ABILITY IN DISABILITY

Today I came across another not so lazy youth...a blind young man who, rather than beg, decided to sell water to earn money to keep body and soul together.

My friend, Kabir Abasaya, and I went to Ƴantumaki in Ɗanmusa Local Government Area, a distance of about 100 kilometres from Katsina on a condolence visit. When it was time to pray, a young chap came in pulling a water cart, containing about a dozen jerrycans of water. As I saw nothing unusual about him, I paid no attention to him. Suddenly I heard a little commotion and I turned to see what it was. It turned out that the lad, while pouring the water from the jerrycan into a drum, misjudged and was pouring the water on the floor. He was immediately guided and he corrected his mistake.

I overheard someone say the guy was blind, that's why he misjudged. I, immediately, took an interest in him. After the condolence, we traced the boy to the water source where people queued to get water from a borehole. There, I met Isiya Bello, waiting patiently for his turn.

When I asked him how he was able to do that in his condition, he said he knew most of the places by memory, so it was easy for him to find the places. He even told me he could also take out weeds in the farm. That he was able to distinguish between the plant and the weeds because he could faintly see the greenish colour of the plant which was usually taller than the weeds.

I hope our lazy youths would borrow a leaf from this blind poor youth and learn to fend for themselves.

Ahmed Abdulkadir

I am a Broadcast Regulator, based in Katsina. I retired as the Zonal Director, National Broadcasting Commission, Maiduguri Zone. I earned a Master's in Development Studies from Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria; a Bachelor of Education in Language Arts from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria; a Nigeria Certificate in Education; a Diploma in Journalism; a Certificate in Communication Research and a Certificate in Radio Journalism and Management.

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