The captivating stories of self-motivated ‘dotting fathers’ of exclusive breast-feeding in Adamawa
By Mohammed Ismail
They appear simple, unassuming, unsophisticated and rustic with a calm demeanor. But their resolve, can-do spirit, determination and commitment to secure the lives of new born babies and their mothers is fierce, impregnable and uncompromising. Most of them did not acquire formal education, yet they have transcended the barriers of bigotry, conservatism, harmful norms and myths that even the most lettered will envy. In the process of passing the gospel of exclusive breastfeeding they were ostracized, misunderstood, maligned, blackmailed and rebuked, yet their spirit remained iron cast. They are the dotting fathers and champions of exclusive breastfeeding in Adamawa State.
The stories of how they change from stout opponents of exclusive breastfeeding to unabashed apologists and pro establishment will surely open a new vista of hope that with awareness, education, enlightenment and time, even the most hardened antagonists will one day be converted.
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During an interaction with newsmen in celebration of the breastfeeding week, these champions revealed how they endured persecution, spent sleepless nights and work round the clock, to ensure that their message is heard, understood activated and put to use. Despite the daunting difficulty they faced, their consistence and determination is yielding result as they have succeeded in pulling many others into their mix which made the crowd of exclusive breastfeeding champions to start swelling up by the day in Adamawa State.
Regaling newsmen with the scintillating story of how he became an indomitable champion of exclusive breastfeeding, Malam Kabiru Maigari a 50-year-old father of eleven children said the journey was replete with challenges, but determination, consistency and hard work made him to triumph over adversities.
“In the first place I was not really in romance with the idea of exclusive breastfeeding as I see it as an alien practice and one that can hurt the baby.
“But my opposition to the idea gradually fizzled out because it did not made me totally blind against listening to the conversations around exclusive breastfeeding. Because of my keen interest on the topic, I always listen attentively whenever the subject is being discussed in radio stations. My wives also use to tell me about the benefits of the practice as caregivers in the hospitals always tell them to embrace the practice for the benefit of mother and child.
“With time my spirit began to resonate with the message and my soul began to embrace it as I know all these doctors counselling us to accept the practice cannot connive to deciecve us. So I told my wives that we must adopt the exclusive breastfeeding and I can confidently tell you I have no regrets adopting the practice,” he said.
When asked about the observable benefits of the exclusive breastfeeding, he said the practice has probed beneficial to him and his family.
“With the exception of my first child who did not get the benefit of exclusive breastfeeding, all the other ten children were exclusively breastfed. I can tell you the benefits were immense, innumerable and visible. My children are healthy, grow faster than their peers and are doing very well in school and other endeavors. They do not suffer constant illnesses so that saved me the cost of going to hospitals and with that I was able to save for the rainy day,” he added.
When asked on the travails he went through because of his stance, Maigari said he was both maligned and victimized by those who think he wants to westernize them.
“I have suffered a lot of ostracisation, bullying and rebuke, my friends use to address me in pejorative language because of my posture and embrace of the practice, but as they say seeing is believing, those people who saw the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding surreptitiously discarded their hard posture and started embracing it.
“Many people have sought my forgiveness for their unkind treatment on me, some are even visiting me at home to learn about the exclusive breastfeeding,” he said.
Also speaking, another champion of exclusive breastfeeding, a 48-year-old resident of Jimeta, Mal. Ibrahim Ibrema, said he was buoyed by the ecstasy of saving lives to invest his time and energy into the exclusive breastfeeding project.
He noted that he has no regret for the energy and time he invested because of the palpable outcome he is seeing.
“The time and energy I have invested into this very important project is not in vein as I always exult the happiness of saving a new life. I have faced a lot of adversities by people who misunderstood the concept but I trudged on. Today God has vindicated me because all the children who went through exclusive breastfeeding are doing exceptionally well. The fact that even those who nurtured gargantuan hatred for exclusive breastfeeding are now understanding its importance is what makes me feel highly fulfilled,” he said.
He noted that five out of his thirteen children who were exclusively breastfed are doing wonderfully well in life adding that they don’t fell sick easily adding that the situation has saved him the cost of treatment.
Ibrema noted that he was able to convince parents to stop throwing away colostrum as it is very vital to the life of a new born baby.
“Before, the major practice in this part of the world is that if a woman delivers a new born baby, the colostrum is extracted and thrown away as it was erroneously believed to be harmful to the baby. But my doggedness in awareness creation has led to the resolution of that issue as many women now comfortably administer the colostrum on their new born babies,” he noted.
He also disclosed that since he started his campaign over a decade ago, he has won the hearts of almost 30 fathers who also embraced and internalized exclusive breastfeeding as the only way.
Also speaking, a 70-year-old grandfather, Aliyu Abubakar told reporters that he has made it a law for all his grandchildren to be exclusively breastfed.
“I have made it a law in my family that any grandchild that came into the family must be exclusively breastfed and that law has come to stand. My children who initially see the practice as alien are now thanking me for my wisdom and foresight in adopting a practice that did not belong to my generation.
“My children who initially developed cold feet against the practice have now become ambassadors of exclusive breastfeeding because of its benefits and impact on the lives of their babies and their mother.
“I must thank the media especially the radio journalists for their enlightenment programs because I got to understand the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding through the radio,” he said.
He noted that he has been championing the cause for over a decade and has succeeded in recruiting many champions who he hopely believed will pass the baton even after he left.
