SEGUN OLUGBILE and SODIQ
OYELEKE narrate the dramatic story of a 22-year-
old student of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-
Ife, Osun State, who just gave birth to a baby inside
one of the toilets in her hostel
When the news first broke, a lot of people vilified her. It
was reported that she wanted to get rid of what many
would describe as a bundle of joy. People thus
wondered why a 22-year-old undergraduate would try
to flush away her baby in one of the toilets in Moremi
Hall, her hall of residence at the Obafemi Awolowo
University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.
Without clarifying the circumstances that led to the
delivery in the toilet, they went on to social media
networks, putting on trial Miss Oyinlola Rotimi, the
400-Level student of Agricultural Extension and
Rural Sociology at OAU, who delivered a baby
boy on Wednesday.
While the news went round the campus, the traumatised
young mother was hurriedly taken to the institution’s
Health Centre by two cleaners, Mrs. Shipebi Grace
and Mrs. Cecilia Ologbenla. The social media was
further flooded with stories that Oyinlola wanted to kill
her baby. The OAU management investigated the
matter and found out it was not true. Rotimi, who was
discharged from the hospital on Friday, has also
narrated her own side of the story.
In spite of the trauma she had passed through since last
Wednesday, the student, a native of Ijabe, a border
town between Osun and Kwara states, says she is
happy that the embarrassment she received from the
controversy that surrounded the birth of her baby has
turned into a blessing for her.
She says the baby’s birth has made her more popular
and important in the society.
‘God has the best plan for me’
“Why would I flush or kill my baby after going
through the pains of carrying him for about good nine
months? I am not heartless and I thank God for my
life and the safe delivery. I know God has the best plan
for me and my baby. I seriously appreciate the cleaners
for their assistance because I got here (health centre)
before I understood everything that happened to me. I
am happy that I am alive and my baby is alive too.
I’m also using this opportunity to thank the VC, the
doctors and nurses, my lecturers and everybody
because they all stood by me. They all became my
father, my mother and everything to me.
“Right now, I can call myself a celebrity and definitely
I’m going to be greater than a celebrity. My baby too
is going to be great. Look at the circumstance that
surrounds his birth, just some days old, he is already all
over in the news around the world and everybody is
happy to see him or hear about his story. He will surely
go beyond where I am now. He has turned me into a
kind of celebrity. ”
Circumstances surrounding the baby’s
birth
“I was purging all through the night and I had no
idea of what labour pain was all about. Actually, I
was feeling pressed, I can’t call it a labour pain
because I was visiting the toilet all through the night till
that morning. I just went to the toilet to go and purge
when I noticed something just came out of me which I
found out was the baby. The baby entered the closet. I
was just there shouting, bleeding and people who saw
the blood came out to help me alongside the baby.
“I was really scared! I was not expecting a baby. I
went to the toilet but seeing a baby was terrifying
because I was not expecting him or her to come out yet.
It is absolutely not true that I took to my heels when
people came to help me. It happened in Moremi Hall
toilet and the toilet is a public one where everybody
takes their bath, fetch water and clean up. So, some
people were around fetching water, having their bath as
usual, while I was in the toilet planning to defecate.
My friend called the cleaner for help because she was
an elderly woman. I was very scared and people
around too couldn’t help because we are all young
female students. The cleaner later helped to carry the
baby out and brought it to the Health Centre along
with me.”
Her plan for the baby
“I will continue to keep him more handsome, healthier
and nurture him to attain greater height in life. But
what he will become later in life is not for me to decide
but he will definitely become what God wants him to
become. I will just try to train him in God’s way and I
am sure His (God) plan for his life will be realised.”
The bean cake she ate deceived her –
CSO
According to the institution’s Chief Security Officer,
Mr. Paul Ogidi, Rotimi thought she had stomach
upset instead of labour pains because of the bean cake
she took before going to bed.
“She got to campus late at night on Tuesday and it
was learnt that she could not immediately get herself
something to eat but later resolved to buy beans cake
within the campus. After eating the snack, she
complained severely of running stomach, urinated and
defecated at regular intervals.
“She felt her stomach disorder was caused by the bean
cake that she took the previous night – not knowing it
was labour pains.”
