Since 1992, the United Nations has earmarked December 3 as Disability Day or the International Day of People with Disability. In Nigeria, the day was marked last Sunday and in this report, ELEOJO IDACHABA, TOPE SUNDAY, KEHINDE OSASONA and JOSEPHINE ELLA-EJEH examine how some physically challenged persons have made their mark against all odds.
At the best of times, life is so difficult to cope with as the challenges of living are very daunting even for the able bodied. In Nigeria, even the most common of things require an extra effort to get. Like a jungle, the country has been reduced to the survival of the fittest. Food, shelter and a good health care, including an education require the patience of the proverbial Job and the iron will of Samson to comeby.
In addition, the economy is in the doldrums and getting a job is like seeking a needle in the haystack. For the lucky ones, salaries may not come as and when due and when they do, the take home pay hardly takes most people to the next bus stop. Faced with this problem, many Nigerians do several things, ranging from the legal to the illegal, to cope with the vicissitudes of life. In most cases, people resort to begging in different guises, including the “Fine Bara’’, where seemingly well heeled individuals approach the affluent for a life line and the bowl-in-hand variety. In fact, some people use deformities or ailments to seek succor.
However, in spite of these odds, some warriors and amazons have taken the bull by the horns and made lemonade out of the lemon that providence had given them. Disabled but with amzing abilities, Barrister Apomilda Haruna Tsammani, Malam Murtala Mohammed and Malam Audu Nagayaji as well as Mrs. Naomi Egbueakhuele have broken the stereo-type that associates begging with the physically challenged. Incidentally, their stories are just a few of hundreds of unsung heroes who are soldiering on in spite of the physical challenges.
Barrister Tsammani: Holding the candle for the physically challenged
Barrister Apomilda Haruna Tsammani or Mida, as she is simply called, was born in 1986 with the proverbial silver spoon. However, in spite of her privileged background, she suffered a partial stroke as an infant. For this reason, she was taunted by fellow pupils and students in primary and secondary schools respectively.
Undaunted, she concentrated on her studies and gained admission into Ahmadu Bello University(ABU), Zaria where she studied and became a lawyer. According to her, her physical challenge started at the age of two, precisely in 1988.
In spite of that, she has continued so far as a strong fighter. ‘’I was a little girl then, just a little above two years, but I was told that there was a domestic accident which left me with partial paralysis. Presently, I limp and can use only one hand. My parents took me to different hospitals, traditional doctors and prayer houses to seek for solution. In the process, my parents were duped lots of money in their effort to get a cure for me. As a result of this, I lost one school year in a village receiving treatment but my condition remained the same,’’ she narrated to Blueprint Weekend.
The young lawyer confessed that the journey has not been easy. As she put up with a lot of stigmatization which shook her faith. ‘’At a point, I contemplated suicide but thanks to my family. My mother, in particular, used to and still tells me to have confidence in God and to look inward in order to explore the potentials He has given me to touch lives,’’ Mida recalled. According to the lawyer, her other siblings, including her father, Justice Haruna Tsammani, also spurred her on.
Today, Barrister Tsammani is not only a trained lawyer, but is a Senior State Counsel at the Federal Ministry of Justice. In addition, she runs a Non Governmental Organisation called Haly Hope Foundation.
Similarly, she is also the Vice President of Woman’s Herat Foundation. Using these platforms, Mida touches the lives of other younger ones in similar situation, by instilling confidence in them and assuring them about their God-given, innate strength to overcome all odds. Amidst smiles, Mida says “I am happy with what I am doing now and I thank God for my situation. I want to use my advocacy to encourage younger ones in this kind of situation to know that so much can be accomplished in disability.”
‘We suffer stigmatisation’
Murtala: Keeping time for the disabled
At 17, Malam Murtala Mohammed was involved in an auto accident which rendered him physically challenged.
At 45, Murtala is now an energetic watch repairer and recipient of six gold medals in para-soccer. After the accident, he spent many months recuperating in the hospital as a result of which he could not complete his education at Birrin-Kudu Secondary School. His initial ambition was to join the Nigerian Army or any other uniformed job but his disability dashed that dream. Thereafter, he left his Bangudu village in Birnin Kudi local government in Jigawa state, to Anambra state where he underwent apprenticeship.
Married with four children, Murtala is now providing for his family without begging for alms or depending on relatives for assistance. ‘’When I left Anambra where I learnt the trade for three years, I went to Lagos where I equally took time to sharpen my skills as repairer before eventually settling down in Abuja. When I got to Abuja, I alongside other colleagues formed a team and started practising soccer and not too long, we started representing the FCT in major competitions outside Abuja since 1999 or thereabout,’’ he told Blueprint Weekend.
Murtala has won six gold medals, one silver medal and a bronze at major competitions in Edo and Ogun states and in Abuja. Apart from these laurels, former Federal Capital Territory Minister, Malam Nasir El Rufai had placed the team on salaries and allowances but all that has stopped since he left.
