By Damilare ADELEYE
Oluremi Tinubu, Nigeria’s First Lady, has visited the first baby of the year in Abuja named Boluwatife Johnson.
Baby Boluwatife was born at 12.03 a.m. on Monday at the National Hospital.
The first lady also visited other babies just born in the hospital, bearing gifts. Among them was a set of conjoined twins.
Mrs Tinubu was accompanied by Nana Shettima, wife of the Vice President; Uju, Minister of Women Affairs; Mrs Umahi, the wife of the minister for works, and Mrs. Matawalle, wife of the Minister of State for Defence.
During the visit, the First Lady advised expectant mothers to prioritize their health and seek to know their HIV/AIDS status.
She said this will enable them to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the disease and also help them (mothers) stay healthy.
“I urge nursing mothers to take adequate care of their babies, ensure that they are immunized as and when due, practice exclusive breastfeeding, and provide them with adequate nutritious and healthy weaning food for their brain development”.
“Expectant mothers should always take antenatal and postnatal care seriously, maintain basic hygiene at home, space their births, register their babies with the National Population Commission, NPC and make efforts to enrol them in school at the appropriate age,” she in a statement released on Monday by Busola Kukoyi, Media Aide to the First Lady.
Mrs Tinubu noted that her foundation, Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), is working in collaboration with UNICEF to see that all births in Nigeria are registered to ensure the rights and protection of all children.
She said RHI would lend a helping hand to facilitate the surgery to separate the conjoined twins.
The Chief Medical Director, Mohammed Mahmood, a professor, while expressing appreciation of the hospital for the gesture, seized the opportunity to appeal for more help to sustain the legacy of the hospital.