Varsity law does not forbid pregnancy
– OAU
Authorities of OAU have blamed the improper use
of the social media for the allegation that Oyinlola
attempted to flush her baby away.
The Head of Public Relations, Mr. Biodun
Olarenwaju, who spoke on behalf of the management,
described the incident as a “social media rumour.”
He said, “Social media is designed primarily to
disseminate information. But in the Nigerian context,
many people disseminate rumours. The only information
that should be seen there should be those persons who
have the authority to speak concerning that particular
incident.
“The only truth in the social media episode is that a
bouncing baby boy was delivered in the toilet of the
female hostel in our university. Other tales on the social
media were totally incorrect. Students should not
encourage rumour mongering because of the image of
the person involved. They have to be careful not to make
rumour the news.”
He explained that it was legal for the student to have
delivered the baby in the school, stating that universities
are institutions for adults.
“It is not a crime for a student to be pregnant. There is
no law or decree that states that a student should be
punished, an adult for that matter, for getting pregnant.
And there is no law in this university that states that
an undergraduate cannot become pregnant,” he added.
‘My friend didn’t plan to kill her baby’
Rotimi’s friend, Oluwayemisi Satope, who was in
Room 103, Block B of Moremi Hall, together with
the undergraduate mother, the night before the incident,
said Oyinlola was willing to have the baby.
She explained that there was no
attempt by them to kill the boy.
She added, “The truth of the matter is that we don’t
know how to go about it when we saw the baby. It was
our first time and we didn’t want to make a mistake. I
had to call Mama Cleaner to assist us. Immediately it
happened, I was the first person to shout for help and
two cleaners appeared to assist.
“Diana (Rotimi) had to spend the night on campus to
enable her to prepare for her 8:00 am examination the
next day, because she stays off-campus. That mid-night,
she started complaining of stomach upset and was
visiting toilet regularly. A few minutes to 7:00am, she
went to the toilet to defecate but delivered a baby.”
Students name baby after VC
And as soon as the birth and survival of the baby
became known on campus, students in their
characteristic manner, launched into an unsolicited
naming feast for the baby. Before the official naming
ceremony scheduled to hold on Wednesday
(tomorrow), OAU students have named him after the
institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Bamitale Omole.
At the Anglo-Moz Car Park of the university, they
gathered and named the baby Moremigbemi
(Moremi-blesses-me), Oriyomi (My-head-saves-me),
Oluwadayisi (God-protects-this), Eniolorunopa
(He-who-God-does-not-kill), Bamitale (Be-with-
me-permanently) Omole.
Others at the Moremi Hall named the baby
Orisamoremi (Deity Moremi), Moremidayisi
(Moremi-protects-this), Omomoremi (Child-of-
Moremi), Olorunwa (God-exists), Oniyapupo
(One-with-many-mothers) Moremioku (Moremi-is-
alive), Iyabo (Mother-Moremi-is-Back), among
others.
Moremi is a mythical legend of the Yoruba race.
We forced the door open
to rescue Oyinlola, baby – Cleaners
Also, the two cleaners, Mrs. Shipebi Grace and
Mrs. Cecilia Ologbenla, in a chat with our
correspondents, said there was no evidence to prove that
Oyinlola wanted to kill her baby.
The cleaners noted that they had to force the door open
when they were called to ensure the safety of Oyinlola
and her baby who was crying.
According to them, the baby was in the water closet
when they entered the toilet.
“She would not have wanted to attempt to kill the baby
the way we saw her. She only panicked when we forced
the door in. We had to force the door in because of the
cry of the baby. In fact, it was one of them that came to
call us, but you know some students are impatient. They
didn’t confirm what happened before they started
spreading rumour.”
Undergraduate father keeps mum
Meanwhile, efforts made by our correspondents to
speak with the baby’s father proved abortive. He is a
400 Level student of Mechanical Engineering, and is
sitting for the second semester examination currently on
at the institution.:
One of his friends who spoke on the condition of
anonymity explained that the young father is very sober
about the development. The friend alleged that the
young man and Rotimi had been friends for some time.
Along the line, Oyinlola got pregnant and they
decided not to abort it in order not to compound their

source: rhodiesworld.com/a-22-year-old-undergraduate-of-oau-my-baby-has-turned-me-into-a-celebrity/