A TRIP TO KIRIKIRI FEMALE PRISON

When the gate to the main yard of the prison swung open on that faithful morning, dozens of inmates were seen doing their laundry on the grassy open ground. Chattering while some were laughing, the inmates (the prison officials forbade them being called prisoners) were cheerful and happy. "They have the opportunity of

doing their laundry once in a week. It is like a social time for them. They are able to wash their clothes and beddings and interact more among themselves" the officials said.

In the cell block reserved for nursing mothers and pregnant inmates at the Kirikiri Female Prison, Lagos, toddlers clung to their mothers' chests. With a bemused expression on their young faces, they looked at us.

They are in prison because their mothers are inmates. Apparently, they weren't aware of a better life out there. They probably thought it was normal to be confined only to the four walls of the prison. No friends, no birthday parties, no relationship at all with other children outside the prison walls. They are victims of circumstances and will remain so until they are 18 months old.

These children - nine of them - were born within the walls of the prison. They live a regimented life; one brought about by the fact that in prison, rules are meant to be obeyed. When to sleep, when to eat, when to wake up, when to switch off the light and when to put it on are all regulated by prison authorities and this is the life these children have been born into. The children are all below 18 months, so they could not interact verbally, which was aimed at shedding light on their lives.

"When the children are a year and half old (18 months), the mothers have to let them go. That is the regulation. Families of the inmates take the children away and take care of them till the mother gets out," spokesperson of the Nigerian Prisons Service in Lagos, Mr. Biyi Jeje, had explained.

When ushered into the cells of the nursing mothers, a couple of them shared a small cell with bunk beds and the others shared a bigger one. An inmate had her five-month-old baby boy in her arms and she shared her cell with five other nursing mothers. Prison officials were also in tow. It was not eating time, it wasn't possible to observe how the children were fed.

"You can ask them any question so far as it has nothing to do with why they are here and you protect their identities. We don't want trouble from their lawyers," an official said.

We asked one inmate if she would tell her child that he was born in prison when he becomes older. Without hesitation, she said 'Yes'. She said she had only spent seven months in the prison. The inmate gave birth two months after getting to the prison. Her answer was surprising because most of the other inmates said they would keep that fact from their children. "I think he has a right to know. I knew nothing about what brought me here. My son's father was the one involved and he died during the incident. But what do I tell him when he grows up and asks for his dad? I have to tell him the truth," she said, as tears dropped down her cheeks. It couldn't be confirmed whether the incident in which her husband died was a robbery or not, as prison officials maintained it would not be appropriate to discuss her case since it was still before a court. Right from when he was in his mother's womb, up to the point he was born, it had been a tough life for the inmate's toddler. The mother was seven months pregnant when she was arrested, detained, taken to court and sent to prison to await an uncertain fate.

She said she was given a bail but had not been able to meet the bail conditions set by the court. Her child remains locked up too; his fate intertwined with that of his mother. By estimation, that little child will be in prison with his mother till September 2014, unless the woman is able to meet her bail conditions or is freed and acquitted before then and released. "I won't be happy at all if they have to take him away from me when he is 18 months. My mother will be the one to take him. But by God's grace, I will be released before then," the inmate said and everybody present said, 'Amen' with sincere sympathy. Tears streamed down the inmate's face.

An inmate, 22-year old inmate also had a fifteen-month-old baby girl.

"Does your baby eat prison food like you do?" We asked her. She answered, "Apart from the normal breast-feeding, they also provide us with baby food which we give our babies sometimes,". The inmate said she knew she was three-month pregnant before she entered the prison. By calculation, she would have got to prison around November 2011 and would have given birth to her child around May 2012. Also learnt was that she was an awaiting trial inmate, just like most of the other nursing mothers and expectant inmates at the prison. When asked if she would tell her child she was born in prison, she said, "I cannot tell her she was born in prison when she is older because that will not be good for her."

Another inmate, was one month pregnant when she got to the prison in June 2012. Like other nursing mothers in the prison, the young dark-complexioned inmate prayed she would not have to let her child go as well. Even though many of the inmates insisted they would prefer not to tell their children they were born in prison when they grow up, they said they would not want to release their children if they had to stay in prison beyond their babies' 18th month birthday. "I pray I leave the prison before she is one and half years old, so that I won't have to give her to my family," she said It was a familiar sound at the female prison sometime in February 2013, when she went into labor, the inmates said. Her fellow inmates quickly alerted officials stationed at the block. She was rushed to the prison's hospital. A few hours later, she had her baby girl.

For inmates, the voice of their children gives them comfort in the gloom of their incarceration. But one of the nursing mothers did not give birth in the prison. She said her baby was five months old when she got to the prison and had to take her along because the child was too young and nobody could take care of her. "My husband did not say 'no' when I told him I had to take my baby with me to the prison," she said.

One of the pregnant inmates said, "I got here in May and I am now eight months pregnant. We did not know I will end up coming to prison. My husband was bothered when I was coming here. But there was nothing anybody could do.

"I pray I leave soon. But I cannot let my child know he or she was born in prison later in life."

There are five other pregnant inmates like her at the Kirikiri Female Prison presently.

