Abiodun Omoyayi Sheriff, is a graduate of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta, Ogun State Capital. The Mass Communication graduate has been facing difficult challenges as a result of his predicament of being a physically challenged person, a condition he has been with since he was two years old.
In this exclusive interview with YANJU UWALA, the 35 years old man, narrated and shared his experience which need urgent assistance and attention from the government, and well-meaning individuals.
Enjoy the excerpts below:
Newsjaunts: Can you please tell us about yourself?
My name is Abiodun Omoyayi Sheriff, I am a graduate of Mass Communication from the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta, and I am also physically challenged.
Newsjaunts: It can be noticed that you are physically-challenged, what really led to the situation?
Actually this happened about 35 years ago, because I wasn’t born like this, I was walking normally when I was two years old then as I was told by my Mum, that I have a brief illness then, and when I was taken to the hospital, it was through the injection that they gave me that caused my paralysis, which damaged some of my joint muscles.
Newsjaunts: For some times now, that you have been using crutches, what are some of the challenges you have faced since then?
My brother, I no longer use crutches, have being confined to a wheelchair now. The challenges are enormous, most especially in our country where there are no systems in place, though they only exist in documents, but implementing them for the benefit of people living with disability is a major headache for the government at every levels because of their mischievousness.
We are only being identified with when elections is around the corner. Major challenge of being person with disability are food, shelter and transportation.
The present economic situation in the country is really taking a big tow on me and generality of people like me.
Newsjaunts: In our society today, physically challenged people are usually looked down on, with the belief that they cannot contribute any meaningful impact to the society they belong to. Now, as someone, what will you say that can change the beliefs of our people concerning the physically challenged people in our various societies?
My brother, you are very right because how the society has been designed in such a manner that will make people see people living with disability as someone being a burden or liability to the society, but the rhetorics is changing now because most people with disability now are getting more educated and seeking knowledge to improve themselves in order to prove themselves to the outside world that they have so much abilities embedded in them and now willing to unleash to people to see what God has given them as a gift or as a talent to display, not to impress but to prove a point that God created us in his own image and falls to do wonders and to preach to the unbelievers who think nothing will can come from people living with disability.
In this sense, I want to appeal to the government at every level to please give people with disability a chance to display what God has given them as a talent, as we are tired of relegating us to the program because we are living with disability, it is time to give us our own lane to run our own race, we don’t want to compete with anybody and if you want to compete we want it to be a mental competition in terms of intellectual capacity.
Newsjaunts: If you remember vividly, in our last interview, you agitated that you want to be financially-stable on your own and not relying much on people again, so, since then have you been able to achieve this?
Yes, my brother so much has been able to be achieved through the help of God and through the help of men now and now run programs both on TV and a radio station this program is designed to advocate for people living with disability and to also encourage them to go all out to do more for themselves in terms of enriching themselves been knowledge wise, by making themselves better.
Also, I have been able to cover some niche for myself in the area of my profession which is journalism, I have the magazine that I do write for and its bringing little rewards but I believe more milestones will be achieved by His grace.
Newsjaunts: What will be the advice, you will like to give our government at various level towards welfare of the physically challenged people in our society?
Thank you for this question, which is very germane for the well-being of people living with disability. I want to passionately appeal to the government at every level to please consider people living with disability most especially in this horrendous economic situation we find ourselves in Nigeria, people with disability are dying in silence some of them can no longer function because they do not see who will help them, they are lacking food, they are lacking shelter, life is becoming unbearable for them, some of them can no longer go out because of the cost of transportation to transport themselves to one point or the other.
My brother, I cannot lie to you for me to go out as a wheelchair user I need to hold nothing less than 3,000 naira just to move from one point to the other how will I survive in this economy quagmire we find ourselves in Nigeria, I want to appeal to them to please give us a special palliative to make life easy and to ease our burdens as a person living with disability.
So much is happening to us that is making us die in silence, we need prompt intervention that will redirect and reshape our lives for better.
For any assistance and support, you can reach Abiodun Omoyayi Sheriff via: 0703-321-9924 or 0708-384-7661.
