other option, one of the many attendants placed him in a basket, took him to a refuse dump, and deposited him there. That was when the miracle began.
Twenty minutes after he had been deposited into the waste bin, an old woman identified as Iya Pupa arrived on the scene. On inquiring about the baby, she was told it was a stillbirth and had been discarded in a refuse bin. Iya insisted on being taken to the refuse dump where the ‘corpse’ was deposited. At the time they got there, an army of ants and other insects had covered and begun feasting on the body.
However, the very observant Iya Pupa, noticed that the boy was breathing faintly and proceeded to lift him up. Then she felt the warmth of his body. Promptly, she sent for sand and a certain herb from a nearby stream which she used to scrub the baby’s body. indeed Gbenga Onayiga is a survivour.
A retired Director of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Otunba Gbenga Onayiga who never ceases to be thankful for every moment is now 63 years old. The former Vice President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) spent 34 years in journalism. In 1996, he was the Chief Press Secretary to the Minister of Petroleum Resources.
“I am a child of glory and destiny”, he says. “I found favour in God and men. My bosses and colleagues took interest in me and they encouraged me, notwithstanding the challenges I encountered along the way. Indeed, I have told some friends that I will like to remain a journalist if I happen to come to the world again.”
Onayiga now a grandfather is a graduate of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Lagos, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism. He also holds a Degree in Political Science from the University of Abuja.
The veteran journalist has equally attended courses in Journalism and Public Relations at reputable institutions in the United Kingdom and in the United States.
