The Nation Newspaper

Tag: blind

  • For the good of the blind

    For the good of the blind

    Ekiti State indigenes resident in Republic of Ireland, otherwise known as Ekitiparapo Ireland, have brought smiles to the faces of pupils of the Government Special School for the Blind in Ikere Ekiti. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA reports

    Students of the Government Special School for the Blind are now filled with joy as two key facilities which were hitherto in deplorable conditions are now wearing new look courtesy of help from an unexpected quarter.

    A group of professionals who are indigenes of Ekiti State but resident in Republic of Ireland otherwise known as Ekitiparapo Ireland took the initiative to assist the school which has students who are blind and some deaf students.

    Ekitiparapo Ireland was established in 2011 by group of men and women of Ekiti descent residing in the European nation and the group started charity work in its host community in 2015 when it donated cash to four charity homes in the country with the donation made possible by voluntary contribution by members.

    Apart from the students, the staffs of the school are also happy with the gesture which they believe would go a long way in making the environment conducive to learning.

    The school which has 187 students from Primary 1 to SS3 serves as s a centre for rehabilitation and training on how to read with Braille and use computers specially designed for the blind.

    The principal of the school, Mr. Sanmi Omotoye, expressed joy with the humanitarian gesture of Ekitiparapo Ireland which has brought relief to the staff and students describing the renovation of the facilities as “fantastic.”

    Omotoye explained that before the renovation was carried out, “the case of the toilet was so devastating that the sceptic tank had filled up and the roof had decayed to the extent that it could not be used during rain and even if it was sunny, the heat was unbearable.”

    He disclosed that the Ekitiparapo Ireland assisted in evacuating faeces from the sceptic tank, carried out a massive renovation, changed the doors and painted the building to make it look modern. Steps and railings were also constructed to assist the blind students to walk freely.

    Speaking on the dining hall renovation, Omotoye revealed that the derelict doors were removed and replaced with modern iron doors while the broken ceilings and windows were replaced with new ones.

    Apart from the renovation and purchase of new facilities, Omotoye explained that the association also purchased ten new dining tables and twenty chairs for use at the hall apart from the hall painting and landscaping of the environment.

    Omotoye said: “We gave them guide according to our needs and a member of Ekitiparapo helped us to supervise it according to the needs of the school. I want to say that our students are happy with this gesture and it has boosted their morale.

    “With this gesture of  Ekitiparapo Ireland, our students feel recognized and wanted. I was so happy with the speed and the rate of work, it started and within three months, the work was done.

    “I kept informing the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Hon. Jide Egunjobi and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry because they must be carried along on anything going on here and the Commissioner was happy to come here and inaugurate the projects.

    “I thank Ekiti State government; the government is trying for us within the limited resources available to it in the areas feeding and accommodation of the students. I want to thank the state government under the leadership of Governor Ayo Fayose.”

    Omotoye appealed to well-meaning individuals, philanthropists, interest groups, faith-based organizations, non-governmental organizations and corporate bodies to emulate the gesture of Ekitiparapo Ireland because “government cannot do it alone.”

    The school boss stressed that education for the blind is very expensive because the equipment with which they are trained are “costly to buy and not easy to come by.”

    He said further: “We are in dire need of musical instruments because many of our students are talented in the area of music and it is not everybody that can do white collar jobs.

    “We need musical instruments like guitars, organs, drums, violins, amplifiers, among others. We need an ultramodern library since we are in computer age. The Federal Government gave us 20 solar-powered computers but we need more because if all our students have computers, it will motivate them.

    “The materials needed by the blind are very costly, they cannot be purchased in Ado or Ikere, they are very expensive and we need people to assist us to buy them because government cannot do it alone. Thermophone machines are very costly and you can see them only in places like Lagos and Jos.

    “Our bus is not in good condition, the engine is not in good condition . We need vehicles at all times to aid the mobility of deaf students to Amoye Grammar School where we have specialist teachers. Some of our buildings had their roofs blown off.”

    A JSS 3 student of the school, Oladipo Sosanya, said the students are happy with the renovation of their dining hall and toilet.

    Sosanya said: “The dining hall is now good because of the facilities provided, we now have new tables and chairs. The place used to be abandoned but now all of us are happy to eat and drink there.

    “Before now, the toilet was very horrible and it was a no-go area during rain and Ekitiparapo gave it the best of touch. We are grateful for this because this shows that we have some people who love us.

    “We the blind are human beings like others, they should see us as their brothers and sisters. We have those among us who are talented and people do invite us from outside to perform in musical shows.

    “We need musical instruments to develop our talents and we also need special teachers.”

    In an online chat with Southwest Report, president of Ekitiparapo Ireland, Mr. Ayo Ayeni, the gesture was a means of giving back to their homeland and to assist the less-privileged and the vulnerable.

