How Pregnant Ogun Women Flee to Benin Republic as Healthcare System Collapses

In the remote village of Igbokofi in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria, maternal deaths have become a tragic norm, forcing many pregnant women to cross the border into neighbouring Benin Republic in a desperate bid to stay alive.

Investigations by Punch Healthwise reveal that the community’s only health centre, once functional, has long been abandoned. Overrun by bats, crumbling infrastructure, and the stench of faeces, the facility ceased operations in 2008, leaving residents to rely on untrained birth attendants or travel miles to distant towns for care.

For Folake Olaniyi, a resident of Igbokofi, the failure of the healthcare system cost her both her child and her womb. In 2017, she was in labour and moved from one village to another before finally reaching Abeokuta for emergency surgery. Her baby was delivered stillborn, and her womb later removed due to severe complications.

“I was bleeding profusely. They rushed me from Ijoun to Aiyetoro, then to Abeokuta. By then, I was between life and death,” she recounted, fighting back tears.

Olaniyi is just one among many. Elder Idowu Bamgbose, another resident, told Punch that his daughter-in-law died during childbirth in 2021 due to lack of proper medical care. “She was rushed to a traditional healing home, but she didn’t make it. There was no health centre to save her,” he said.

Another villager, Kunle Garb, said the community has become a “graveyard” for pregnant women. “We’ve lost women like Tosin Ayeni, Silifat Kudebi, and Maria Ogunyomi. They bled to death during childbirth. There are no trained doctors, only quacks,” he lamented.

Due to the worsening situation, many now travel across the border to Benin Republic, which is closer than the nearest Nigerian towns. Ruth Bamgbose, wife of the village chief, said, “We go to Benin for even the smallest medical needs. But once they know you’re Nigerian, the prices double. Still, it’s better than dying.”

A visit to the community showed not just the decaying health centre, but also a brand-new facility built in 2004 by the National Boundary Commission—never used. Residents say the facility, along with others for police, education, and commerce, was handed over to the village but never equipped or staffed.

Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, blamed the remote location and staffing challenges for the neglect. “Yewa is a hard-to-reach area. We struggle to find willing medical personnel. I’ve pleaded with traditional rulers to recommend locals for training, but no one comes forward,” she explained.

She also criticised the practice of communities building clinics without government involvement. “Many facilities are built by politicians without consulting us. They remain unused because there’s no plan for staffing, drug supply, or maintenance,” she said.

Experts warn the situation in Igbokofi reflects a wider national crisis. Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate was 1,047 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020—one of the worst in the world. The World Health Organization recommends one doctor per 600 people, but Nigeria averages one per 4,000 to 5,000.

Dr. Kunle Ashimi, a former chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association in Abeokuta, said Nigeria needs over 30,000 functional primary healthcare centres. “Most common illnesses can be handled at this level if the centres are equipped and staffed,” he said.

Dr. Olorunfemi Solomon of the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, added that quality healthcare must include prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation. “Primary care should handle malaria, diabetes, and refer cases that need advanced treatment. But many centres don’t even offer basic services,” he said.