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Save the African womb by Nicole Chinelo

SETTING OF THE NOVEL SAVE THE AFRICAN WOMB

Most action in the novel took place in Yenegoa Bayelsa state, Nigeria. The novel exemplifies how wicked and callous the mind of a man could drive him out of desperation. The novel shed light on parenting and guardians to watch over their teenager, adult both at  home and in school about to show the effects of promiscuity and recklessness among the youth.

PLOT OF THE PLAY

The story starts with a paper presentation at the first inaugural meting of the save the African womb foundation. The attendees who are mostly children and teenagers are educated on the danger f rape, female kidnapping, sexual immorality, abortion and all forms of indecency. They are also enlightened on the peculiarities of the womb and as such, the womb should be handled with great care. 

The womb is not merely a sac to carry a baby but it is a form nation or continent. All forms of revolution, civilization, newness and what have you starts from the womb of an individual in any given society. The richest spot on earth is the womb of every girl in the society for there lies the potentials, ideas and destinies that would turn the world around. As part of the meeting, a story is projected in video form and centres on Agnes and Barakemi. 

Agnes is  married to prince Davies, an operation manager in an oil company. Anytime she gets pregnant she suffers miscarriage. Her womb had been ruptured due to many abortions.  At the sixth miscarriage, the family Doctor, Dr Mitini is forced to take off her womb though without her consent because of intense bleeding. Her husband is not told about this. 

Bishop and Mrs Abraham of Oil of Angels Ministries Bayelsa State get to know that their only child, Barakemi is pregnant for Joseph who raped her during Church Youth retreat. Joseph apologies to Barakemi for his inhumane act but the deed has been done. Barakemi is instructed not to inform Joseph of the pregnancy and shame them before their congregation,  she is then sent to Lagos to live with her paternal grandmother. 

The parents plan to give the baby at birth to Dr Mitini who will in turn give it to Agnes as she is desperately in need of a child to secure a stay in her matrimonial home. Barakemi and Prince Davie are not aware of this plan. 

Agnes is given some drugs and injections to make her stomach protrude like that of a pregnant woman.

Based on the advice of her paternal grandmother, Barakemi accepts Joseph's apology and tells him about the pregnancy; Joseph accepts responsibility.

When the baby is die for delivery, Barakemi is flown back to Bayelsa where she is delivered of a baby but told that the baby is dead. Agnes is given the baby and she goes home as the proud mother of the new-born baby boy.

During the child church dedication, the nurse who was there when Agnes womb was removed and also knows that Barakemi's baby has been given to Agnes goes to the police to report.

The police swing inti action and arrest Agnes. After many court appearances and proceedings, Barakemi is given her baby, Dr Mitini's medical license is seized while he and Agnes are sentenced to six years imprisonment without the option of fine.

After six months of imprisonment, Agnes repents of her sins and calls for Barakemi who she begs to pardon her. Sixteen years before Agnes got married, she had a baby girl who she dumped at a Pastor's gate in Port Harcourt. Through the help of a Christian body that usually comes to prison to minister, Agnes writes a letter to that her long dumped baby and begs the Christian brethren to help find and give the girl the letter.

In the letter, she asks for the forgiveness of the child and tells the child the story of her promiscuous life and its repercussion. She admonishes her daughter not to live a wayward life like her (Agnes). She give the address of the Pastor whose gate she dumped the baby. After a long search the girl is found and given the letter; the girl turns out to be Barakemi. The Abrahams has adopted Barakemi from the Pastor after they had have many years of childless marriage. Barakemi is surprised at the revelation but appreciates the Abraham for taking good care of her despite she not being their biological child.

CHAPTER BY CHAPTER SUMMARY

CHAPTER ONE 

 The action of the play begins at the inaugural ( first ) meeting of the " SAVE THE AFRICAN WOMB FOUNDATION " lecturing , and mentoring them on Sexual life , and how young girls, ladies and youth can prevent themselves. 