    According to him, the group sent a delegation to Ekiti State to look at the needs of existing Schools for Special Needs and identified two existing ones in Ido Ekiti and Ikere Ekiti but the latter was chosen because of its proximity to Ado Ekiti, the state capital and for logistics reasons.

    Ayeni said: “Like I said earlier, Ekitiparapo members are originally from different towns and villages in Ekiti State. We are currently working and living in Republic of Ireland; our mission of coming together as a group is to give back to our community.

    “We started charity works in our host community in Ireland and now is the time to take charity works back home. Like the saying goes, ‘charity begins at home.’ In this scenario, charity begins abroad and finally landed home in Ekiti. Our motto is “Ule labo simi oko” meaning wherever you go to work, you must come back home to rest.

    “School for the blind in Ikere Ekiti was chosen among various competing needs for attention of our people back home because we see ourselves as advocates of the most vulnerable in our society or call it “special needs advocate” for the rights of people with social needs in Ekiti State.

    “We use the project as a pilot scheme to draw attention of the privileged citizens to difficulties facing citizens with social needs in our society. This may act as a catalyst to philanthropists to do more for special citizens in our society as government alone cannot do it all.”

    He explained further: “At the moment, we are focusing on the citizens with special needs in our society. We are looking at the vulnerable people in our society like children  and women. These are the citizens with no voice in our society.

    “We proposed to the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Hon. Jide Egunjobi during the commissioning of our project at the School of the Blind, Ikere Ekiti that government should forward a bill to the House of Assembly with the main objective of looking after the social needs of disabled citizens.

    “For example, we expect all government buildings in the state to make provision for disabled people’s access as practised in developed countries like Ireland. We expect a quota of state employment to citizens with social needs and we expect a separate ministry of special needs in the state.

    “Our intervention at the School of the Blind is just the beginning of the conversation on the neglect of special needs citizens in the state. This is by no far the end of this national discourse.”

  • Blind cleric showers car, cash gifts on blind students

    Blind cleric showers car, cash gifts on blind students

    Blind cleric and the General Overseer of the Hour of Mercy Prayer Ministries Worldwide, (Orioke Alaseyori) Moniya Ibadan., Prophet Moses Muyideen Kasali, has showered car and cash gifts on the students of Bethseida Home/School for the Blind, Mosalasi, Lagos.

    It was a moment of unspeakable joy for the excited blind students as they all rushed to enter into the car, asking those who could see to lead them in so they could feel its comfort.

    Kasali said the gesture was to appreciate the blind students for making efforts to be relevant in life by engaging in profitable handiworks instead of begging for alms.,

    The cleric spoke at Orioke Alaseyori, hour of mercy prayer Ministries, Ibadan while presenting a Toyota Camry car and cash gifts to the visiting blind students.

    The students presented an award and a flower vase to Prophet Kasali.

    Kasali said: “On behalf of the Hour of Mercy Prayer Ministries, I express my gratitude to you my people. We are in the same condition having the same feeling. I want to believe that by the grace of He that dwells in his infinite mercy, our lives will affect the lives of the non-blind positively. I appreciate you and your gift to me.

    “I am particularly happy for you because you are not begging on the streets, but you are making use of your talents to create things that would bring you means of livelihood. Please continue to do this and the good Lord will continue to bless the works of your hands”.

    The founder of Bethseida Home/ School for the Blind, Mrs Chioma Ohakwe, said: “Prophet Kasali is a great inspiration to the blind in my school and elsewhere in the world. From following his activities as a Man of God, I am convinced that he is a true prophet of God.

    “We presented a flower vase made by some of the blind students as a mark of love to him as a father, spiritual mentor and friend. We also presented an award entitled ‘The Grace to See the Future’ to Prophet Kasali with a view to tell the world that there is indeed ability in disability as profoundly shown by the prophet.

    “We want to urge everyone and particularly the government and well-meaning philanthropists to support the indigent blind ones because as we can see in the life of the Prophet, there is ability in disability and many of those with challenge in sight can become great and very useful for our society if they are so empowered. Blind students can now operate computers, browse on the internet, play keyboards, and even designing a flower vase is just one of the small things they can do. Some of them are studying Law, Banking and Mass Communication among others in the university. This year, some of them who sat for the Joint Admission and Matriculation Exams and West African Examination Council scored the highest marks among others in the country.”

     

  • Labourer becomes blind after head-butt

    Labourer becomes blind after head-butt

    A 26-YEAR OLD labourer, Sunday Eze, yesterday at an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos pleaded guilty to unlawful behaviour.

    Eze was arrested by the men of Denton Police Station in Ebute Meta for giving Chinedu Ugo a head-butt on the left eye. His action was said to have led to Ugo’s blindness.

    Eze and Ugo are labourers at Iddo Oyingbo Market.

    They were said to have met on a narrow path on Saturday around 6:30pm, and Eze allegedly pushed Ugo out of the way. An argument ensued that led to a fight.

