New book reveals unusual details on Dogara's birth

- Dele Momodu writes a revealing biography on Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the House of Representatives

- The books narrates the ordeals Dogara's parents went through while trying to have children

- Momodu, in an excerpt of the book, captures the circumstances that surrounded Dogara's birth

From the biography on Yakubu Dogara, the speaker of the House of Representatives, ‘A Reed Made Flint’, authored by Ovation's Dele Mormodu, the strange stretch of pregnancy is a bitter reminder of infant mortality in the family, The Cable reports.

The book, written to commemorate the speaker's 50th birthday, will be due for public consumption on Tuesday, Decmber, 26.

Reading an excerpt of the book, Momodu narrated: “It was a cold harmattan morning of December 26, in the year of our Lord 1967. Along the edge of a rustic but neatly paved road, in the picturesque town of Gwarangah in the then Tafawa Balewa District of old Bauchi Division of Nigeria, an elegant but modest bungalow was on the threshold of history. Saratu, the matriarch of the Yakubu Tukur Ganawuri household and veteran of five previous maternity days was on a gruelling journey to her sixth.

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“The child she was expecting had prior to this fateful day sent dangerous prenatal signals: not only had the baby in the womb tarried more than three months longer than the natural nine-month pregnancy period – a veritable source of huge apprehension in its own right – the delayed birth had also triggered a kind of labour complication.

“It is said that the birth of giants is often heralded by turbulent, uproarious awakenings. On this auspicious day, it was as if the elements were sending signals to the world that the birth of a star was imminent. Some six months earlier, the Nigerian Civil War, popularly known as the Nigeria-Biafra war, which eventually lasted from 6th July, 1967 – 15th January 1970 had set the country on fire. It was the season of war. The thunderous cacophonies of civil war rent the air some 800 kilometres away. Inside the household of Yakubu Tukur, patriarch of the Ganawuri family of Gwarangah, a family waged its own battle of fate.”

He went on to say: "As was common in those days of superstition, rumours soon spread around that something was spiritually, nay devilishly wrong with Saratu, Yakubu’s wife.

“It was obvious that the strain of overdue pregnancy would take its toll. Saratu was in excruciating pain but she was not alone. Birth days of the previous five children had always been smooth and hitch-free but this very ordeal defied Yakubu’s imagination and tasked his usual calm in the face of stormy circumstances. Not only was his expected child in danger of the physical and mental complications a baby suffers due to delayed labour, Saratu was particularly too precious to lose to maternal mortality,” he wrote.

“Long before he was born, his parents had mixed premonitions that an unusual child was in the making. First was the shock of his delayed pregnancy which was like an emotional sledgehammer on the home. Saratu had never had a pregnancy so complicated. She was fighting the battle of her life. Her private moments were spent in apprehensive contemplation of this most unusual maternal ordeal.

“After all, she had had five children prior to this one and it had always been a smooth, timely delivery. Had she taken maternity too far? Had she sinned against God? Was there something she should have done that she neglected? And to worsen the nightmare, the rumour-mongers of Gwarangah had gone to town. Worst of all, friends were among the folks that deepened the ordeal.”

“Kwarai,” replied one of her listeners. “I’m afraid for Saratu. I’ve never seen a baby take this long in the womb. This is unnatural. What manner of fate is this? A child in the womb for 12 months…”

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“It was also an opportunity for Saratu’s detractors to recall a similar unfortunate experience in her life. Yakubu and Saratu had suffered the painful loss of a child previously. That it was the first child of the wedlock, a boy who died immediately after birth made the matter exceedingly painful,” Momodu wrote, quoting Naomi –Dogara’s sister — as saying the “fresh ante-natal ordeal reopened the wounds of that painful loss”.

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com reported that the speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, on Tuesday, December 19, in Abuja said the National Assembly was committed to ensuring that local government administration in the country gets autonomy.

He made this known at the retreat of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Secretaries to State Governments (SSGs). Dogara, represented by the chief whip of the House, Ado Doguwa, spoke on the subject: 'Local Government Autonomy: Imperative for Sustainable Grassroots Development'.

How Nigerian youths protest made the National Assembly pass the 'Not Too Young To Run Bill' on NAIJ.com TV

Source: Naija.ng