By Bose Adelaja

David rebuilt his life after being captured by Sierra Leonian rebels who amputated him.

David Anyaele’s story is better imagined than experienced. As a youth, he traveled in search of the golden fleece but ended up with rebels who amputated his hands. His pleas to spare his life and take possession of his valuable materials yielded no result. David writhed in pains as his hands were amputated and, today, he is left to suffer his fate alone.

In spite of this, however, David’s hope was never dampened as he returned to Nigeria full of vigour while numerous of his colleagues who suffered the same fate with him have gone to the great beyond.

Back home, his neighbours refused to identify with him and to compound his trauma, his fiancee of many years also turned her back on him. Against all odds, he made up his mind to make something out of life.  Today, David is more fulfilled in his life ambition.  As an amputee, he has impacted on many lives positively through a non-governmental organisation for the disabled, CCD Nigeria. He is married to Anne and they are blessed with two kids.

Taking Sunday Vanguard through his story, he said after he received tutelage from his parents who were merchants in his native of Igbere, in Abia State, he  swung into exportation of garlic to Sao Tome and Angola.  He operated under the business name, MyDavid International Ltd. This was after his tertiary education at University of Education, Ghana.

Since his business was doing well in some countries, he took a step further to Liberia and Sierra Leone after a viability study. Due to the raging war in Liberia, he was left with the option of settling down in Sierra Leone, a country just recovering from war and needed to start from the scratch. This was at a time when Nigerian herbs and other things were accepted in the sub region, before the incursion of Chinese herbs into the region..

Having enjoyed much patronage in the business, David and his men decided to extend their tentacles to other parts of the world, not knowing this will be the genesis of a new era in his life. While they were counting their blessings, they didn’t know the environment that has brought them fortune would become hostile within a twinkle of an eye as the rebels struck at a time David did not envisage any danger.

“There was a dusk to dawn curfew and we were advised not to move out of our homes for security reasons.  So, we stayed indoors for several days, relying on BBC for reports of what was going on outside. It was at this point that the rebels struck. They were able to discover where we lived with the help of some Sierra Leoneans who had become jealous of our success stories and had threatened to reveal our identity to the rebels. That time, it was the vogue to tune to Liberian radio stations and hear their senators and other highly placed citizens inciting Sierra Leoneans against the Nigerian contingent in ECOMOG and other Nigerians,’‘ he explained.

“Before we knew what was happening, the rebels invaded our homes and I tried to escape by jumping out through the window into the cemetery, which was the next compound and they also jumped there and captured me”.

After capturing him and many other Nigerians, their assailants dragged them to a camp where they made life unbearable for them.  “They dragged me and other captured Nigerians to a camp and there, one after the other, we were amputated. Many Nigerians who could not stand the pains died in the process, but I made up my mind to survive. The rebels first amputated my left hand and when they asked for the right hand, I pleaded with them to spare that, offering them all the valuables in my pocket and even directed them to my warehouse to pick whatever they wanted.  But they declined, saying it was not about money, it was about sending a message to the Federal Government of Nigeria through us, so they cut my right hand”, he recounted.

As if the amputation was not enough, they also poured petrol on his body before leaving him to his own fate.  “Because I protested, they also poured petrol on my body and set me on fire. After all this, I trekked several kilometres with the burns and the stump that my arm had become, before I was able to meet somebody that helped me to the Nigerian military camp, where I was attended to and later flown in a military airplane to the Military Hospital, Yaba, and attended to by doctors and surgeons and was certified stable and discharged on August 30, 1999″.

The physically challenged feels more pains when he is deserted by  loved ones; David experienced this in his journey of life.  “Another shock I got was from my fiancee, Ngozi, who had introduced another man to her family while I was in hospital, thereby closing the possibility of any relationship with her. Then I also decided that if I was able to get prosthesis, I would be able to help myself more and do some things without help.  So, I discussed with some people who were sympathetic to my cause and the quest to get the prosthesis began.

“We contacted a German physician who said we could get it at the rate of N5 million per pair and so we did all we could, but we couldn’t raise N5 million. I went everywhere, including my state government in Abia State, but no way, until my brothers and sisters from other parts of Nigeria took it up. They are, Mrs Titi Adebayo, Bayo Olowoake, Lanre Osaze, Mrs Ezinwa Ikenna and Dr Chuks Ozanife among others, who organised a fund raiser on December 30, 2002. At the occasion, they raised N5 million for the prosthesis and we went to Germany to get it. After this, I was able to do a number of things unaided. I could take care of most of my needs, use the computer and so on.

“However, the functions of the prosthesis, which I have been using for seven years, have collapsed by 60 per cent now. The facility is only able to perform 40 per cent of its functions and so needs replacement which costs N7 million and can only be procured in Germany”. To maintain the old one, he had had to visit Germany once a year and this costs him N1million, because there is no alternative any where yet in Africa.

In spite of his pains as an amputee, David believes there is always a way out of every problem.