    Following his guilty plea, Eze has been remanded in Ikoyi prison, pending sentencing.

    The Investigatiing Police Officer (IPO), Sergeant Kazeem Olaniyi, told the court that Eze gave Ugo head-butt on his left eye that caused him grievous harm on May 11 at Iddo Market in Ebute Meta.

    Magistrate Folarin Williams asked Eze: “Did you do this to him.”

    Eze: “He is my brother and it was a mistake”.

    But the victim denied the defendant’s claim that they were brothers. He said they were friends.

    Eze will know his fate tomorrow.

  • Sola Sobowale gets emotional meeting blind fan ahead of May Ball

    Sola Sobowale gets emotional meeting blind fan ahead of May Ball

    He watched Nollywood actress Sola Sobowale before he lost his sight. But standing during the press briefing to herald this year’s May Ball, an annual fundraising event of the Federal Nigeria Society for the Blind (FNSB) which holds on May 28, 2016 at the Shell Hall, MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos, by 5pm, AdediranAdekunlewas happy he was finally meeting her.

    Addressing Sobowale, Adekunle, a student of FNSB’s Vocational Training Centre at Cappa, Oshodi, Lagos State said, “I have a passion for acting. At a certain time, I went to meet YinkaQuadri at Ebutte Metta and I asked him, ‘I want you to act a film concerning the blind people.’ He was with Ogogo (Taiwo Hassan). They looked up me. They first laughed. And I said, ‘is it funny?’ They said, ‘no.’They now said, have I written any script. I said ‘no, I can illustrate the film to them and they would write it.’”

    Responding to cheers from his mate, Adekunle who lost his sight in 2014 said, “being blind is not the end of the world.”

    And going emotional, he continued, “Mrs Sola Sobowale, I once saw you before I got blind in 2014 and I know you’re a very good actress. I would like you to feature me or other people in one of your films. I want you to write a film concerning the blind people. And I’m looking forward to see that.”

    With Sobowale engaging Adekunle, he disclosed his love for her.

    “It is a great opportunity,” he said. “Even though I can’t see you, I feel your concern.”

    The teary-eyed actress who became emotional hugged Adekunle and promised the film will happen. Earlier, she had said that her stay in London made her realise Nigerians do not take care of the less privileged.

    Also in attendance at the press briefing were  Chairman Federal Nigeria Society for the Blind (FNSB), Asiwaju Fola Osibo, Vice Chairman FSNB, Mrs Folashade Adefisayo, Project Coordinator for the May Ball event FNSB; Adeola Obagun and Ex- Student FNSB; Rasaq Adekoya as well as students and staff of the Vocational Training Centre. The May Ball, a major fund-raising event, holds annually on the last Saturday in May. Tickets for this year’s edition cost N20, 000 per person and are available on www.nigsocblind.org.

    According to the organisers, this year’s event is themed Masked May Ball whereby everyone is expected to wear masks while the colour code is black and white with a dash of red. There will also be a fashion show where Adire materials and crafts done by the students would be showcased, a celebrity auction (where celebrities are auctioned off, for the highest bidder to win a blind dinner date for two with the celebrity) and a raffle draw to win exotic gifts.

    “May Ball is our flagship event at which we gather for an evening to celebrate our generous sponsors and showcase our courageous students,” said Osibo.

    Aside Sobowale, other artistes lending their support to the event include renowned producer Cobhams Asuquo, Stephanie Okereke Linus, Odunlade Adekola, Funke Akindele and others.

    Founded in 1955, the Vocational Training Centre has rehabilitated over 2,500 blind men and women and integrated back into the society.

  • Project Insight: Art show for the blind beckons

    An NGO for the visually impaired, Society for the Welfare of the Blind In Nigeria (SWBN) will come May 21 hold its first ever Project Insight.

    Project Insight is an initiative designed to showcase the inherent abilities of the virtually impaired persons in an artistic adventure – to ‘paint from the minds their interpretation of life as they see it.’

    This maiden edition is aimed at bringing in individuals, corporate entities and other reputable persons in society to render support for the various needs of these less privileged.

    Funds are intended to be raised via art paintings done by the visually impaired persons, while proceeds will enable the activation of educational support items for the visually impaired in our society, the refurbishment of their schools and ultimately provision of support materials for the aimed parties.

    To be more specific, Project Insight hopes to set up Braille Press, mathematics and Science equipment for three schools and distribution of guide canes for the visually impaired and refurbishment of learning environment.

    To this effect, the organisers (Society for the Welfare of the Blind in Nigeria), seeks financial support and partnership in five different categories namely: Bronze (N5m), Silver (N10m), Platinum (N15m) and Gold (N20m). There is also the Exclusive Category (N40m), which gives a sponsor the exclusive sponsorship right.

    According to founder and president, Tade Ladipo, who lost his sight over 25 years ago, “the Society for the Welfare of the Blind in Nigeria is a non-governmental, non-profit making, non-religious organisation set up in the 1990s with the aim of meeting the overall human development needs of the blind in Nigeria. These needs fall within the sphere of political, socio-economic and moral resources provisions.”

