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How Reverend Mother Esther Ajayi Paid N4.850m to Rescue 20 Years-Old Tosin Ojelabi from Killer Disease
By Eric Elezuo
For Tosin Ojelabi, the true meaning of joy has been made manifest. For her, joy is God sent; joy is a woman; joy is Reverend Mother Esther Abimbola Ajayi, who kindheartedly doled out a whopping Four Million, Eight hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N4.850m) to cure and rescue her from a a disease that was at the verge of snuffing out her life. A disease diagnosed as acute Budd-chiari syndrome
In February 2019, the never tired of doing good and coming to the rescue of the sick and the needy in the society, and Founder, Esther Ajayi Foundation and General Overseer, Love of Christ (Generation) Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Clapham, England, Reverend Mother Esther Abimbola Ajayi, heard the cries of the Ojelabi family, whose 20 year-old daughter, Tosin, was being ravaged by the Budd-chiari syndome, which is associated with the liver failure and bloating of major body organs including the legs and stomach.
Promptly, the woman, better known as Iya Adura by well wishers and faithful, dispatched her spokesperson, Mr. Abiodun Paseda, the CEO, Focus on Disability Foundation, to Ibadan, where Tosin and her family live, for a preliminary assessment of her situation.
Tosin, with Mr. Paseda, during her critical days
Tosin was discovered to have suffered from the ailment since 2015.
Reviewing her case when he visited her in her Ibadan abode, Mr Paseda disclosed that she needs to undergo Transjugalar Intrahepatic Portosystemic (TIPS) shunt Surgery, which will gulp about N4.7 million, and through to type, the ever kind Reverend Mother promptly released the money, even in excess, and the surgery was billed to take place at Eurapharma Care Services in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.
Today, Tosin is on her feet again, looking robust and set to grab life again.
Tosin’s ordeal started when she was in 15 years old and in SS1. She’d noted that her legs were unusually swelling up; a situation she dismissed as normal, as according to her, she was always sitting in the class without moving around. Even a visit to the doctor when the situation persists informed her that nothing was amiss, but her sufferings intensified.
A highly thankful Tosin after the surgery
It was reported that “Tosin was having a lot of fluid accumulating in her distended abdomen. About 33 litres of fluid was being drained from her protruding belly monthly. She carried the protruding belly around for the next couple of years. Her life was anything but normal during this period and could best be described as a living hell.” That was when God through Reverend Ajayi took over her case, paid her bills directly to the hospital and brought succour to her life and her family’s.
Mr. Paseda also revealed that medical experts were brought in from the United States, who gave thorough diagnoses of Tosin’s case in preparation to her operation. Consequently, on March 9, 2019, the EuraPharma Care services successfully performed the operation, the first of its type in Nigeria. The surgery which lasted five and half hours was led by a US trained Vascular and Interventional Radiologist, Dr. Hammed Ninalowo.
A fully recovered Tosin, ready for life again
Expressing her joy after the surgery, a highly elated Tosin heaped encomiums on the person of Reverend Mother Ajayi through whom God came to her rescue. She intoned “there’s a huge difference in quality of life for me now…school is the next thing for me definitely. Now I’m fully recovered, I plan to write JAMB exam next year, and hopefully, I’ll gain admission.
In his remarks, Paseda reminded all the Reverend Mother Ajayi, whose stock in trade is putting smiles on the faces of the needy is not done yet, as she continually goes about doing good in cash and kind.
“Mama is one of a kind. Her heart for goodness is unrivaled,” Paseda submitted.
The Senate has granted approval to the ₦1.77 trillion ($2.2b) loan request of President Bola Tinubu after a voice vote in favor of the request.
The Senate presided by Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, approved the loan after the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts chaired by Senator Wammako Magatarkada (APC, Sokoto North) presented the report of the committee.
The request which was submitted by the President on Tuesday is part of a fresh external borrowing plan to partially finance the N9.7 trillion budget deficit for the 2024 fiscal year.
Tinubu had on Tuesday written to the National Assembly, seeking approval of a fresh N1.767 trillion, the equivalent of $2.209 billion as a new external borrowing plan in the 2024 Appropriation Act.
The fresh loan is expected to stretch the amount spent on debt servicing by the Federal Government. The Central Bank of Nigeria recently said that it cost the Federal Government $3.58 billion to service foreign debt in the first nine months of 2024.
The CBN report on international payment statistics showed that the amount represents a 39.77 per cent increase from the $2.56bn spent during the same period in 2023.