Right now, he is facing his watch repairing business squarely but his earnings are barely enough to keep body and soul together . According to him, ‘’my wife always complains about my poor earnings but I have made her realize that I do not wish to be begging for alms to survive. Thankfully, many of my customers continually patronise me so that I can have a take home at the end of the day. I repair like 5-6 watches in a day and I would rather make do with my N1,000 – N1,500 per day than beg for alms which for me, is insulting.’’
Shehu: From begging to buying and selling
Initially, Malam Shehu Malami, a 38 year old physically challenged from Sokoto state, started out as a beggar but when he gathered a tidy sum, he stopped collecting alms and started a petty trading in Abuja.
According to Malami who is also a Bronze medalist in weightlifting, his disability began in Lagos in 1999, when he was living with his brother. According to him, ‘’I was in a bathroom one day and as I was about coming out, I fell on the ground and could not stand again until our neighbours came to my rescue. I was taken to the hospital only for doctors to diagnose me with polio.’’ Murtala said that his brother who sells meat at Ajegunle, had a tough time paying the hospital bills ‘’and as such, I practically became a burden on his neck.’’
As a result, Murtala opted for begging for survival and with the proceeds, he started buying and selling in 2007.
“Although, I learnt fashion designing, no one was ready to patronise me. I saw that as discrimination. Even if you give me arms now, I will feel embarrassed unlike before when I solely depended on it to survive.
“Today, I make like N3,000 in a day. I am single but I have a girlfriend who is waiting for me to marry her and start a family’’.
Egbueakhuele: Holding forte at NNPC
Although she is physically challenged, Mrs Naomi Egbueakhuele scaled all hurdles to get employed in one of the nation’s best paid government agencies—the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The 36 year old shares her story in the corporation’s newsletter in a very emotional narrative.
According to Mrs Egbueakhuele, “I was not born a physically challenged person. I was told that when I was about three years old living with my paternal grand-parents, I just slumped. Subsequently, I recalled that I saw myself learning how to walk again and at the time, I also knew we were going to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, for medical check-ups.”
Egbueakhuele, a Delta State University graduate of Counseling Psychology, recalled that she went through hell during her primary and post-secondary education.
Similarly, she suffered discrimination even at home as her father was initially not too disposed to her education because of her disability. Amidst all these challenges, she finished secondary school and thereafter, proceeded to Auchi Polytechnic and studied Secretarial Studies and subsequently got a job.
At work, Egbueakhuele came under fresh pressures from her bosses and thereafter, she filled a direct entry form for the Delta State University, Abraka. Afterwards, she did her mandatory National Youth Service Corps at the Corporate Affairs Office of NNPC. She was retained as a supporting staff after her service year. By Egbueakhuele’s admission, her employment was a result of sheer hard work. According to her, “I served in the Central Mail Room and early in my service, I noticed that staff members were not coming to collect their letters, so I devised a means of getting their mails to them. I went to the Public Affairs Office and collected some yellow/green bags and markers, sorted the mails unit by unit and departments by departments and on my wheelchair, I dispatched mails and letters from office to office, floor to floor, I didnt know people were watching and taking note.’’
One day, the federal government issued a directive that-physically challenged persons who are graduates should be given automatic employment if there is vacancy. Similarly, the directive said corps members with commendation certificates also should be given automatic employment.
“With that, I did a memo to see the then Group Executive Director, GED, in charge of Corporate Services. We had a chat and that was how I got the job.”
Audu the computer man
Malam Audu Nagayaji, the proprietor of Nagayaji Computer School in Jaba, Kaduna state, said he became physically challenged as a result of polio attack right from infancy. According to Audu, he started the computer school in Masaka, Nasarawa State, before he moved to Southern Kaduna, precisely in Jaba Local Government Area.
Malam Audu told Blueprint Weekend that he lost his father early in life in 1981 and so there was no one to assist him except his indigent mother who also needed help. ‘’Even though I was physically challenged and without help, I managed through primary and secondary schools in 1984 and 1990 respectively. Later, I went to the Federal Polytechnic Kaura Namoda to study Secretarial Studies,’’ he recalled.
Subsequently, this background prepared him to meet other challenges ahead.
Mallam Audu, as he is known, said his condition has never beclouded his sense of aspiration in life. In addition to his business, Audu is also a politician as he is staunch member of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Buyah Ward, in Jaba area council.
With a sense of fulfillment, he said, “I give all the glory to God.’’ Recently, he went to Anambra State on a two weeks advocacy visit sponsored by a Christian organisation called Voice of the People. At the event, many invited guests wondered why he was not a beggar. “In Southern Kaduna where I come from, begging is a taboo. Begging gives one insult and so I advise disabled northerners to go to school or learn a trade or handwork and stop begging,’’ he said.
Today, Audu is married with two children, besides being an employer of labour.