    Said Ladipo: “Some of the achievements of the society in the past include production of textbooks in braille, construction of zebra crossings/sign posts, scholarships and grants for the visually impaired, blind library etc.”

  • Making the blind see again

    Making the blind see again

    The trio of Chief Emma Akana, Mr Akinbanjo Sikiru and Akhabue Friday had one thing in common – blindness. They got their sight back through cornea transplant. OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA reports.

    I can now drive after losing my sight and getting it back through the help of Eye Bank at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja. I can boast of driving around because I enjoy driving, it is one of my hobbies and one of those things I was missing.”

    These were the words of Chief Emma Akana, a 73-year- old retired engineer, on regaining his sight through the intervention of Eye Bank for Restoring Sight Nigeria (EBRSN). He was not the only one, who underwent the latest surgery. Five of them did.

    Akana lost his sight to cataract and glaucoma. So also did Akinbanjo Sikiru, a 75-year-old retired military officer and 31-year-old Akhabue Friday.

    Recounting how he lost his sight some six years ago, Akana said he had gone to Lagos General Hospital and some teaching hospitals. “But it was disheartening that the doctors were referring me to India. I suspected that they wanted to get commission from my referral. None mentioned the Eye Bank at LASUTH to me,” he said.

    Then, one afternoon the news from his transistor radio turned his predicament around. “I brought in my radio and switched it on around 1pm on that fateful day because I had learnt to carry out some simple tasks on my own. At the end of the news, the newscaster said: ‘The next programme (Bulletin) is on health with special reference to the eye.’ That made some sense to me because that was actually my problem. The continuity announcer said the guest was going to discuss cornea blindness, which was exactly my problem, so I got interested. It was during the discussion that I heard Dr. Mosun Faderin-Omotosho introduce the non-governmental organisation (NGO),  Eye Bank. She said they have been doing cornea transplant for long. Dr Faderin-Omotosho talked about the origin in Nigeria and what the NGO stood to do at that time,” Akana said.

    He recalled that she gave the NGO’s phone numbers. “Luckily for me; my daughter was home on vacation so, I called her and she took down the numbers. When my wife got back, I told her that there was yet another place we could try again. We put a call through and the person who picked the call said their office was at Ikeja General Hospital and they gave us an appointment for the following week,” he said. He then went for the appointment.

    Not somebody, who sweeps his experience under the carpet, Akana lamented: “No doctor had ever mentioned it to me that such could be done in Nigeria, even at the teaching hospital, none made mention of this Eye Bank that have been doing cornea transplant in the country since 2008. What I have noticed is that Nigerian doctors don’t relate well among themselves.”

    Now a patient with Eye Bank, Akana kept his appointments with some other patients, who met the requirements for cornea transplant.  “At that point, we were five in number. Like joke, like joke, after three months, in May 2013, we were booked for operation. We all were operated upon. I was the first person to be operated on May 10, by a surgeon/ophtalmologist, Dr. Olubanji Oluyadi. On the 11th, the stitches were removed from each one of us,” he said.

    Akana was excited at the success of the operation. “I was able to identify my wife standing right before me. After six years, I saw light! My wife asked if I could see. I replied her by describing the colours of the skirt and top she was putting on and added that the doctor was wearing a black trousers and a white shirt. Gradually, my eyes started getting clearer and clearer. I said I wanted to go and ease myself, she asked if I could. I did as I found my way to and fro. Honestly, since that day till today, I have never had any problem with my eyes; I have been attending regular check-up with the doctor. And out of the five of us that went in for the operation, none has ever come down with any serious complications, all the surgeries were successful. We all improve every day.”

    Akana then went philosophical. “Most of the other patients were younger and I felt for them because they were still working and have a lot still ahead of them as against me, who was already 70 at the time of the operation. I am happy we all got back our sights,” he said.

    Friday, who also regained his sight through cornea transplant, said he had got a new job as a cashier/front desk officer with an airline. “The cornea transplant gave me a second chance. My friends when they heard about the planned surgery said I was going to be given cow’s eyes, but I was too desperate to try anything to get back my sight and that was why I clung to that ray of hope the Eye Bank promised. I will advise as well that anybody that has eye problem should go to hospital and not religious houses, which complicated my case and made me lose my sight eventually,” he said.

    Akinbanjo said he was happy to see his grandchildren and great grandchildren. “I am so happy nobody was tired of me by way of walking me around. As a pensioner, it is not easy to go about getting my money with somebody having to follow me and do all the running around. But now, with my sight back, I do all that myself,” he said.

    Explaining how more Nigerians can benefit from the Eye Bank, Consultant Ophthalmologist/Medical Director EBRSN Dr Faderin-Omotosho said an Eye Bank is  where corneas removed from dead donors soon after their deaths are processed and kept until they are used by eye surgeons for sight restoration. It is called cornea transplant. People could pledge their eyes before death, leaving a legacy of sight.