According to the report, while the highest monthly debt servicing payment in 2024 occurred in May, amounting to $854.37m, the highest monthly expenditure in 2023 was $641.70m, recorded in July.
The trend in foreign debt servicing by the CBN highlights the rising cost of debt obligations by Nigeria.
Further breakdown of international debt figures showed that in January 2024, debt servicing costs surged by 398.89 per cent, rising to $560.52m from $112.35m in January 2023. February, however, saw a slight decline of 1.84 per cent, with payments reducing from $288.54m in 2023 to $283.22m in 2024.
March recorded a 31.04 per cent drop in payments, falling to $276.17m from $400.47m in the same period last year. April saw a significant rise of 131.77 per cent, with $215.20m paid in 2024 compared to $92.85m in 2023.
The highest debt servicing payment occurred in May 2024, when $854.37m was spent, reflecting a 286.52 per cent increase compared to $221.05m in May 2023. June, on the other hand, saw a 6.51 per cent decline, with $50.82m paid in 2024, down from $54.36m in 2023.
July 2024 recorded a 15.48 per cent reduction, with payments dropping to $542.50m from $641.70m in July 2023. In August, there was another decline of 9.69 per cent, as $279.95m was paid compared to $309.96m in 2023. However, September 2024 saw a 17.49 per cent increase, with payments rising to $515.81m from $439.06m in the same month last year.
Given rising exchange rates, the data raises concerns about the growing pressure of Nigeria’s foreign debt obligations.
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Self acclaimed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa, has been arrested by law enforcement in Finland.
The BBC reports that Ekpa was subsequently sent to prison by the district court of Päijät-Häme for “spreading terrorist propaganda on social media”.
Ekpa was said to have committed the crime in 2021 in Lahti municipality.
The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) also arrested four other men over alleged terrorist offences.
A citizen of Finland and Nigeria, Ekpa has described himself as leader of the separatist IPOB group since Nnamdi Kanu’s incarceration.
Finnish police say Ekpa’s activities and social media rhetoric may have fanned the flames of violence in the south-east of Nigeria.
“He carries out these activities from his social media channels, for example,” said Otto Hiltunen, detective chief inspector of the NBI.
In February 2023, Ekpa was arrested by police at his residence in Lahti but was released after hours of questioning.
Using his social media channels, Ekpa had directed Igbos not to participate in Nigeria’s 2023 general election.
In September 2021, the Biafra agitator and secessionist denounced Nigeria and vowed to return the medal he won for the country at the 2003 African Junior Athletics Championships.
The Court of Appeal has sacked Musiliu Akinsanya aka MC Oluomo as the National President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).
In a ruling that upheld the earlier judgment of the National Industrial Court, the appellate court sacked MC Oluomo and reaffirmed Tajudeen Baruwa as the legitimate leader of the union.
Baruwa had assumed office after a properly conducted election held at the union’s headquarters in Abuja.
The three-member panel of the Appeal Court dismissed the appeal filed by MC Oluomo’s faction, declaring it devoid of merit.
In addition, the court imposed a fine of N100,000 on the appellants, further solidifying Baruwa’s leadership position.
Reports quoting court documents said to have been released on Friday detailed the ruling, which effectively countered any attempts to displace Baruwa from his role as the NURTW president.
The judgment read: “This is an appeal against the judgment/decision of the National Industrial Court Sitting in Abuja, in Suit No. NICN/ABJ/263/2023, delivered on the 11th March, 2024, by Justice O. O. Oyewumi.
“Upon reading the Record of Appeal compiled and transmitted before this court, together with the respective briefs of argument, and after hearing the counsels for the appellants and respondents, it is hereby ordered that:
“This Appeal is devoid of merit, and the same is hereby dismissed.”
The ruling reinforces the legitimacy of Baruwa’s presidency, concluding the legal dispute over the union’s leadership.
Meanwhile, MC Oluomo’s son Idowu Akinsanya (King West) had bragged about his feat of emerging the NURTW president, saying: “We are now in charge of Nigeria, not only Lagos,” a comment that attracted public opprobrium.
MC Oluomo, a diehard supporter of President Bola Tinubu and a prominent figure in Lagos politics, was the sole candidate in the election, which took place at the union’s zonal secretariat in Osogbo. His perceived victory was deemed to carry significant implications for the future of the NURTW and the political landscape of Nigeria.
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