In Kafaje, a community tucked away in Fune Local Government Area of Yobe State, childbirth is no longer a moment of joy. Instead, it has become a life-threatening ordeal for expectant mothers and their families.
With no functional health centre or skilled birth attendants, pregnant women are ferried on tricycles, locally known as keke mai-bodi, over 40 kilometres of rough desert roads to reach the nearest hospital. For many, the journey ends in tragedy.
Hassan Yalwa, a resident of Kafaje, knows this reality too well. He lost a relative during one of such desperate trips.
“The fear of losing a wife now looms over every family here,” he said. “In other places, women look forward to childbirth with joy, but in Kafaje, it is fear and sorrow. What have we done to deserve this neglect from our leaders? Healthcare is not a privilege; it is a right.”
The community’s only clinic is dilapidated and handled by untrained volunteers struggling to save lives with little or no equipment.
“When a delivery becomes complicated and the volunteer cannot handle it, we are forced to carry the patient to Damagun hospital, which is more than 40 kilometres away, or to a primary health centre 14 kilometres away,” Mr Yalwa said. “In most cases, the women or their babies don’t survive.”
Between August and September this year alone, residents say five women and their unborn children died in transit. Many more sustained serious injuries due to the bumpy desert road.
“Whenever we hear the cries of relatives during these emergencies, we know survival is unlikely,” Mr Yalwa said.
Another resident, Malam Habu, accused the authorities of ignoring the community.
“We feel as if we are not citizens. Maybe it is only our votes they want during elections. Women and children are dying while leaders look the other way,” he told WikkiTimes in a telephone interview.
“We have been abandoned”
A community leader, who asked not to be named, said residents have repeatedly appealed for intervention but have been ignored.
“Government officials come, take pictures and leave. Nothing has changed,” he said. “Pregnant women still travel on tricycles, over dangerous desert roads, risking their lives and that of their babies.”
He warned that the crisis was not only leading to high maternal mortality but also fuelling hopelessness among young families.
Authorities unresponsive
Efforts by WikkiTimes to get comments from Baba Goni Bane, chairman of Fune LGA, were unsuccessful. Multiple phone calls went unanswered, and a text message sent to his verified phone number had not been replied to at the time of filing this report.
Yobe, like several states in northern Nigeria, faces an acute healthcare crisis. The state is among those with the highest maternal and child mortality rates in the country, worsened by poor infrastructure, lack of skilled health workers, and poverty.
In Kafaje, the crisis is stark and personal. For now, families continue to rely on tricycles and hope for miracles each time a woman goes into labour.
