By Elizabeth Osayande & Ifunanya Ndigwe

LAGOS — For Hamzat Ganiyat, the brand-new wheelchair was not just metal and wheels. It was dignity restored. “To me, this wheelchair is a lifetime thing. How much am I earning? Before I collect salary, everything don go already. So imagine how long before I will save up to N150,000, N180,000 for chair? Thank you so much, God will bless you,” she said, tears rolling down as she received the wheelchair for her 19-year-old son.

Since January, Ganiyat had been carrying her son on her back after his old wheelchair broke. “He loves going outside,” she said. For months, she was stranded.

Her story was one of many that filled the hall when BO Foundation for Inclusive Media, BOFIM, distributed specialized computers, accessible learning materials, wheelchairs, accessible games, taking blood pressure monitor and anti-seizure medications to various disability groups across Lagos State.

“Government Cannot Do It Alone”

In an effort to support independent living and make education accessible to people with disabilities, the foundation, led by Executive Director Blessing Oladunjoye, said the intervention was inspired by real stories of struggling individuals.

“The government cannot handle the needs of the disability community alone, and these specific tools are required to help people live independent lives without being treated as second-class citizens,” Oladunjoye explained at the event.

The donation was funded by a UK-based researcher who is a member of the National Association of the Blind (NAB), Mr. Michael Fadeyi* and the Oliver family. The organisers teamed up with established local associations to find the families and schools that needed the items the most.

Computers for Classrooms, Medicine for Survival

Among the items distributed were desktop computers given to Federal Government College, FGC Ijanikin to support inclusive classrooms, specialized desktop computers, and an after-school support package of computers, accessible games and accessible learning materials like maths frame, Marburg and stylus, alongside an audible talking blood pressure monitor and footballs designed for blind players.

Ten families also received a vital three-month supply of anti-seizure medications for children with cerebral palsy, while a young adult received a brand-new wheelchair.

For caregivers battling Nigeria’s harsh economy, the medicines meant breathing space.
“If we look at it in the present day economy that we are in Nigeria, for parents that buys the medications, who know how much you’re talking about here. And it’s not easy when you buy a medication today, by the following month you want to go back there, the money is not enough to buy again, it will have increased,” one mother said emotionally.

How am I going to continue?

The event also focused on education and shelter for blind youths.

Coordinator of the Divine International Solution Center, Mr. Michael Akinyemi, started the center inside a small rented building in Lagos to give shelter to homeless children with visual impairments. He poured out gratitude to Michael Fadeyi and Oliver families, and BOFIM.

Akinyemi spoke about the emotional burden many blind students carry after secondary school:
“Many of them finish secondary school, and it become like, ‘How am I going to continue my secondary school? My primary when they finish primary, how am I going to continue my secondary school? How am I going to continue my university?’ And that give them a lot of burden in their heart.”

Despite the challenges, the center has, through community support, sent four of its students to the university to study professional courses like Law, Mass Communication, and Religion. He appealed for more corporate assistance to build permanent homes and provide basic pocket money for their university students writing exams, noting that renting spaces in Lagos is incredibly difficult.

At the Ikorodu campus of the Divine International Solution Center for the Blind, Emmanuel Dada received part of the educational and gaming tools.
“This one is going to help all our students even for their growth and understanding of their studies. So we are very grateful,” he said, promising the school would protect and maximize the new materials.

Disability as a human right, not charity

Dr Oluwafunmilayo Adekola, Director Monitoring Evaluation and Orientation, Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs, LASODA, represented the General Manager of LASODA, Mrs Adenike Oyetunde-Lawal,who was away on official state duties.

Dr Adekola emphasized that under the Lagos State Special People’s Law, disability is no longer looked at as a matter of pity or charity, but as a matter of human rights.

While praising BOFIM and its partners, she noted that specialized tools like accessible computers are highly expensive and require private partnerships to augment government efforts.

“We also want to encourage the recipient to please make good use of these things because it goes a long way for you to receive it and make sure that you use it to enhance your well-being and make your own contribution into the society as well,” she said.