The play then focuses on  Agnes ( the main character ) and Dr. Mitini discussing over Agnes life after having had many abortions and her life is now at risk. Dr. Mitini tells her that the only solution  to stop her excessive bleeding is to remove her womb. She feels ashamed of herself and nodded a yes to the Doctor since she has no other option. Agnes, being married to Prince Davies,  an operational Manager of Agip oil, thinks of what she is going to tell her husband. That her womb has been removed after several miscarriages. Dr. Mitini looks worried to help Agnes. 

Bishop Abraham of oil of Angels ministries brings Barakemi, his only daughter to Dr. Mitini's hospital for check-up on her sickness. The tests carried out on Barakemi show she is pregnant and Dr. Mitini breaks the news to her father. Bishop Abraham is surprised that his daughter could be pregnant. Barakemi herself did not know and keeps asking herself how it happened.

The Bishop them asked the doctor to abort the baby. Dr. Mitini is alarmed to hear that from a supposed man of God. Dr Mitini declined to abort Barakemi pregnancy due to his personal experience he had during firs Internship years ( before NYSC ) 

Doctor Mitini assures the Bishop of help. He tells the Bishop,  Barakemi father that she can she can have the baby but the child will be adopted once delivered and he agrees. Dr. Mitini then informs Agnes of the development and ignites her hope of having a baby.

CHAPTER TWO

Dr. Mitini injects Agnes so that her stomach can protrude gradually. She remembers the nurse that is present when her womb is being removed and told Dr. Mitini about it but he tells her not to worry as he will take care of it.

Prince Davies, Agnes husband returns from his trip and he his so happy to hear that his wife is pregnant. Prince Davies promises his wife  travel to the United States of American  to stay with his younger sister, Inie. Meanwhile, Bishop has been having sleepless nights over the issue of Barakemi and her pregnancy. He is worried that the plan with Dr. Mitini will fail. Her mother is also depressed by her foolish act. She thinks Barakemi, doing well in her academic pursuit will make her proud but she brings to her shame and disappointment. 

Joseph who impregnates Barakemi is a graduate of law from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and his parents are also barristers. Mr and Mrs. Ogborodi, Joseph's parents are also members of Oil of Angels ministries for long time. Joseph's parents had advised him not to pressurize himself into marriage and that marriage is not a game of trial and error. Joseph who had not disclosed his recent shameful act to his parents has been troubled that Barakemi would have informed her parents about the ugly incident.

CHAPTER THREE

In this chapter, Joseph recall how he met Barakemi. Joseph and his parents had been living in Port-Harcourt until they relocate to Rivers State. Joseph is ladies' man. Dating Joseph is like enslaving oneself to untold pains. Joseph treats girls with disdain and as stupid as the girls are,  they refuse to see reasons why they should bolt away from Joseph and face their studies.

Young girls fight, torn each other’s clothes to reveal their nakedness over Joseph. And Joseph would send them away claiming they spoilt one thing or the other. He would not even separate them in fight and the girls would stop fighting each other after realising Joseph is unbothered and laughs at them. 

Joseph has been desperate about getting Barakemi to bed and he immediately buys the idea Oliver, his friend gave to him on achieving his dream with her. On a fateful Saturday, it was announced that the long awaited yearly youth retreat which had been postponed indefinitely has been rescheduled. That announcement is like a dream come true to Joseph. He is glad  Barakemi would be part of it so he would be able to carry out his evil intention. He deceived Barakemi to visit her and lured her to bed.

Fifteen minutes after Barakemi left his room feeling hurt, the scales covering his eyes fell off. He realizes the evil he has done to the girl he claimed to love. After satisfying his lust, he is now filled with guilt and sorrow.  Joseph results to drinking alcohol. He could not understand why his action has stirred up his blood. He is no longer stable. He lost his appetite for food and had no more zest for pleasure. He had no more joy in him and he messaged Barakemi concerning his action but she would not reply back.

Barakemi's grandmother, a retiree of NTA residing in Coker village Iganmu, Lagos is disappointed after she hears the news about her pregnancy. She scolds Barakemi  but soon forgives her on the ground that she is deceived by Joseph. Barakemi's grandmother is worried about the future of the unborn baby. Joseph is invited to Lagos by Barakemi's grandmother in which he is happy for.

