Charlie and Colin Morgan were a happy couple from Sydney, Australia, but both of them suffered from a condition known as dwarfism. They wanted to start a family and have children, but doctors warned them against it as their condition might cause complications. They didn’t take medical advice and conceived a child, but what happened next shocked not only the doctors, Charlie, and Colin, but the rest of the world.
Charlie and Colin were the perfect couple, and they lived a happy life together in a beautiful suburb in Sydney, Australia. They shared a lot of the same interests and had a lot in common. When they first met during their time at college, they hit it off almost immediately. Once they started chatting, they found out that they got along naturally, and it wasn’t long before the two became an item.
However, both Charlie and Colin were suffering from dwarfism. Charlie suffered from a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia. This is a genetic condition that affects a protein in the body called the fibroblast growth factor receptor. With this particular protein functioning abnormally, it drastically slows down the growth of bones and cartilage. Luckily, people who have the achondroplasia form of dwarfism can live long, normal, and happy lives with only delayed and stunted development during their infancy.
On the other hand, Colin suffered from a form of dwarfism called gephyrosic dysplasia. This is a rarer and more serious form that affects many parts of the body. It most commonly affects the bones, joints, heart, and skin, and it is a progressive condition, meaning it continues developing throughout the person’s life. Because it affects the heart and the lungs, around a third of the babies suffering from gephyrosic dysplasia die before the age of five. Luckily, if you make it past that point, you’re relatively in the clear. Colin was one of the lucky ones.
This is the long-winded way of saying that these two star-crossed lovers had underlying medical issues that they had to deal with, and that’s before we even get to the social issues. People would mock them and laugh at them, making fun of their small stature and calling them all kinds of mean and hurtful names. Thankfully, both Charlie and Colin were thick-skinned and didn’t let such abuse get to them. So strong was their relationship that they decided they wanted to start a family. They had been married for several years by that point and owned their own home, so having a child was the next natural step…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>
However, despite their best efforts, they were struggling to conceive. The miracle of life is still largely a mystery, and even though there was nothing wrong with Charlie’s eggs or Colin’s sperm, the goal of falling pregnant still eluded them. The pair decided that they should check in with their doctor; perhaps he would be able to run some tests or give them some hints and tips on how to successfully conceive a child. But when they arrived at the hospital, they were not expecting the news that they were given.
The doctor strongly advised against the pair having children. He had strong reservations about the safety and health of the child. If two people with dwarfism conceived a child, there is a strong chance that the baby would inherit the condition from one or both of the parents. If they got a double dose of the dwarfism gene, then the likelihood of stillbirth was massively increased.
It was a serious risk that Charlie and Colin needed to think about. Doctors advised that if they conceived and the child died in the womb, the consequences could be fatal for Charlie. There were always inherent risks when someone with dwarfism became pregnant, and it was a doctor’s job to try to protect life rather than put it in danger. They wouldn’t have been doing their jobs correctly if they had allowed Charlie and Colin to continue trying to conceive without being fully informed of what could potentially go wrong.
Still, there was hope. The child might only inherit the dwarfism gene from one of the parents. In fact, there was around a 25% chance that it wouldn’t inherit it at all and that they would produce an average baby that would grow like someone without dwarfism. It was a game of numbers, a game of chance, and a game of risk.
Before long, though, Charlie discovered that she was, in fact, pregnant. The couple had largely stopped trying, so the news was a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one. The pregnancy went without a hitch, and Charlie eventually gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Tilda, who inherited achondroplasia, her mother’s form of dwarfism. Less than two years later, the couple had their second child, another girl they named Tully. She also inherited achondroplasia from her mother.
After Tilda and Tully were born, Charlie set up an Instagram account. On it, she shared photos, videos, and stories about her family’s life. People from around the world took a great interest in this family of people who were all suffering from dwarfism, and it wasn’t long before Charlie had amassed hundreds of thousands of followers. The followers all supported her and praised the family for being so strong and open. In return, Charlie would open up her family’s life and share intimate details of how the family felt and coped.
In one of her posts, Charlie candidly wrote, “One of the most difficult times for me was Christmas 2018. It was a period of pressure and prostration. I had postpartum exhaustion and lived on less than four hours of sleep per night for almost a year. I went back to work when Tully was only four months old, and it was very difficult for me. All this time, Colin and I didn’t exist as a couple or even as humans; we were just the parents.” READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
But things weren’t always so bad. In another post, she wrote, “It’s a continuous series of emotions, moments of exaggerated love and happiness, as well as a desire to have ten more children, one after another. It doesn’t matter how your week went, even if it seems that you made a mistake with someone or something. You should know it’s not true. You didn’t make a mistake; you’re doing your best. No one will ever be a better mother for your children than you are. Nothing gives me more confidence in life than my children.