    Faderin-Omotosho explained: “Cornea transplants were first carried out in the late 60s and early 70s in Nigeria with corneas obtained from abroad. Gradually, supply became scarce and eventually it stopped. To obtain donor cornea, processing fees, freight, and other charges must be paid, and this is separate from the surgical fees. Majority of those that really need this restorative surgery cannot afford it. Despite the cornea graft decree of 1973, there was no Eye Bank set up or cornea donation. In 2003, at Chief Olaseinde Akinsete’s 75th birthday, he monetised all his birthday presents and the money collected was used to set up this Eye Bank at LASUTH.

    “The Lagos State Government donated the present accommodation within LASUTH. Cultural beliefs, religion and taboos are hindering the take off of the cornea donation culture. The Eye Bank is committed to a continous process of harvesting, processing and storage of corneas so that the generality of Nigerians with cornea blindness can regain their sight through cornea graft.”

    She said the Eye Bank is committed to a continuous process of harvesting, processing and storage of corneas so that the generality of Nigerians with cornea blindness can regain their sight through cornea graft. Fund and donours for corneas are the main challenges.

    “The EBRSN started as a joint project of the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria and the Federal Nigeria Society for the Blind in 2004. Sometime in 2008, the Board took a decision to facilitate cornea transplantation so as to let people know that cornea blindness is a reversible form of blindness. To date, the EBRSN has facilitated 89 cornea grafts.  Six recipients were re-grafted and their  corneas have remained clear. August 2010, the first pair of corneas was harvested locally from a Nigerian donor. September 2012, there was another local harvesting of corneas. These corneas were all transplanted and the recipients are doing fine,”she said.

    She continued: “Cornea donation is giving a gift of “life’, i. e. sight. This is a gift that goes on living that even after you are no more, that part of you is still alive. Decide today to give a gift that will make people remember you. Obtain the donor form, fill and inform your family. You can include the decision in your will also. Carry your donor card with you always. Spread the word around so that others can do the same, especially those that have benefitted from cornea graft. Let us do good by being our brother’s keeper. No religion is against doing good. The Eye Bank is situated within the Eye Institute Complex at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. 1-5, Oba Akinjobi Street, G.R.A. Ikeja. Telephone:  0805-7715029;0803-6548791,E-mail: nigeriaeyebank@yahoo.com.”

  • Blind music act wins talent hunt

    Blind music act wins talent hunt

    He dreamt of a future when he would rule the airwaves and his songs on every lip. Today, 18-year-old aspiring gospel artiste, Godspower Ikharehon, is one step closer to his dream.

    Beating 467 other contestants, Godspower, a.ka. BOG, emerged winner the SOO Live The Dream™ Music talent hunt that comes with N200, 000 prize money, a recording contract from Dihoo Records and a trip to Dublin, Ireland where he is expected to perform at the Crowne Plaza Hotel courtesy of Perod’s Foundation, sponsors of Miss Nigeria Ireland beauty pageant.

    Participating in the event, BOG said was a deliberate act to show his talent to the world. In short, he was out to make a statement, an act which was seen in the passion with which he battled for the prize.

    To those who feel their lives are over due to one disability or the other, BOG, a pupil of Ihogbe College for the Blind in Benin, the Edo State capital, said he had shown there is great ability in disability.

    The hunt was aimed at identifying budding music talents of the oriented youths from Esan Northeast/Southeast Federal Constituency of Edo State.   It was an initiative sponsored by a member representing Esan Northeast/Southeast Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Sergius Oseasochie Ogun.

    At the hunt, the 18-year-old prided himself with a unique voice and dexterity with the keyboard. He gave such thrilling performances that dazzled the crowd and the judges, comprising Muyiwa Asenuga, a.k.a Nomoreloss, Sydney Shocker, Monique D Vibes and Elcee McEdwards.

    And like story of most great men, BOG wasn’t always so confident. Once upon a time his life, he suffered from depression owing to his condition, and then, music saved his life.

    “I have music to thank for taking me away from self-pity and putting me in the limelight of his community. Whenever I go to church and listen to people sing I feel very happy. In fact, inside me I would wish I was the one doing the songs.  There were times I felt hopeless, especially with my condition.

    “I used to say people can walk, sing, see and here I am not being able to see; I felt that was how my life would be wasted but one day I took a decision and made a step to start singing. That decision helped me to get over self-pity and built my confidence that music is for me. Since then, I have never looked back and I must say that immediately I took that first step, God took it up from there,” he said.

    As he stood with hundreds of other hopefuls in the initial audition, he did not imagine he would make the first 120 contestants. After the number was screened from 120 to 20, to be named among the top, BOG said, boosted his morale and increased his energy to battle for the prize.

