“It is a shame that despite the simplicity of the cure, hundreds and sometimes thousands of people in Nigeria die every year from this disease. The worst is that they are usually slow and ineffective in responding to this epidemic,” a community health worker, Sheun Ademola told VF.

“I was not born a blind man; rather I started having eye problem when I was four years old in my Ubulu village in Eziowelle. The problem was diagnosed as cataract on the two eyes but I was able to manage to go to primary school, although it was difficult for me to see what was written on the board with it.

The recent multiple auto accident on the Otedola Bridge along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway which claimed several lives has once again brought to the fore the question of alleged police culpability in such incidents.

Their zeal for work was palpable; which is why everyday these workers, mostly women, some with their babies resting firmly on their backs, defy sun and rain as they storm major streets of Minna, the Niger state capital, with brooms and rakes in their hands to keep the streets clean. And with time, they succeeded in transforming the once dirty environment to a more friendly and habitable place.

Trying to visit any of the communities in the Ipaja/Ayobo Local Council Development Area LCDA, in Lagos State presently can be likened to the proverbial camel striving to pass through the tiny hole of a needle. Those who have dared, usually found it a near impossible task, often ending as a traumatic experience. Apart from the man-hours lost on the road, a recent journey to this area turned out to be a complete nightmare made worse by the fact that it rained heavily on that day.