By Longtong Ibrahim
Kaduna (Nigeria) – Residents of Kakura community, a village in Kujama District of Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna state (North-west Nigeria) have called on government to provide them with basic infrastructure, particularly, a healthcare facility to meet the needs of the community, especially pregnant women and children.
Kakura community, like most villages in Nigeria lacks basic infrastructure like health facility, portable water; good road and a standard school.
Majority of pregnant women in the community say they prefer to give birth at home because they cannot endure the stress of going through the bad road and climbing trailers to a medical facility at Maraban Rido (the closest community with a health facility), which is about 15 kilometers away from the village.
The absence of skilled attendance has led to the death of about 10 women during child birth within the last two – three years in Kakura, says Mrs. Jummai Sunday, a resident of the community.
According to her, most of the women in Kakura when going for ante-natal, board trailers that ply the abandoned federal eastern bypass road which passes close to the community, or motorcycle, anytime they are fortunate to get one passing-by. She describes the experience as unpalatable.
On days that rain falls heavily, she said, they wait for the river to subside and pray for God’s intervention even if there are emergencies.
“We don’t even have a single drug store or health facility to take our children to whenever they are sick or when a woman is about to give birth. For instance, when a woman is in labour at night, most times they give birth at home with the help of other women,” Mrs. Sunday noted.
Similarly, Mrs. Alisabatu Auta, a mother of six said she gave birth to all her children at home. She said, “After my first experience, I decided to be courageous to be giving birth at home knowing the condition of our community.
“When going for antenatal, I wait by the road side for passing by tippers or motor cycle and solicit for a lift. There is no commercial transport or bus stop here; but I thank God because when it comes to time of delivery, I summoned courage to deliver at home,” she explained.
While narrating an experience of how a tipper tumbled with her and other women, Mrs. Mary Ishaya (30), pointed out that, one of the women lost her pregnancy afterward because they all climbed and sat on top of the sand before it stumbled.
Mrs. Ishaya who is a mother of four said she prefers to give birth at home even though one out of her children was born at a private hospital in Jakaranda.
Corroborating what the women said, village head of the community, Ishaya Gwamna explained that, his community which has a population of not less than 1000 people mostly patronize drug vendors who come around on daily basis.
He also lamented the state of roads and lack of other infrastructure in the area, saying, “whenever it rain, the teachers that comes to teach our pupils don’t make it to the village; the secondary school student can’t go to school either because of the bad condition of road and lack of bridge which links the village to town . Sometimes we have to wait for the flooded river to subside for like three days before going out or coming into the community.
“All the two borehole sunk by an NGO, ‘Hope for the Village Child’ in 1999 and the year 2000 are no longer functioning; the only alternative source of drinking water during the dry season is a single well which dries up around April and a stream which the water most times is not clean,” he decried.
The village head however appealed to government and other philanthropists to come to their aid by building a healthcare facility as well as providing other infrastructure, as they have vast land to offer for its construction.
Kakura is a community that is comprised of five villages – Unguwan Sarki, Unguwan Kurmi, Zhenuko, Kuropa, and Vukapezunu. It is surrounded by Kamazo, Maraban Rido and Danhono (Kaduna Millennium city). It has three major tribes – Adara, Fulani and Gbaygi with farming as their major occupation.