A Port Harcourt-based cleric, Cyril Antai, tells OPEYEMI ADEFEMI what he did when an unknown woman abandoned a day-old infant on his church premises
Tell us a bit more about yourself.
My name is Cyril Antai. I am the founder of The Twelve Apostles Outreach. I am a pastor; I am an entertainer and also a model. I live in Port Harcourt.
You reportedly picked up an abandoned child. How did you find the child?
I went to see my mechanic because my car developed a fault; I wanted to find out how far the mechanic had gone with the car repairs. On my way home, my secretary called me and said I needed to come to the church immediately, that something was going on in church. I didn’t wait for her to explain over the phone, I just rushed down to the church. When I got there I saw her holding a baby. So I asked how come and she said someone came in a keke (tricycle) and dropped the baby in front of the church building. After dropping the baby, she raised the alarm and ran back into the keke. Before my secretary and the people present could run downstairs, the keke drove off. When they picked the child, there was a written note attached to the child.
What is the content of the note?
The note said: Please take care of this child, call her God’s gift.
When you saw that what did you do?
When I saw the note attached, I concluded that dropping the baby indicated that the mother actually didn’t want the child. This is an abandoned child.
Did you make any effort to locate the mother?
No, I did not.
What steps did you take then?
The first thing I did was to take the baby to the police station to report the incident.
What did the police say?
On getting there, I was told to come back the following day, which I did. I was asked if I wanted to let go of the child or take custody of it. I was told that if I chose to keep the child, I would have to apply to keep her in my custody, which I agreed to. I was then told to come back to finalise the process.
What is the gender of the child and how old?
It is a female child. The baby was a day old. The baby was still very fresh as there was still blood on its body. Even the clothe used to wrap her had blood stain on it. I took it to the clinic alongside my secretary, who is a mother of five. I had them check everything and we were told everything was normal with the child. The child is doing very fine.
Are you married and do you have children?
I am not married and I don’t have children. But then, I can’t say I don’t have children because I have some children that I am taking care of but they are not my biological children. This one will be my first child. I am believing God for good health and long life for the child. As long as I live, the child will never suffer.
Were you not scared that people or the police might accuse you of abducting another person’s child?
There was no fear in me at all. I was confident because I told the story the exact way it happened. I do not have any cockroach in my cupboard. The police around there know me very well. They were just greeting me, saying, “Pastor, is this you?”
Raising a child is not cheap, considering the economic situation of the country. Have you taken that into consideration?
By the special grace of God, He has been backing me. I have taken care of so many children. I do not see this as a problem at all. I don’t have to have millions to be able to cater for the child. I can’t say I am rich or wealthy, but by the grace of God I am comfortable.
Newborns at time require so much attention and care, can you do it alone or you have people who will be supporting you since you are not married?
I am going to contract my secretary to become the nanny of the child. I will increase her monthly pay and I will ask her to leave the official job for now and focus on taking care of the baby. That is what I will do.
Do you think the child could possibly belong to any of your church members?
Not at all. No one is pregnant and has disappeared like that.
Is this the first time this would happen in your church or have there been similar cases?
No, this is actually the first time this will be happening. I have been hearing of things like this but I had never experienced it until now.
What will you do if the mother of the child shows up?
Any woman that shows up tomorrow to claim the child belongs to her will have to go run a DNA test to conform the child is truly theirs. If they don’t agree to it, they won’t get any access to the child, not to talk of having her custody.
Do you intend naming the child what the name written on the note?
Yes, I will name the child Gift of God, as recommended in the note. After everything, I will name the child Increase and she will be taking my last name too.
Why do you think the mother chose your church to dump the baby instead of the regular odd places people find abandoned babies?
The kind of environment I am, almost everyone knows me there. I play and relate with children a lot. I have many children that are on scholarship. I love gifting children and playing with them a lot. So the person that dropped the baby must be someone that knows me very well. There are lots of churches around there but she chose to drop it in front of my church.
How many adopted children do you have?
They are a lot. Most of them have families which they stay with but I still take care of them. Some of them are gone, some are still alive.
What advice do you have for young girls who have children and can’t take care of them?
What I advice is that they shouldn’t dump their children but rather sign up for an open adoption with people who are financial capable of taking care of these children. There are lots of good people who are willing to take these children in.