Buoyed by the warm response from the legion of followers and supporters, Charlie and Colin once again tried for another child, eventually conceiving and, of course, sharing the news on social media. They documented the highs and lows of the pregnancy, but there was one big twist that no one could have ever predicted, something that left Charlie, Colin, and their many supporters and followers from around the world shocked beyond all belief. The third child was miraculously completely free of dwarfism.
He had not inherited the dwarfism gene from either his mother or his father. That meant that, despite all the odds, the third and final child was completely healthy and would grow up to be a normal height. He would one day tower over his parents.
Everyone was shocked by the news, with many believing it to be a miracle. The odds were very much stacked against Charlie and Colin, but despite that, they had given birth to not one but three amazing children. Doctors ran all kinds of tests and checks, but they soon confirmed it: the third child had no trace of the dwarfism gene in his body.
The chances of the child avoiding the gene were incredible, and medical staff were shaken by this development. They had initially criticized Charlie and Colin for proceeding to have children, but they had quickly been proven wrong.
“I’ve coped with the criticism for choosing to have babies with these odds of them having dwarfism, but that’s a whole conversation in itself,” said Charlie via her social media channels. “I just want to say that bringing a child into the world with my odds is no simple decision.
Despite what people told them and against medical advice, Charlie and Colin had not only had two healthy children with dwarfism but also a perfectly healthy child untouched by the condition. The chances of that happening were slim, but they managed to pull it off. It just goes to show that even though the odds may be heavily stacked against you, the chances of complete failure are very rarely zero.
So now it’s over to you. What did you think of this amazing story? How would you have felt if you were in Charlie and Colin’s shoes, with doctors strongly advising against you having children?
Gen. Diya was crossed examined at the Human Rights Violation Commission (HRVIC) on the coup plan 1997 to overthrow Gen. Sanni Abacha, He bluntly denied the fact that he was part of the plan but he admitted he knew about the plan. He further explained that he was afraid of being killed by the Coup Master Planner if he revealed the plan.
Gen. Diya Oladipo then was appointed as Chief of Defense Staff. He was appointed Chief of General Staff in 1993 and Vice Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council in 1994. In 1997 Diya and dissident soldiers in the military allegedly planned to overthrow the regime of Sani Abacha. The alleged coup was uncovered by forces loyal to Abacha, and Diya and his cohorts were jailed. Diya was tried in a military tribunal, and was given the death penalty. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
Nigeria has seen the rise and fall of many military regimes since she became a sovereign state in 1960 and this, at every turn, has altered the direction of the country.
A second coup since independence which happened on July 29, 1966, would see to the brutal death of Nigeria’s Supreme Commander, General J.T.C Aguiyi-Ironsi (the nation’s 1st military head of state) and his friend, Lieutenant Colonel Francis Adekunle Fajuyi, who was the sitting and 1st Military Governor of the Western Region…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>
Aguiyi-Ironsi was a guest at the Government House, Ibadan, as he came to hold a meeting with traditional rulers in the Western region. Ironsi arrived Ibadan the previous day and unknowingly, he met his death during the counter-coup which is generally believed to be a retaliation to the January 15th 1966 coup in which prominent Northerners in power were killed.
The Northerners were believed to hold a grudge since the first coup as they lost leaders including Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (Nigerian Prime Minister) and Sir Ahmadu Bello (Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the Northern Region). They tagged it an ‘Igbo Coup’ as no Eastern casualty was recorded in both the military and public service as even the West lost Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola in the coup. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
This counter-coup of July 29, 1966, led by General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma was tagged the bloodiest coup by many in the history of Nigeria. Ironsi and Fajuyi’s death which still remains a controversial debate among historians because how they were killed isn’t clear but both bodies were found in a bush in outskirts of Ibadan. Read a comprehensive account of how Aguiyi-Ironsi was killed here.
Aside from the Head of State and Western Military governor, many other casualties were recorded in the army and most killed or maimed were Easterners, particularly Igbos. This will be one of the many reasons the country would go into a civil war the following year as the Eastern region tried seceding.
54 years after, we remember this gruesome act done in the Brown Roof City and how much has happened or changed since then.