    He said: “While I was at home I usually believed that I would win but when the auditions started and I started listening to some of the contestants , I was afraid that I had lost it all. My condition helped me to be serious in the sense that when I heard the performances of the other contestants, it spurred me to work harder. The fact that I don’t see their faces was an advantage to me.”

    He made the list of the top 10 contenders and emerged winner. His pronouncement as winner drew a load and emotional applause at the grand finale held at the Social Hall of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, Ubiaja, Edo State.

    It was an overwhelmed BOG that took to the stage: he fell down on the floor with joy, started dancing while being held by his brother. The move that brought the audience and fellow contestants to tears.

    Delighted Godspower  said he can’t wait to release his first single. He advised the young and aspiring talents: “I believe that everybody has a talent that needs to be harnessed; it will only take you to look and identify your talent and use it to prosper. I wish my story will touch them to believe in themselves and take a decision not to run away from their country. We have great opportunities here. I don’t know why many are running away from a country with potentials. ”

    Deborah Christy Odiboh, 16, won N100,000 for emerging second, while sound engineer, Destiny Ogunnubi, got N50,000 as third place winner.

    While presenting prizes to the winners, Ogun said he was happy with the outcome of the event and believed the next edition would be better.

    “I am satisfied with the turnout of the event, it was wonderful, my prayer is the by the time we host the second edition next year the turnout will be more than this,” he said.

     

     

  • My blind date

    My blind date

    After getting out of a very long drama-filled relationship, I decided to stay off boys and anything related to dating. I decided to use this time to focus on some personal goals. My girlfriends thought this idea was absurd and that I still wasn’t over my ex-boyfriend. Well, I just felt some persons are not just capable of grasping the idea of being alone.

    In an attempt to help me, they sent various boys – or more like losers – my way. There was George. God! Did he have bad breath or what? His breath made me tear up and he was always all up in my face. I found a way to get rid of him by giving him a fabricated HIV test. He ran faster than a cheetah. There was Nathaniel – the strong Christian whom I lied to about my sexuality. I told him I was a lesbian. He spent weeks trying to pray the homosexual gene out of me. Eventually, he gave up.

    Vivian, one of my friends, put up a profile of me on a dating website. She finally found me my “perfect match”. So she thought.

    “He’s extremely handsome and smart. You’d love him”, she used every opportunity to ring those words into my ears. I even started day dreaming about guys with a matching description of this “perfect match”. After much effort by Vivian to convince me, I thought “how bad can it possibly be?’ So I obliged.

    I put on a black fitted dress with my lucky red pumps and a shining red belt. I wore my hair up and went to the restaurant. I walked to the table where I was asked to meet him. Seated at the table was a guy. Not just a guy. He was tall, handsome and had the built of an athlete. He wore a black tuxedo with a blue shirt. Thoughts of me ripping off that shirt and feeling that body raced through my mind. And his lips? Why make a man look this good and tell me not to sin? He smiled at me from across the room. I felt my knees fail. It took all the strength I had to walk to that table. For the first time in my life, I was glad I listened to Vivian.

    He stood up as I approached the table. Very gentleman-like I thought. I tried to find composure; didn’t want him to think I was some shallow girl. I asked and said, “Excuse me, are you the one I’m supposed to meet?” And he smiled and nodded in affirmation. Oh my, that smile! I knew I had met my husband and the father of my unborn children.

    He got behind me and pulled out a chair and motioned for me to sit. A part of me wanted to just say, “Hey I just met you and this is crazy, but can we skip this dinner and get straight to the part where we make babies like you? You being this handsome and me this pretty?” I shook it off, though momentarily, wondering how stupid Carly Rae Jepson was when she sang that song.

    Then he picked up the menu and asked “What will you chop?”

    At that point it was like time stopped. The earth stopped spinning and I was just staring like that. Then he added, “Hey! What’s wrong?” in the sexiest voice ever. That was when I concluded that it was my ear that had issues. (You see I like rock music and I’ve got these really loud gigantic headphones). I knew sooner or later it would start impairing my hearing.

    I smiled and ordered the shredded beef sauce and basmati rice with a glass of white wine. He motioned for the waiter to come and he whispered something in her ear. She took off immediately. Then there was the awkward silence which lasted for about four and half minutes. I took note of the time. Yes I did. I decided to break the silence. “So, what’s your name? Are you a student here?” He answered “yes” twice, almost immediately.

    Few seconds later, my order arrived, but I didn’t see anything on his side of the table. So I asked, “Aren’t you gonna have anything?” He replied and said “my own dey come”.

    At this point, my whole life flashed in front of my very eyes and for a moment I started thinking Vivian had set me up for “punk’d” but I thought to myself there’s no Ashton Kutcher in Nigeria.

    In the middle of my thoughts I saw it, a large tray with about eight plates on it and another waiter coming with a second tray with something I later found out to be “washing hand water”. Soon he was set for action. He started by mixing the first 3 soups together: egusi, okro and vegetable. Then, his first morsel of “akpu”. It was bigger than my wrist. I am not exaggerating.

