Friends and loved ones rolled out the drums for the family of Mr. Innocent and Mrs. Onyiyechi Ezennia, who just welcomed a set of quadruplets through In Vitro Fertility (IVF) after 13 years of marriage.
During the church dedication of the babies in February, there were screams of delight and energetic praises that echoed in and out of the hall of the Assemblies of God Church Isolo 1 in the Isolo area of Lagos State.
You could tell there was a powerful force altering the aura with harmonious vocals coupled with modern instrumentals and skillful jigs and twists.
It was the first issue for the Ezennia family, who had waited for 13 years following an inexplicable fertility issue.
“God has shown us mercy. All the glory to God,” he revered, quoting the Bible’s First Samuel chapter one verse 27. “We have a God that answers prayers. I’m grateful to God for not making me deviate,” said the retired pastor of the church, Frances Chidi Okeremgbo.
Having been in the ministry for 47 years before retirement, Okeremgbo encouraged the couple to continue in their faith and pass it on to the children.
Expressing gratitude to God for his groundbreaking testimony, Mr. Ezennia said, “If not for my faith, belief, and understanding, I would have made a mistake.”
“I trusted God, who promised me He would give me a child. Even when pressure came from so many people, including my wife.”
Speaking in an interview, the wife chronicled her tale and the many conflicting counsels she got due to her childless state.
She chronicled their experience: “We’ve been waiting on the Lord for the past 13 years. It was in 2008 that we got married, so from then until last year, we’ve been waiting on the Lord, and it wasn’t an easy experience.
“As God will have it, my family and my husband’s family are Christians. So the pressure wasn’t coming from them much rather from peer groups and friends. People would look at you and think that you’re not doing enough or not doing what you’re supposed to do, as if you could just open your palms and grab a child.”
She recounted how friends gave her many suggestions, including quarries. “There was a time someone suggested to me to follow her to see a prophet, and this prophet will pray for you and you’ll receive a miracle, and sometimes they’ll say let’s go to this vigil or there’s this doctor or this woman in this state.”
Having threaded the many paths she was introduced to – doctors, prophets, and employing conventional drugs and other drugs – she couldn’t stop expressing thanks to God.
Onyiyechi, a seamstress, highlighted the total naira spent during their years of desperate search for a panacea. “The money spent is what we cannot account for. We were so restless. The restlessness was much, and being that we aren’t actually getting pressure from my mom or my mom’s in-law but, you know, peer groups, friends.”
Despite the men’s recommendations and no headway, the couple pressed on until they arrived at the point of fulfillment – assisted reproduction.
“Yes, I got the options of going for IVF or adoption, among so much other medical advice. However, I went for IVF,” she admitted.
Despite how reassuring IVF could be, the first time mom said the gynecologist that treated them said it was a 40 percent success. That, she conceded, was nothing close to encouraging. “It wasn’t encouraging, though we went for it, believing God would see us through.”
With her bundle of joy in her hands and her testimony on her lips, Onyiyechi lent some words of succor to other couples still waiting. “Don’t lose hope. Continue to press forward. Keep praying because all these things still go hand in hand.
“Today, she exclaimed with excitement, “I’m very ecstatic; it’s a dream come true. Starting from the hospital, because they entered incubators for a while, God has been helping us financially to cater to their needs.”