As Barakemi pregnancy increases in month,  Agnes stomach also protrudes. She is attending antenatal in Dr. Mitini clinic. Many of her friends and well wishers are planning on how to celebrate the birth of her unborn child. On a particular Sunday, Agnes is asked to give testimony on how the Lord blessed her. Her pastor boasted the Lord visited her womb after attending a special vigil programme. 

While Agnes pray that Joseph is not contacted, Barakemi and her grandmother pray that Joseph accepts responsibility for the pregnancy as he gets to Lagos.

CHAPTER FOUR

Joseph  is in  hurry to get to Lagos and he shout as his mother's driver driving him to the airport to catch flight to Lagos. He does not want to miss his flight.

 Joseph gets to Lagos and pleads with  Barakemi to forgive him of his cruel act. Barakemi on her part has fallen in love with her unborn baby. She prays and hopes the baby will be a  Normal child. Joseph is  drenched in his own Sweat , as he sees Barakemi with pregnancy . He had no reason to ask any more question. He is however surprised that the Bishop and his wife had maintained a straight face whenever they met in church. He begs for forgiveness for the sake of the unborn child.

CHAPTER FIVE

Barakemi tells Joseph that his Parents must not know about her condition. Joseph is surprised at this., Barakemi  and Joseph are now happy especially now that her  grand mother is on her side . she knows that she cwould not stop Supporting her.  Barakemi Pregnancy is already Six months old and Joseph keeps wondering how w long he would be able to hide the situation from people. 

As Joseph woke the next morning, he sees Barakemi coming into the room with smiles. He is told that Dr. Mitini says her baby is a baby. Joseph made promise to the grandmother that he would take care of Barakemi under any circumstance. Now that the sex of the baby has been revealed, they starts making preparation on getting baby things for boys.

CHAPTER SIX

Mr and Mrs Ogborodi discuss about Joseph Constant trip to Lagos that is now  every two weeks 

Barakemi sent a text to Joseph to come to Lagos as she labours. But before he could get there, she has been sent to Bayelsa by Dr. Mitini. Josoeh cried bitterly after being told his baby is no more.

Agnes  is full of joy as she cuddles her stolen baby. She lifts her eyes on the heavens and glorified God for making her marriage secured with Davies, her husband. The news of Agnes' birth spread like wild-fire. Friends and well-wishers trooped to see her at the hospital. Prince Davies himself could not contain his joy as he lifts the baby and kissed him passionately. Joseph and Barakemi mourn what they thought is the loss of their baby. For Agnes and her husband, the naming of the baby is going to be the talk of the town. 

CHAPTER SEVEN

Eliza is present at the hospital when Barakemi's child is given to Agnes child as her child. Her conscience wont allow her have peace of mind and so she called Agatha to follow her to the police station to report the case of Agnes and the stolen child. After the report, the divisional police officer f the police station ordered the arrest of Mrs. Agnes Davies. 

The police came to arrest Agnes as the celebration for the naming of the child is ongoing.  The occasion came to an abrupt end. Agnes wondered how she could be disgraced on a day like that. The guests were so disappointed by their hostess. They could not comprehend how Agnes would claim a child that does not belong to her. Dr. Mitini knew he has fallen from grace to grace and apply for a lawyer but this is turned down by the police. Some detectives were sent to Dr. Mitini hospital to fid out about the case under investigation. 

After the conclusion of the investigation, Barakemi is invited to the police station and is told that her baby whom she thought had died is alive and has been found.  She wept profusely.  Joseph too is invited and asked to write statement about Barakemi’s pregnancy till the day he was told about the death of the baby. 

CHAPTER EIGHT

The case of child theft involving Agnes and Dr. Mitini had been transferred to court. Media outlets and human rights activists were present at the court proceeding to know the outcome. 

The presiding judge, Justice Roseline Nwafor Sowore questions Agnes and Barakemi about the baby and they both responded well. Barakemi tells the presiding judge the most important information involving Dr. Mitini, Joseph and pleads for the return of her son. 

