Last weekend, popular Lagos big boy, Ladi Sonuga and wife, Funmi, celebrated the first birthday of their triplets; Raphael, Richard and Rachel aka Tirenioluwa, Ireoluwa and Oreoluwa Sonuga.
Ladi is a top manager with Cadbury, while his wife, Funmi is a top Events Planner in Lagos and they hosted over 10000 guests at the birthday party.
They recounted their waiting experience thus with City People:
They met when she was 24. They courted for 6 years and she got married at the age of 30 on 10th
Funmi explained that she didn’t know she had a problem with
“The 1st doctor said
She went through a lot during this waiting period she told City People. “I have this favourite quotation that I normally tell people before I got married, when I was in school. I am an advocate of getting married early. I used to say have your kids early, don’t use pension money to send kids to school. It is me now that can’t have my own kids early I felt so sad. I began to wait. I actually didn’t lose faith. I was so positive that I will have my own kids one day. But I was under pressure from friends and some family members. But I was happy my husband didn’t desair. He was also positive and hopeful that we would have our kids. Trust, friends, they came up with all sorts of advice. They will tell me about various Ori-Okes. So, I went from one Ori Oke to another. After 3 to 4 years, some people advised that I should do IVF. I tried. I gave up. But I was positive that the table will turn positive one day.”
“She didn’t allow it to weigh her down,” her sister revealed in an interview. “She kept keeping herself happy. She would play music and dance. She likes to dance. That really helped her…” Funmi herself confirmed this to City People. “I love dancing. I was in the waiting room for 6, 7, 8, 9 uptill 13 years. The interesting thing is that I love kids. I love having kids around me. So I used to invite and encourage my nieces, nephews to come around to the house to spend time with us. I have heard it said that if you are waiting on the lord, its usually good to mingle with kids, interact with them, show them love. They can be used as a point of contact to having your own kids, to God looking mercifully at you. But in all of this my husband kept encouraging me that all will be well that we will eventually have our kids.
She attends Redeemed of Christian Church of God, Christ Church Parish, Gbagada. In her parish she joined a group that visits pregnant and nursing mothers. “During my waiting period, I saw God in another way,” she explained. “In church, many of my friends noticed the passion I have for kids. So, whenever we have activities in church they always push me to go and carry babies and play with them. As I do that I will be saying to myself, one day I will carry my own baby and it eventually happened. She kept saying she had that strong feeling that God will do it. The lesson I learnt is that if you are calm, you will get the message. In the face of all adversity, just be calm. When its your time. Its your time. It was in August 2017, that the doctor told me I am going to have triplets. That is after 13 years.” “Then something miraculous happened I call it the 5pm encounter.
The interesting thing is that before I had my triplets, I thought I was going to have twins. Everybody was talking about twins. Many people started calling me Iya Ibeji”. Even her sister said the same. “I had the feeling that God will give her twins. A lady gave me a message in October 2017, that I was going to have triplets. I knew it was my set time from August 2017. I was confirmed pregnant in January 2018. I went to confirm the result of my test from my doctor 7 days after confirmation of the test, I went back to see the doctor. They did a test and found triplets. That was after 13 good years.”
From the time she was confirmed pregnant till the time she delivered her kids in the US. She went in and out of the hospital. The pregnancy troubled her a lot. At 14 weeks she had threatened abortion. She was scared for safe delivery, both Ladi & Funmi decided to fly her to the US to deliver. That was also another risk. They were worried, will she be able to make the trip successfully or not. She did. When she got to the US, many hospitals rejected her when they realised she was carrying triplets.
But one hospital eventually accepted her. How did her husband take her delivery of the baby? He was by her bedside. “I was so happy,” Ladi revealed.” I broke into tears. I began to cry like a baby. I kept saying to myself. I begged God for just a kid, but he gave me 3. He gave me 2 boys & a girl. I couldn’t believe it” She gave birth on 9th August 2018. She is so happy. She calls her triplets, my Holy Nation. The 3 are called Tireni Oluwa, and Ireoluwatomiwa, Oreoluwatomiwa.
My advice to those waiting on the Lord is not to lose faith. Hold on to the faith. keep your faith aglow. I hope my story will continue to touch lives because it wasn’t an easy one.
What lessons should all women who are waiting on the Lord, learn we asked her? What role should their husbands play?
“There is a lot to learn”, she says. “Husbands should support their wives, during this period. They shouldn’t leave their wives to bear the burden alone. They should show her more love. Iif not, they won’t be able to achieve what they set out to achieve”.
“Lesson two, women who are waiting on the Lord should be calm. They should not take it as a big issue. They should take it easy, so that they won’t miss it, so that they won’t go in the wrong path. They need to be careful. There are so many fake facility clinics around”.
“We were introduced to one in Sagamu while I was waiting. I met the doctor and she told me one day that I had taken in, that I was pregnant, only for me to realise, after a while, weeks later that it was a lie. It was by a fake doctor in Sagamu. We spent a lot paying doctors, clinics. There are a lot of fake doctors around”.
“Haa, we went through a lot”, Ladi added. “when my wife finally took in and she was confirmed pregnant, the doctor advised that my wife be taken abroad after about 2 months, just for her to get good medicare. It wasn’t easy to get her to travel to the U.S. in stable condition. She was on wheel chair all through the journey. She didn’t travel until like a few months to delivery. The doctor said we were on our own. She delivered in Houston, Texas at Texas Women Hospital”.
“It was a big battle before we got a hospital to accept her was hell. They kept rejecting her. Most hospitals in the U.S. don’t accept multiple pregnancies. Once they go through her medical report and see that she is expecting triplets, they will reject her. They feel she is high risk and they will turn her down.
Even at the last hospital where she eventually had her baby we had to plead and plead. We paid through our nose. We paid a fortune. I spent all I had to the last kobo because we had to keep changing naira to dollar to send to various hospitals for payment.”
“But God was with us. We have no regrets. My wife went through a lot of pain and agony. Throughout the 9 months she kept going in and out of the hospital. Her feel was swollen all through she kept vomitting. I was always afraid she might lose the pregnancy. There was a time she had threatened miscarriage. I was always praying, I said Lord, you mean we would end up losing this pregnancy despite all what we have gone through. But God took charge.
Even for me to be able to get a seat to travel to the US to be with her was problematic. I was put on waiting list. Everything about my wife pregnancy was miraculous. To God be the glory.
