Baby Musa and his stepmothers’ brutality

My heart broke, my body shivered and tears rolled down on my cheeks when I read the story and saw the picture on the front page of  Daily Trust of  Wednesday, 25 May 2016 of a 20 month old baby, Musa Murtala, on admission at Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano. His two stepmothers allegedly […]

My heart broke, my body shivered and tears rolled down on my cheeks when I read the story and saw the picture on the front page of  Daily Trust of  Wednesday, 25 May 2016 of a 20 month old baby, Musa Murtala, on admission at Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano. His two stepmothers allegedly broke his legs, hands as well as caused injuries to his eye, private part and tongue. Widespread condemnation heralded the stepmothers’ action and even the father’s attitude leading to this unfortunate development.
The tragedy of Musa Murtala in an ancient city of Kano is disheartening. How can an innocent poor baby be abused, injured, maltreated by his stepmothers? The very people you think he would be safe and secured in their hands turned out to be his cruel tormentors. Which kind of society are we living in?
These days most parents are too busy to meet the family needs, having no time to monitor their children. Most parents leave their wards in the hands of house helps not knowing that some of them could contribute to their molestation. In the case of Baby Musa he was left in the hands of his stepmothers who ended up maltreating him. In this regard, justice must be done immediately by a court of law. Actually they deserve to be punished to serve as a deterrent to others. I hope the government or any well-to-do can come to the aid of this innocent baby for his physical and mental fitness.
Adamu Mohammed Usman, Kafin-Hausa, Jigawa State.