While some children are born into the warmth of family love and surrounded by relations, these children have to make do with the love they get from prison officials and inmates. Their Christening is done by inmates, with one of them officiating.

Jeje explained the process to Kirikiri town family. "When an inmate puts to bed, a family member or two may be informed to be present during the Christening, but it is usually done by the inmates themselves. "The mother chooses a name for the baby and the inmate who acts as a pastor among them whenever they worship in their chapel does the Christening. There is usually no ceremony. "Sometimes too, some churches come to the prison to minister and help out in a situation like this."

A prayer and counseling session was ongoing in another part of the prison. A dozen inmates in white prison-style gown clapped and sang in a small hall, thanking God for life and good health.

A crèche also exists in the prison. The prison authorities had put it in place to give the children a semblance of life outside, in the prison. The linoleum-floored crèche had various colorful toys which were said to have been provided by the Nigerian Prison Service with the help of non-governmental organizations. It also had three little baby mattresses.

Photographs were allowed to be taken in the crèche, but not in the main yard of the prison and the cells in order to 'protect the inmates' privacy.' They may not like the idea of outsiders seeing where they are being imprisoned.

A noticeable feature of the nursing mothers' wing of the female prison was the total absence of baby cries, which one would expect in a place where children live. Perhaps, as young as they are, the toddlers are attuned to the regimented prison life. "What if these children have health issues in the middle of the night and their mothers need help?" asked one of our team members.

Jeje replied, "That is not a problem at all. Two officials are posted to each of the blocks round the clock, whether night or day. Any problem is quickly attended to.

"Our hospital here has three doctors and eight nurses and one lab technologist. Tests are conducted here.

"It is sad that there are still many problems with our criminal justice system. Many of these people should not even be here. The reason behind ensuring that the children are handed over to the inmates' relatives 18 months after birth is to ensure that they do not develop the memory of their mothers' incarceration.

"Incarceration is problem enough for this people. This is why we ensure that the nursing mothers, pregnant ones and others are treated with as much dignity as possible."

She further explained that the provision the prison makes for the babies of the inmates was to ensure that the prison experience doesn't end up denting the lives of the toddlers.

"Our responsibility is to reform these children's mothers irrespective of the offences they have committed. It is easy for the police to arrest people and for the court to sentence as many people to jail as they want, but the prison has to provide for them and reform them, no matter how many they are.  We are mere custodians who do not complain about the number of inmates sent to us to secure," Jeje said.

The presence of these children in prisons calls to question the amount of attention given to children's welfare by the Nigerian government as Kirikiri Prisons have to rely on the magnanimity of NGOs for much of its provisions. Our correspondent spoke with child rights activist, Mrs. Esther Ogwu, who directs a non-governmental organization, Child Rights Foundation, on this. She is of the opinion that government's focus on child services in the country is grossly inadequate.

She said, "It is very simple, children generally are rarely mentioned when government officials speak about important projects they need to focus on in the country.

"Why is it that in Nigeria, we are not taking child services and child welfare as seriously as countries like the US is taking it?

"Children of prison inmates need special attention, far more than those who are not in their situation. But then, the Federal Government needs to make the issue of children generally a top priority. Their education, welfare and development should be on the daily agenda of the government."

She expressed doubt that Nigerian government has any concrete program to monitor the wellbeing of children born in prisons. In Nigeria, children are celebrated with promises of more welfare programs and focus on child development on May 29 - a day set aside as Children's Day. Ogwu said more often than not, the promises end that same day.

However, child psychiatrist, Dr. Mashidat Mojeed-Bello of the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Lagos, has a different opinion on the separation of the inmate mothers and their children after 18 months. She said, "We have to understand that the first three years of a child's life is very important for mother-child bonding. Remember the mother is the primary care giver.

"In the western world, there are mother and child units in prisons with adequate provision for their emotional needs. But that does not exist in Nigerian prisons. "In cases where the children are given to the mothers' relations after 18 months, those relations are not usually prepared to take care of them." She explained that how the children turn out in life would have a lot to do with the father and mother figures who take over their care if the mother stays in prison.

Mojeed-Bello said only love and care can mitigate the effect of emotional damage the children may suffer. She stated clearly that, "The children may face a lot of stigma for having a mother in prison and being born there. “Telling the children they were born in prison when they grow older may not have much effect depending on what the mother went to prison for”.

"But it is just absurd that there are no concrete arrangements and social support for mother and child in Nigerian prisons. It is necessary for bonding. A lot needs to be done to ensure the children grow up normally like other children." She said, "It is very simple, children generally are rarely mentioned when government officials speak about important projects they need to focus on in the country.

After much interaction and sight-seeing, we were touched. The visit was a wonderful experience. We should indeed be thankful to God for our predicament. Many committed no crime but they are in prison meanwhile other committed. We do not enjoy freedom because we are the wisest of all neither are we the best behaved, it is only by the mercy of God that we are free to perform our normal citizenship duties and Godly duties. We should be careful about the things we say or do. Desist from any act of immorality; acts that will make you break the laws of the country. Beware of the activities that we are involved in. Youths of Kirikiri town are great and God loves us all.

The story of other people's mistake should be a lesson of reshape to life.

We look forward to a better future.

Our motto still remains..... Upgrading  Standards.