    While “chewing” he asked, “Wetin be your name?” It was in that moment I realized I still had my fork in midair and my mouth wide open. He laughed and shrieked. “Fly go enter your mouth o”, he said while spilling pieces of soup into my face. He asked again, “Warris ya name” – pronounced as spelled.  I answered with something that sounded almost like a whisper: “my name is Ogechi”. That’s when he started speaking Igbo. And in between, “Kedu maka ulo gi di?”

    I then asked to be excused. I went to the ladies and immediately speed dialed Vivian. Apparently, she didn’t know anything about the guy before setting up a date. All she did was take a look at his picture. Looks are really deceiving. He could have been a serial killer, I thought. All I could think of now was an escape route. I remembered flashes from Prison Break and I asked myself, “what would the hot, awesomely tattooed Michael Scofield do?”

    I realised I was spending too much time here, so I pulled out my inhaler, took a deep breath and walked out to the restaurant only to find my plate of food empty. I couldn’t help but scream, “What the censored?”

    All I remember was screaming like a psychiatric patient. “You’re ill-mannered, dirty, ill-bred, calorie-consuming-hippo”. I didn’t even know where all that came from. By now everyone was staring at me. I thought to myself, Great! So now I’m the bad fellow.

    As I picked up my things to leave, I heard him mutter,”Oya let’s just go back to my room”. God Knows I would have pepper sprayed on that bastard if he had touched me. I finally left the scene extremely angry. There was probably smoke coming out of my head to show the extent of my rage.

    Then comes the walk back home, which usually takes about six minutes tops. No, not today. I look at my watch only to realise that I’ve been walking for 18 minutes in the sun that day. To say it was scorching is an understatement. I wonder who sent me to wear that black dress; then I remembered it was Vivian.

    In fact, it suddenly dawned on me that she was the reason for all of this. My new priority was devising a means to kill her without ending up in jail a really slow and painful death as a matter of fact.

    Finally I’m home and I’m greeted with the loudest sets of laughter in the world from the most useless girls ever.

    Friends sometimes ruin your life. You have the choice to make. That blind date could be a kidnapper, killer or a ritualist. But I was cajoled to meet him. Even if they were wrong, I have to accept my mistake. But as students we have to be careful of those we meet on social media sites. Many have lost their lives and valuables to blind dates. All I can do now is to never ever go on another blind date again. Ladies, please beware.

     

    • Ogechi, 300-Level Pharmacy, UNIBEN

     

  • Surgeon’s error turned me into blind man — Ex-columnist Falodun

    Surgeon’s error turned me into blind man — Ex-columnist Falodun

    Since a surgeon committed an error while carrying out an operation on his eye and caused him to go blind in 1995, things have not remained the same for Oluwole Falodun, a former journalist and public relations practitioner who wrote the popular Waka about column in the Lagos Weekend newspaper in the 1970s. HANNAH OJO writes on the travails of the 72-year-old man who once dominated public activism but now lives without a wife while his children have all gone to pursue their dreams.

    Good morning. God bless you,” his deep voice echoes through the phone. Meeting him in person, there is no doubt that Pa Oluwole Falodun, the man who wrote Waka about, a popular column in the defunct Lagos Weekend, a publication on the stable of the Daily Times of yore, is a big fish who blindness has forced to dwell in a small pond.

    He sits at his Lagos home clad in simple house clothing. For an octogenarian who would be 73 by November, his physique can be adjudged decent. Welcoming the reporter with consummate familiarity, Falodun directs her to take a big brown envelope under the centre table in the living room. Famous Christ’s School Ado-Ekiti and the London School of Journalism, appears to be burrowed in loneliness. For a man who once moved the top men of the society and nursed his own dreams, it is understandable that the cost of blindness will come in unquantifiable folds.

    The situation has put a strain on his family.  “It is a pity things are not the best they could be, but I do not want to say things about my family on the pages of newspapers. My family is still my family,” he submitted.

    Speaking on the reaction of his children to the incident, the former secretary of the Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN)  said the children played their various parts within the limit of their resources. Since the scholarship he requested from the government didn’t sail through, he said the children went through thick and thin depending on family and friends for their education.

    Down and virtually out, it is not unexpected that some friends would turn their noses at him. The old man says he is not out to criticise anybody, adding that he has left friends who failed his expectations to their conscience.

    He said: “Even if we talk about the loss from now till tomorrow morning, 25 pages of a newspaper cannot restore my sight. All the money in the CNB cannot restore my sight.  I am not the greedy type. What I want is my rights. If the government was careless with the surgery on my eyes, it is only proper that somebody should stand on his feet and repay the sorrow that I am going through,” he averred.

    According to him, losing his sight has brought him closer to God. He appears to now see things through the window of his soul as he revealed that God has been revealing things to him, including those of national significance.

