A Season Of Osama Babies In Northern Nigeria

KANO, Nigeria, Sunday - Some 70 percent of infants being cared for in the northern Nigerian city of Kano are named after Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind behind the September 11 attacks in the United States, hospital officials told AFP. “Osama babies are being brought in daily for postnatal care,” Jamila Shehu, a nurse at the paediatric ward of the government-owned hospital in Kano, the largest medical facility in the Nigerian city said. “At least seven out of 10 babies brought here for postnatal care bear the name Osama,” she said, adding, “This is, indeed, a season of Osama babies.” A worker at the government civic registration centre told AFP there has been a considerable rise in the registration of children named Osama since October. “I believe this is connected with Osama bin Laden, who has become a kind of hero to the people,” the worker, who asked not to be named said. The actual number of “Osama” babies in Kano could be even higher, because not all newborns are registered at the centre. Kano is a city with many Muslims in northern Nigeria where people celebrated the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington which killed over 3,000 people. Some parents of Kano’s Osama babies said their enthusiasm for the suspected terrorist mastermind is purely religious. “Osama bin Laden is my hero,” said 36-year-old Sadiq Ahmed, father of an infant Osama. “My wife gave birth to our third child on September 15 and I named him Osama in honour of Osama bin Laden, who has proved to the world that only Allah is invincible, by exposing America to shame. AFP Ends