CHAPTER NINE

It is court room again on the 2nd day of Novermber, the courtroom is filled to its capacity as it was during the first hearing. Joseph is invited to the witness box and he explains what transpired between him and Barakemi till the time he learnt of the baby’s death. Joseph is reprimanded of his foolish act against Babrakemi. The judge ordered that a paternity test, DNA and breast scan be carried out on the child to ascertain the true mother of the baby and case was adjourned.

However, Barakemi thank God for sparing the life of the baby whom she though had died. The test results were collected from the hospital by the policeman investigating the case and handed over to the trial judge for safekeeping.

Prince Davies is very worried about the possible outcome of the tests. He swore to divorce his wife if she is quilty of the allegation levelled against her. He regrets having spent so much money on a woman who could commit such an atrocity. 

In the early house of 18th November, all media house had gathered outside the courtroom for the final judgment on the case. The chief judge starts citing various cases and dates to buttress her stand on the case of felony before the court. She states that Bishop Abraham, Brakemi’s father is a disgrace to the church of God. The tests revealed that Barakemi is the true mother of the child and so she is awarded the baby.

CHAPTER TEN

Six months into her imprisonment, Mrs. Agnes Davies repented of her sin and she became a complete changed person. She became a new creature and surrendered her life to God Almighty. The first person she requested to see is Barakemi, the girl whose child she stole. The pastor who bears her message is unaware that Barakemi is the daughter of a well known Bishop. He traced the address given to him and inform her of Agnes request from the prison.

On her arrival with the pastor, Agnes pleads with the warder to give her quality time with Barakemi. Agnes narrates several abortions she has had in the past which later weakened her womb when she got married and her womb had to be removed. And explained how she goes after sugar daddies and how she was cursed. She also revealed to Barakemi that she has a daughter she dumped and would like to see her.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Agnes sat quietly in her own thought of her dumped daughter Amarachi. She is scared of becoming a victim of restless life. An idea came to her to write a letter and pass it to one of the church people that do visit prison every Wednesday. She told the leader of the brethren how she wrapped her daughter and dumped her at the gate of one pastor. They were startled but promised to help her find the child. The brethren got support from the evangelism unit and went in search of Agnes lost child. They got the address and the couple  and the daughter herself. The couple happened to be Bishop Abraham and his wife and Barakemi, the lost child.

Before the letter is given  to Barakemi, Bishop Abraham cautioned her on the shock she is about ot receive. She received the shock of her life after reading the story of her identity.  She accepted the story of who she really is having cried herself out. She is heartbroken. And she read the letter again aloud to the hearing of everyone.

CHAPTER TWELVE

This is a flashback to the early life of Agnes as contained in the letter written to Barakemi. She met Ugomma who had a negative influence on her. Ugomma  introduced her to a man old enough to be her father but because she enjoys the money being spent on her,  she couldn’t not resist. She was chased away from home by her father having spend a night in a man’s house. She sleeps at Iknna but police soon come to arrest him for armed robbery.  She moved to Port-Harcourt where she met new friends. She starts prostitution and became pregnant and unable to be accepted by her father, she dumps and abandons the child in a basket.

She later met Prince and life with him is the best for her. He took her to various hospitals but all efforts to get a baby yielded no positive results.  In desperation she accepts to buy someone's child after she discovered that her womb is n more. 

Doctor Mitini, her mother and Agnes conspired to steal anther person’s child it is not only a case of theft but also of sale because she paid a huge sum of money for the baby. She advises her to shun all that glitters because all that glitters is not gold. And she should shun all forms of vices which can bring her pain when she want to settle down

CHARACTERIZATION

Agnes – she is a young woman married to Prince Davies and they are both childless. She is the heroine of the story. Inspite of her parent’s warning she chooses to disobey. She leaves home and becomes wayward. She takes to prostitution and gets a fatherless baby out of it. She shows how cruel and heartless she is when she abandons her baby on the street. She is bold and daring woman who confronted the policemen who came to arrest her for the theft of Barakemi’s baby. She has had many abortions and so her womb is ruptured and had to be removed.

