At their workshop where everyone has a physical disability, they fashion out almost anything you can find around the house, from beds to doors and gates to containers. These Kaduna technicians are determined to thrive despite their challenges. ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE reports
very one of them lives with at least a physical disability. Most cannot stand. A few are deaf. But their minds are razor-sharp and their sight far. They are the super fabricators of Kaduna. Hating the very notion of holding out a begging bowl before passersby, they learned a trade and have not regretted the decision. They have been fending for not just themselves but also their families. They even make things for other people living with disability.
For 13 years, this group of physically challenged people led by Mustapha Abubakar has distanced themselves from begging, deciding to engage in fabrication of households items.
Has it paid off? Yes, it has fetched them what they described as “legitimate income”.
It started with a federal government-sponsored training, after which, they decided to stay together under one firm. Their metal fabrication workshop, Physically Handicapped Welding Multipurpose Cooperative Society, resulted from that team work.
They are 15 in number. Their workshop is located in Kinkinau, a serene part of the Kaduna metropolis. There, they produce iron doors, windows and stoves, which they neatly display for buyers.
One interesting thing about this group of welders is that they are all physically challenged. Even their leader Abubakar has a disability.
Apart from making money and saving themselves the indignity and other horrors of begging, they also produce wheelchairs for other disabled people at a highly subsidised rate. They also fabricate motorcycle parts. ý
When The Nation visited their workshop, the super technicians did not want to be distracted from their work, but they managed to speak with the reporter while still concentrating on the job.
They said they took up the business because they wanted to be independent. They expressed the belief that if youths toed the same line, ýby working, the country would have found a way out of its unemployment challenges and also grow the economy.
The Nation discovered that their products can compete favourably with any made by their able-bodied counterparts anywhere.
One of the leaders of the group, Mustapha Abubakar,ý said, “We have been working here for the past 13 years. We were trained under the government skill acquisition programme and we expected that the government would cater for us and empower us. But, when we discovered that the support was not forthcoming we were forced to come together to form this cooperative. We formed a cooperative called Physically Handicapped Welding Multipurpose Cooperative Society. We are into welding work. We weld gates, burglary-proof, doors and beds. We construct wheelchairs, customised machines for the disabled; it is God’s gift and talent. We construct them ourselves. We are talented but the only thing we need is assistance from government to make our dreams come true. Individuals patronise us; they give us all sorts of works to try our talents and by the grace of God we don’t fail or disappoint them. In fact, our work is less expensive compared to other places they patronise. Take, for instance, construction of burglary-proof; they make it within the range of N8,000 to N10,000 but we do it for as less as N5,000 or N4,500. If people will patronise our works, street begging will certainly become a thing of the past.”
When asked how they feed their family with what seems to be meagre income, Abubakar said, “Sometimes, we go home smiling because we record high sales and some days, we go home empty-handed because of lack of sales. But we are thanking God for everything. Abubakar is a proud husband and father and is not ashamed to display his family.
He said, “I have a wife and four children. They attend both Western education and Islamic school. My first-born is nine years, while the second is 6 years old.ý”
An
other fabricator, Suleiman Sani, popularly known as Container among his colleague, said, “We are working here and trying to make ends meet.
He told The Nation: “All the works displayed here are our handwork. If you were not here while I’m doing this work, you might doubt if I actually did the construction. There is no work you bring here that we cannot do.ý”
Sani who claimed to have been in the business for six years, said he attended a welding school located in the Kakuri area of Kaduna metropolis for three years and since graduating, has been in the business.
“Having worked here for six years, I can say I have become an expert and anytime soon, I will go and open my own shop.”
The 26-year-old cripple said, “It takes me four days to construct a container,” adding, “This is simply because we encounter the problem of power outage. If not I can complete the work in less than three days. And it costs between N90,000 to N100,000.”
Like others in the business, these physically challenged persons face several challenges. According to Sani, one of these challenges is the lack of capital which has often left them at the mercy of their customers.
He explained that since they lack adequate capital, they simply work with their customers’ demand.
“When they come with their demands we go ahead and do the work for them,” he said. “But if we have capital we can go ahead to construct the products and showcase them. Whoever wants to buy will pay and we will give it to them. You know, there is no work without its own challenges. We face the challenge of power outage. Again, people feel if they give us job we will disappoint them. The wealthy men feel we can’t do the job. They prefer to go abroad to buy the things they use. Some of them feel if they give us the job we will not do it effectively. They go to the extent of testing us. Some of them stigmatise us; once they see us they give us alms. We are disabled but not beggars. We want people who will assist us with capital to set up business not one who will give us alms. We want something to keep us going, to sustain us and we depend on solely as source of income.ý”
The 26 years old Sani is ýhoping to get married soon but wants to establish his own business before setting up a family. His pride however is his state of independence. According to him, “I’m fulfilled with the work I am doing at the moment. I don’t depend on anybody and I also don’t wait for anybody to do anything for me before I do my things.”
They need working aids and patronage from government. This will go a long way in attracting others like them into such trades and discourage street begging. ýGovernment programmes such as SURE-P should cater for and focus more on persons with disabilities who have their own trade.
