Less than a week after a chance encounter with physically challenged athletes, wife of the All Progressives Congress vice presidential candidate, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo, took time out to visit them in their ‘base’ for an unexpected gesture. Sunday Oguntola reports.
The love affair, so to speak, started last Sunday. It was at a novelty match to mark the 58th birthday of his husband, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, at Victoria Island Lagos. The sight of the physically challenged athletes touched her. Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo couldn’t take her eyes off those she later described as amazing. She was intrigued that they could make something out of their physical disabilities.
Though shielded by protocol and security operatives, Mrs. Osinbajo couldn’t resist walking up to them. She was particularly struck by the female athletes among them. She offered a handshake, which many of them graciously accepted. Then, she went a step further. She offered a hug, which caught many of them unawares.
The first athlete, confusion written over her face, held back. She must be wondering whether it was bait or a genuine offer. For almost two minutes, Mrs. Osinbajo’s arms remained open. Finally, one of the female athletes mustered courage to step forward. She got a warm hug that left many of them speechless. With her eyes misty, she stepped backward for others to get their share of the hug.
One after the other, Mrs. Osinbajo embraced them all, not minding their sweaty bodies. She was all smiles, soaking in the euphoria of the moment. The ladies clapped and clapped, stupefied that a woman of her standing could identify with them. After the game, Mrs. Osinbajo made it a matter of priority to meet them for a tete-a-tete.
“I just wanted to know how they were faring and the challenges facing them,” she offered to our correspondent later, when asked what she was discussing with them.
“I thought they needed encouragement and just wanted to be there for them with listening ears. I wasn’t talking; I was just listening to their tales of challenges,” she added.
Before she left them, the humane part of her had taken over. She felt so much at peace with them that she thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to see them again. But just how would that work? It came in the form of an idea. Why not just organise to meet them at their ‘base’ for more time-out? As the parley rounded off, she announced she was coming to see them at their training pitch.
The ladies were excited, even overjoyed. But a few cautious ones among them took the route of caution. They had received such promises from prominent Nigerians in the past without fulfillment. Nothing stops her from following the same path.
Aside not having her contacts, none of them knew where she lives. They only knew she was the wife of All Progressives Congress (APC) vice presidential candidate. What they didn’t know was that Mrs. Osinbajo is a promise keeper and never makes pledges she would not keep.
Last Wednesday, she fulfilled her promise. She stormed the basketball court of the disabled athletes at the National Stadium, Surulere in the middle of a training match by the Wheel Chair Sports Foundation much to the delight of the athletes. They couldn’t believe their luck; it was difficult to soak in the fact that a prominent woman like her could go all the way to identify with them.
Being on a familiar terrain, having run a ministry in the church for street urchins at the newly renovated Muri Okunola Park in Victoria Island, Mrs. Osinbajo felt truly at home with the sportsmen and women. She joked with them and listened to their stories. She exchanged banters with them and heard them out.
And she didn’t go empty-handed. She had prepared delicious meals and drinks for their pleasure and time. The surprised athletes enjoyed the moment, taking off time to snap pictures with her and savour more hugs, this time without restraints. They had established a bond and knew she would look out for them.
Tope Ogunyemi, coordinator of the foundation, expressed gratitude to Mrs. Osinbajo for identifying with them. He said her kind was rare and fading. “You don’t get prominent Nigerians interested in people like us. To many of them, we don’t exist. But we are truly humbled she had found a friend in us.”
Mrs. Sherifat Shittu, one of the female physically challenged basket ball players, said people like Mrs. Osinbajo will make life better for them if she has the means and resources. “You can see how she is helping us with her personal resources. If she gets into government, she will do well for us. She will initiate policies that will make life more meaningful for us,” she rounded off.