General Sani Abacha is perhaps Nigeria’s most enigmatic head of state. He reigned from 1993 until his death in 1998. General Abacha was born in Kano state, northern Nigeria on September 20, 1943. He hails from Kanuri in Borno state.
He passed out of the Nigerian Military Training Centre in Kaduna where he proceeded to Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, England before being commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in 1963.
He is held by some as Nigeria’s most successful coup plotter. When he was still a Second Lieutenant with the 3rd Battalion in Kaduna, he took part in the July 1966 Nigerian counter-coup from the conceptual stage. He could well have been a participant in the Lagos or Abeokuta phases of the coup the previous January as well…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>
Abacha fought for Nigeria in the country’s civil war against Biafran secessionists continuing to rise through the army ranks.
He was instrumental in the 1983 Nigerian coup d’état which brought General Muhammadu Buhari to power as well as the August 1985 coup which removed him from power. He announced the coup which removed the government of Shehu Shagari.
When General Ibrahim Babangida was named President of Nigeria in 1985, Abacha was named Chief of Army Staff. He was appointed Minister of Defence in 1990. With Babangida’s resignation, an interim government headed by civilian President, Ernest Shonekan was formed.
Sani Abacha became the first Nigerian soldier to attain the rank of a full General without skipping a single rank in 1993. In the same year, he moved for the ultimate.
Shonekan resigned and transferred power to Sani Abacha in a move widely believed to be another bloodless coup. In September 1994, he issued a decree that placed his government above the jurisdiction of the courts, effectively giving him absolute power. Another decree gave him the right to detain anyone for up to three months without trial.
Abacha is noted for helping restore peace and democracy to Sierra Leone and Liberia after the civil wars.
On his administration of the Nigerian state proper, he established The Petroleum Trust Fund aimed to address major economic issues facing the country at the time. Between 25-100km of urban road in major cities such as Kano, Gusau, Benin, Funtua, Zaria, Enugu, Kaduna, Aba, Lagos, Lokoja, and Port Harcourt was planned to be constructed each. A N27.3bn contract was awarded for road rehabilitation in the first quarter of 1996.
There was a restructuring of major insurance companies that supported SMEs across the entire country.
Abacha mandated the PTF to publicise its accounts as it was the second-largest public corporation at the time. In 1997, the account of PTF showed that it disbursed N24.3bn on roads, N21.2bn on security, N7.8bn on health, and N3bn on other projects. Other disbursements include N2.2bn on water supply, N936m on food supply and N476m on education. It realized a total of N1.049bn from various investment activities.
It’s curious the sums which emerged after his death that he stashed in overseas accounts as the Abacha administration became the first to record unprecedented economic achievements overseeing an increase in the country’s foreign exchange reserves from $494 million in 1993 to $9.6 billion by the middle of 1997. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
He also reduced the external debt of Nigeria from $36 billion in 1993 to $27 billion by 1997. His Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund is also hailed for infrastructural projects and interventionist programmes in education, water and health.
His wife is credited with setting up the National Hospital in Abuja viewed as Nigeria’s foremost national hospital, which was initially set up as a hospital for women and children before its upgrade.
Nonetheless, Abacha was ruthless with groups he considered hostile to his administration between 1993 and 1998. There was a crackdown on the civil rights groups, media and pro-democracy groups.
It was also under him that Nigeria became a perpetual importer of petroleum products as the refineries packed up. The emergence of the ‘foul fuel’ which damaged car engines and released a repugnant smell was in his time.
General Sani Abacha earned the title ‘Thug of the Year’ from Time magazine in 1995 after the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa. Abacha developed the habit of working only at night. Availing himself to be seen publicly rarely while being averse to granting interviews.
The events of his death on June 8, 1998, at the presidential villa in Abuja are murky and while the official account is that he suffered a heart attack, other accounts say he was in the company of two Indian sex workers flown in from Dubai when he died. He was buried on the same day, according to Muslim tradition, without an autopsy. This fueled speculation that he may have been murdered by political rivals via poison.
Foreign diplomats, including United States Intelligence analysts, believed that his drink or fruit (apple) was laced with a poisonous substance while in the company of prostitutes.
Abacha was married to Maryam Abacha with whom he had had seven sons and three daughters.
In March 2014, the United States Department of Justice revealed that it had frozen more than $458 million believed to have been illegally obtained by Abacha and other corrupt officials.
On 7 August 2014, the United States Department of Justice announced the largest forfeiture in its history: the return of $480 million to the Nigerian government.
Stashed sums in other accounts have been discovered with the Nigerian government working to have the funds returned.
