After Welcoming Triplets Following 25 Years of Childlessness, 50 Yr Old Couple Tell Their Story

I love a story with a happy ending and this is one of those kinds of stories. Everybody knows that as a Nigerian, two things everybody is on your neck about as soon as you become an adult are marriage and children. Once you get married, almost immediately, the question of children arises. For 52-year-old businessman, Deacon Michael Nwankwo, and his wife Victoria (50), that question lingered for 25 years. I’ll repeat that for you – TWENTY. FIVE. YEARS.

Twenty five years of endless questions, of judgement, of disappointment, of heartbreak, and of ridicule. Alas, it finally happened for the happy couple and they are now parents to not one, not two, but three children.

Sitting down with Punch to explain their story, Deacon Nwankwo narrated this story of how they got here and talked about a lot of the hardships that they both had to face before their babies were finally born. There’s a lot to get to in this story so without further ado, let’s dive in!

Speaking on the journey to finally having the children he always wanted, Deacon Nwankwo said:

Ultimately, the journey was a tough one. I am one person who earnestly desired children, and my purpose of getting married when I did was to have children and see my children and I grow together. I couldn’t imagine it would get to that point where I would have to wait for 25 years. I got married at 26. My wife was 24, and we married as virgins.

During our first two months in the marriage, my wife got pregnant and unfortunately, due to inexperience we travelled to Ghana and she miscarried the baby. Thereafter, it just went up and down. It was not an easy journey to walk. My joy is that at the end of the day, when it seems like all hope was gone, God brought these triplets – two girls and one boy.

Speaking on what they had to endure before finally giving birth to their children, Deacon Nwankwo said:

You know how it is in Africa and even all over the world. Once you marry, people start counting (years) for you. So, when we couldn’t have a baby after some months, we went for a medical examination to know what was happening and the doctors gave us some medications. I deal in health and wellness products too, so I administered them as well. I have had couples who walked up to me with complaints of infertility and after I handled the case, a few months later, they’d come back with the good news that they had conceived. I have many people like this. We, as a couple, sampled all godly opinions which came as advice in search of solutions. But the matter kept lingering from one point to the other. My wife was even operated upon in 2006 for fibroid.

Thereafter, we also kept waiting from one point to another. So, it was not easy at all. We even did an IVF (in vitro fertilization) but it didn’t work for us. We spent so much, yet it didn’t come out successful. After some months, it just flushed out. It was not easy at all.

Time was ticking and it was of concern to us. When we looked at the people we got married together with or those who married after us, their children had finished university while some are already in school. Others have even got married. It was heart-aching. At a point, I started calculating. I kept asking God, “When will I start having my own (children)? When will my own be?” There is nothing like seeing your own children grow before you and giving them all the necessary support and running around with them as they grow. It was tough. It was not easy.

The Nigerian society was also not helpful. Whenever we went out, people would ask us how our children were and we’d just say they were fine. Even when you try to forget it in order to stabilise, Nigerians are there to remind you. You will keep getting questions that will remind you of what you don’t have yet and it would keep flashing before you. Sometimes, people would say some things and I would begin to sob because I knew if I had my own children all of those things wouldn’t have happened to me.

I remember in the place I used to live some years back, my neighbour gave birth to a baby boy, and in excitement, I walked out of my flat and wanted to carry the boy. The speed with which they zoomed into the room immediately I entered, I became cold.

Did they think because I didn’t have children I would be a devourer of other people’s children? In organisations, when they want to talk about family, because we didn’t have children, they seemed not to pay attention to us, irrespective of age. They wouldn’t even ask you to comment or anchor such programmes because they’d feel you have no experience. When I went out with other men and they started talking about their children and what they did at home, I would seem so lost. I wouldn’t even be able to enter into such conversations so I don’t cross the line or for someone to bring in a word that might hurt me. Most times, we stayed away from several meetings and activities that would remind us of those things. The journey also helped us grow stronger in God.

Now, after all of the name-calling and the pain the couple went through, they are now parents to three beautiful children: Uzumma (meaning shout of goodness), Chimbuchhi (meaning My God is God) and Oluedo (meaning wealth). What a remarkable story!

Let me know what you think about this story by leaving a comment on my Gistma Facebook post. I would love to see what you think.

That’s All.