    On survival and his basic needs, Falodun says the good God who feeds the birds of the sky has been sustaining him. He has benefited from the good deeds of people such as Chief Micheal Adeojo of Elizade Motors fame, who gave him a car in 2005. He also mentioned Venerable L. L. Esho, Mr. Joko Okupe, Venerable Okunuga and a retired vice admiral of the Nigerian navy in Ibadan among those catering for him from time to time.

    However, he lamented that some expectations are not forthcoming, pointing to members of the Full Business Gospel Men Fellowship, a group he said he associated with but had deserted him.

    With loneliness, he has also encountered depressing moments arising from people who tried to cheat him because he is blind.

    “So many people, even the so called men of God, still come here and try to cheat me. There was a priest who came to deliver a message from a bishop and lied about the time. I brought out my audio wristwatch and when he heard the time from my audio wrist watch, he didn’t know what to say. Several times, many people will come pretending to assist me, but to my surprise, they still go away with things from my kitchen”.

    He commended the effort of Salami Kazeem, a Muslim he said God has used to help him.

    “He takes me to places and runs errands for me. Despite being a Muslim, he drives me to church and sits down with me as far as Ilorin and Abeokuta. The time I had an opportunity to speak with Lai Muhammed (APC spokesman), he promised he would assist him on holy pilgrimage to Mecca, but that doesn’t seem to be forthcoming.”

    Pa Falodun reminisced on the activities that blindness has denied him, saying: “I miss my activities with the Full Gospel Businessmen International. I missed the activities of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations where I was delivering lectures and writing papers from time to time at the forum of the institute to the extent that I won a merit award for that.

    “But I thank God I don’t miss any church service. I am an Anglican to the core and I go to various Anglican Church services on any Sunday.”

    Falodun, who was press secretary of the Tribune Group, the youth wing of the UPN comprising people like Wole Awolowo, Toyin Adefuye, Oladipo Jimileyin and Yemi Osinbajo, the current Vice President of Nigeria, says he spends his time as a blind man praying and fasting.

    Although he has gone to the School for the Blind at Oshodi, Lagos to learn mobility, he cannot navigate outside his house because the street is not tarred.

    “I want to buy a computer with which I will be able to do my write-ups again. It will cost nothing less than half a million naira because it will come with a software that will translate what I say. I do not want to learn brail because if I had that computer, what God has deposited in my brain could be put in black and white. Those are the areas where things are more challenging to me,” he stated.

    Speaking on his expectations from the new government of Akinwunmi Ambode in Lagos State, which he said has already reached out to him, Falodun said he has sent the list of his needs, saying he is confident of a positive reaction.

    Looking through the pictures of his heyday, Falodun was always dressed in impeccable suits, most of which he said were sourced from his travels outside the country. Agreeing with the reporter’s observation that he must have been a restless person in his youth, Falodun said he couldn’t see himself doing nothing at any particular time.

    He said: “I was a founding member of the NFA (Nigeria football association) supporters’ club with people like the late Ishola Folorunsho and M. O. Koyiki. I was the public relations manager of Boys Scout of Nigeria. All those were voluntary activities. While people went to the club to drink and do other things, I spent all my time in voluntary activities.

    “During the Nigerian civil war, I was a member of the Nigerian Civil Defence Corps, who were manning the streets at night and creating awareness that the country was at war.”

    Falodun, who is still active in the Boys and Girls Brigade of the Anglican Church, admonished people never to render themselves incommunicado.  “I do not want to envisage a situation where somebody will place a request with Jesus Christ and He will file it KIV, which civil servants call Keep in View. There’s not much human beings can do. God will do what He will do at his own appointed time,” he concluded.

     

  • Ambode to assist blind columnist Falodun

    Ambode to assist blind columnist Falodun

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday directed the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Tunji Bello, to ensure that all promises made to the former Radio Nigeria/Daily Times Ace Columnist Wole Falodun, are fulfilled.

    Falodun, who wrote a popular column, Waka About, in the defunct Lagos Weekend in the 1970s, went blind after a surgeon at the Lagos Island General Hospital made a mistake while treating him for glaucoma.

    The surgeon, Dr. Orekoya, had mistakenly operated on the right eye instead of the left, resulting in Falodun’s blindness.

    Falodun had sought assistance from previous administrations, but his efforts did not yield results.

    Moved by his plight, Ambode told Bello to  contact Falodun and ensure that promises made by his predecessors were fulfilled.

    According to the governor, the promises made to Falodun by his predecessors were not personal but made on behalf of the government.

    A statement from the office of the SSG signed by the Director of Public Relations,  Fola Adeyemi, said Falodun’s family is expected to liaise with the SSG’s office so that the governor’s directive could be carried out.

    “This singular move is a demonstration of the commitment of this administration to the plight of its citizenry and it will ensure that promises made to Lagosians are fulfilled,” the statement said.