BY Esther Onyegbula

A man on crutches recently came to Vanguard’s head offices in Apapa, and requested to see the Editor. He was directed to the Newsroom where the man, later discovered to have been employed as a policeman narrated his ordeal and the experience that led him to walking with crutches. His story:

“We have been living in a different world of depression, hardship, penury and uncertainty since I got involved in this accident. All efforts to get help for my corrective surgery have not yielded desired results. I sold two of my commercial buses, and my house which was near completion for my treatment yet, no improvement. Two of my sons in the university have dropped out because I can’t afford to pay their school fees.

Adamson

“My wife and children have been doing all they can to help the situation yet, life is getting more unbearable on daily basis.”
This is the heart-rending lamentations of Adamson Ayomide, 43, residing at No 25, Nurudeen Street, Ejigbo, a native of Epe in Lagos state, when he visited Vanguard recently.

All was well with Adamson Ayomide, a policeman and his family till 2009, when a hit-and-run commercial motorcyclist hit him in front of his residence and things began to fall apart.

Narrating his ordeal, Adamson said: “Before I got involved in this accident, I had concluded plans to travel out of the country, all my traveling documents were ready and my flight had been scheduled for November 18, 2009, when I had this unfortunate accident on November 12 which ruined my life.

“I had returned from the US embassy, I parked my car when a friend asked to see me. We were discussing in front of my house when a commercial motorcyclist popularly called okada, came out from nowhere and hit me.

I fell down inside the drainage along the road, before people rescued me. After I was rescued, I discovered that my left leg has been detached completely while my right leg and arm had fractures. The bike man ran away abandoning his bike, which was later taken to the police station.

“Initially, I was taken to Ikeja General Hospital, where I spent more than N450,000 for the 21 days I stayed in that hospital. When it became obvious that I could no longer stay there because of non- availability of bed space, my parents took me to traditional bone setters at Igbokoda in Ondo state. The incident happened during the Under-17 World Cup  which Nigeria hosted.

“I spent four years at Igbokoda and I came back after all our resources have been exhausted, yet the wound refused to heal and the bones not properly set. I sold two of my commercial buses and my house which is near completion to raise money for the treatment of my leg.

“This time, I went back to the hospital so that they can set the bone. But, the doctors said that I needed bone surgery to enable me walk again. The cost of the surgery was put at N1.250m. Since then, I have been going up and down, seeking assistance and help from people to see how I can raise money for the surgery without success.

“Since the incident, my wife has been very supportive and caring in the face of all these challenges. During the time when this accident happened, she had a shop located in Ejigbo Powerline which was later demolished by the government. She had to abandon her business to cater for me in the hospital and at Igbokoda. Right now, she is not doing anything and I can’t walk, let alone provide for my family.

“Please, I need help. At nights I can’t sleep because of severe pains. My account number is 4015103816, Ikotun branch of Mainstreet Bank.  This is why I have come here so that Nigerians and indeed, the good people of Lagos state, would read this and come to my rescue,” he said with tears in his eyes.