Barakemi – she is Agnes biological daughter but does not know until later in the story.  She is adopted by Bishop Abraham and his wife. She has a heart of forgiveness as she forgives Joseph after she was being raped. She likes things to be done in the right way. Barakemi is ambitious young lady. She dreams of studying law so she could defend the less privileged.

Dr. Mitini – He is a greedy doctor. He agrees to swap Barakemi’s baby because he has been promised a huge amount of money.  He is found guilty of baby theft and has his licence withdrawn. 

Bishop Abraham – He is the pastor of oil of Angel’s ministries in Bayelsa state. He adopts Barakemi as a baby. He feels highly disappointed at the discovery of Barakemi’s pregnancy. He attempts to abort the pregnancy to cover the shame but was advised to give the baby away. The secret became open after the report at the police station. 

Joseph – Joseph is a lawyer by profession. He is the only son of Mr and Mrs Ogborodi and a member of oil of Angeles ministries. He treats women with disdain and he eventually raped Barakemi during their church retreat. He is invited to Lagos by Barakemi’s grandmother. He is made to reconcile with Barakemi and accepts responsibility of her pregnancy. 

Prince Davies – he is a young man married to Agnes. He is a manager in an oil company. He feels so disappointed at the allegations of baby theft against Agnes and vowed to divorce her if found culpable. 

Eliza – she is a nurse working at Dr. Mitini’s hospital. She is present the day Agnes’s womb was removed and her knowledge of Barakemi’s baby swap to Agnes won’t make her have peace. She reported the case to the police and Agnes, Dr. Mitini were apprehended. She is the reason why Barakemi got her son back.

Justice Roseline – she is the judge in charge of the case of child swap which involves Barakemi, Agnes and Dr. Mitini.

THEMES IN THE NOVEL

Theme of immorality and it’s consequences – Agnes lives a very wayward life. At the end, she suffers greatly for it. She has her womb ruptured and removed. She lives a childless life. She had a baby swap for paid for hugely in other to keep herself in matrimony with her husband. Her secrets are leaked and she is sent to prison. In prison, she writes to her abandoned and lost child that happens to be Barakemi advising her against immorality and waywardness.    

Theme of greediness – Agnes admits that she gets involved in a lot of negative attitude because of money, clothes and other materials. Also, Dr. Mitini acts against his professional ethics by agreeing to swap Barakemi’s baby. He does this because he has been promised huge amount of money.  

Theme of childlessness – Bishop Abraham and his wife are childless. They adopt a girl who was abandoned on the street. The girl is named Barakemi. This theme is also evident in the character of Agnes. She is childless after years of marital life. She connived with Bishop Abrahm, Dr. Mitini to swap the baby of Barakemi at birth.

Themes of love and marriage – Davies love Agnes despite knowing her ugly past and even go ahead to marry her. Joseph later realised his true love towards Barakemi and regretted his actions against her. Bishop and Mrs. Abraham stay true to each other and did not allow the barrier of childlessness tear their marriage apart. They also extend such great love to Barakemi insomuch that she did not know they are not her true parents. It s at the end f the story she gets to know that the Abrahams are not her biological parents.

Theme of deceit – Barakemi is deceived that her baby is dead whereas the baby has been swapped and sold to Agnes in other to cover up her bareness and to protect the social image of the Abrahams. Barakemi is also deceived by Joseph who lures her to his house and rapes her. 

Theme of hypocrisy - The Abrahams who portray themselves as Holy meted out stick punishment to those whose children get pregnant out of wed lock but did worse. They did not only suggest abortion, they are also part of the plan to sell their grandchild to Agnes. Joseph in the story is also a hypocrite. He pretends to be a devout Christian but deceived Barakemi and raped her.

Theme of Justice – apart from Ugomma whose end we don’t know, everyone in the story who did one wrong doing or the other paid for it. Agnes pays for her promiscuous life by losing her womb, marriage and freedom. Dr. Mitini paid for his greed by losing his medical licence and freedom. The Abrahams are obsessed with social image that they sold their grandchild. They paid for their crime as they are ridiculed and exposed to the public.  Even Joseph suffered emotional and psychological trauma for raping Barakemi