Nigerian Embassy allegedly refuses to accept mental health nursing mother

The leader of Wiliingway Foundation in Kumasi, Lydia Abena Manu, has expressed her frustration after months of trying to repatriate a mentally-ill Nigerian citizen through the Nigerian Embassy in Ghana.

She added that other officials seem not ready to accept Blessing Okoye, a nursing mother who was taken off the streets of Ghana’s second biggest city of Kumasi while carrying a seven months pregnancy.

Lydia Abena Manu told Otec News that since August 2022, the 32- year- old mother has been under the care and supervision of the philanthropic organization without any financial support from outside.

She narrated that Blessing was lured into Ghana by some friends who promised her jobs and other juicy adventures but was later hit with mental illness which unfortunately shattered her dreams in Ghana.

Lydia Abena Manu revealed that the foundation, an NGO, footed all the medical bills before, during and after delivery.

“Blessing who is now in a stable condition wants to take her beautiful daughter back to Lagos but attempts to get help from the Nigerian Embassy have been unsuccessful," the CEO stated.

The Willingway Foundation leader added that “we visited the Embassy with a letter and later sent many e-mails seeking assistance but the officials appear indifferent.”

"Two weeks after picking her up, we went to the Embassy, we sent a letter, we drew their attention that there's somebody like that in our facility but we haven't heard from them. We keep sending them emails and we haven't heard anything from them," she said.

Apart from the Embassy, she said they also contacted the Nigerian committee's branch in Kumasi where the lady's details were taken but there has not been any positive response to date.

She is therefore appealing to the Nigerian communities in Ghana to contact them for any assistance to send her back to join her family in Nigeria.