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Akinbobola Folajimi whose pregnant wife died after a hospital allegedly refused to treat her without a N500,000 deposit has responded to criticism from a journalist Reuben Abati.
Abati, speaking on Arise TV on Tuesday, slammed Folajimi for not saving enough money ahead of his wife’s delivery.
“You had nine months to prepare. You impregnated a woman and showed up at the hospital begging for care without a deposit. That’s irresponsible,” Abati said.
Abati argued that it was irresponsible of the man to visit the hospital asking for his pregnant wife to be attended to without making any financial commitment.
Abati said; ‘‘The whole substance of this conversation is that according to Mr Folajimi, when he got to Al-Salam Convalescent Centre as the hospital is called, he was asked to deposit N500, 000 and the man was saying ‘please admit my wife, I will go and look for the money’.
“When you impregnate a woman, you can’t come at nine months and you are saying ‘just treat her, let me go and look for the money.’ There are many people who do that. They put you under pressure.
“Mr Folajimi behaved in an irresponsible manner”
Folajimi in a video shared online on Thursday, defended himself, saying he did his best with what he had.
He disclosed that he saved about N100,000. Unfortunately, his wife had an emergency and he did not have the N500,000 the hospital demanded, but would have raised it if he was given enough time.
‘’With due respect, this is not my first child. When my wife was pregnant, we were taking care of her to the best of my ability and I never came public or to you to ask for you to borrow me money for antenatal or feed my children.
“Excuse me Sir, I saved money but I didn’t save up to N500, 000. I saved money for that day but they asked for N500, 000 deposit, not full payment. I didn’t have that. All the money that I could have gathered that day wouldn’t have passed N100, 000,” he said.
He questioned the moral judgment placed on him for being unable to produce the sum on the spot.
“I don’t know if it is an offence not to have up to N500, 000 when your wife is about to give birth. I don’t know if it is an offence to now live below N500, 000 but you are now saying it is the ‘’highest irresponsibility” because I don’t have N500, 000. So it is even a crime to be poor in Nigeria,” he added.
Folajimi added that after his wife’s death, he and others managed to raise the N500,000, money that was then used for her mortuary fees and funeral arrangements.
