How Nigerian Paralympics heroes are reduced to beggars and touts

 – The country’s incapacitated athletes have been abandoned despite their exploits during international competitions.

– They seek an empowering environment in a bid to help their career and feed their family

– They become street ragamuffins and hoodlums as a means of survival

“We are all sports men here and for us to sustain, we need to come to the bus stop where we sustain with the buses to earn a living,” Olatunji Lawal who beg for alms under the bridge told NAIJ.com.

“At least, if I see one thousand eight hundred or one thousand five (N1,800/N1,500), I will manage with my family till the next day.”

“I am married and have even kids.

These were the words of Lawal who represented Nigeria in different International wheelchair basketball tournaments. However, he now begs under the bridge facing the National stadium in Lagos to fend for his family and kids.

“I won’t be here. I will face my sports fully. There is a place called disabled town in South Africa, if we can have such a place [in Nigeria] where all disabled can work, we will be very glad,” He said hoping that the federal government can help him and his teammates

Nigeria’s hopes of an impressive showing at international sports championships usually lies on the shoulders of a large contingent of able bodied athletes, yet they return home empty handed or at worst, a medal or two around their necks.

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When the Olympics for example is over, some Nigerians switch off their television set and forget that the Paralympics begins immediately after. The rejected stone in all of this – that is the athletes with disability, then become the cornerstones.

They turn our weary faces into smiling ones, winning gold medal after gold medal, writing their names in the history books.

The exploits of Yakubu Adesokan who shattered the world record in the power lifting event at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games, Ruel Ishaku who became the cynosure of all eyes when he set a new world record with his fourth lift at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, and Lucy Ejike who set the world record twice in her first two attempts at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, can never be forgotten.

The United States of America boast of Trischa Zorn. Meanwhile, Nigerian has the blind runner in Adekunle Adesoji who still holds the honor of being the first blind man to sprint 100m in under 11seconds.

Nigerian special athletes however, have won an amazing 22 Gold medals in just six appearances at the Paralympics games, a far cry from a meager two gold medals won by able bodied men and women at the Olympic Games in 18 appearances.

In-spite of their heroics, under the National Stadium Bridge, Surulere is not where they should be found.

Challenges and expectations

NAIJ.com meets the founder, amputee football club, supporters’ club of Nigeria and the Nigeria power lifting coach Prince Feyisetan Are. He shares his painful ordeal on why the heroes have taken solace under the bridge for survival.

“The reason why you see them outside is that they want to do sports but at the end of the day they are not getting anything from sports. I represented Nigeria and Lagos state, up till today I’m not under any employment,” he said.

“If I train an athlete for Lagos state and that athlete finds another state and he/she wants to go, will I hold her or him? This athlete is a physically challenged person like me.

“His father and mother does not believe he is a physically challenged person. Whatever the abled had to do, he has to do the same thing. Delta, Rivers and other states employ. I, as a coach, I will not hold on to these athletes. I don’t want them to become beggar.”

“I have been in sports for over twenty something years where I started as a table tennis player. Today, most of my [able-bodied] colleagues are army, naval and police officers. You can talk about Chioma Ajuma, but I cannot join anything because I cannot even become a cook in the Nigeria police because they won’t take me,” Are laments.

He said that it is not easy to survive in Nigeria, and instead of them to join bad gangs, they opted for work at the motor-park.

“How do I survive? Tomorrow if I join gangs and start carrying gun, people will say that is not supposed to be so. These boys [disabled athletes] refuse not to do so [carry guns] and they decide to go into transportation in order to survive.”

Speaking about the challenges faced on a daily basis, he said: “We have lots of challenges. Some don’t have houses yet they are doing sports – that is the first thing. Some of them us married and some husbands have chased their wives out as they need money to survive. Some take hire purchase [of buses] and before you know it, LASTMA is chasing them all about.

“If other disabled are afraid of death, we are not afraid of death because a disabled person is dead already. We have part of our body in heaven and part of our body on earth. We are not afraid.”

“The federal government is not doing anything. How many disabled are they giving money? Go to local governments, they give area boys package, what is the package for the physically challenged?”

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In another chat with NAIJ.com, Chimudu Michael said after he won a gold medal at the National Sports Festival, no one contacted him.

“I participated in the 2009 National Sports Festival in Kaduna where I won a gold medal. And from that time till now, we have not been given anything. We were promised heaven and earth – even landed properties and employment but we have got nothing.”

“They are aware of this because we gathered ourselves to make noise, talk to government, talk to officials and those who took us to the festival, yet they did nothing.

“I feel bad because it is not supposed to be so. The government knows what to do because as a gold medalist, I know where I ought to be by now. And because we are left abandoned, that is why you see us under the bridge here.”

Disabled athletes motor association

The athletes came together to form an association which would cater for them. Their mission is to help motors call out to passerby to board the cars or buses moving towards their direction. They get from N100 to N50 from per vehicle, which would be later shared among them.

“It is by the grace of God, if you can see all these motors (disabled association),most of us are feeding from it. If not for it, we would have been dead by now.’

Sometimes people call them motor park touts on a several occasion a title which they rejects: “If anybody call me ‘agbero’ or ‘omo ita’ or all those kind of names, I don’t like it because I am a national figure and I’m not supposed to be here but it is so because of the way things are.”

Way forward

To compensate these paralympians, policies on disability should be observed.

Nonetheless, some experts told NAIJ.com that, sensitization and training of agencies responsible for implementation; strengthening of Advocacy by disabled population; greater public sensitization about disabled rights; better oversight by National Assembly of agencies charged with implementing policy and so on.

The disabled are owed a duty of care and protection as citizens of Nigeria. It is imperative to note that, diversity is not just in tribe and tongue or religion but also in ability and disability.

Please watch the video below:

There was Esther Oyema (female weightlifter)  at the London 2012 Paralympics, lifting a record-breaking 135 KG.

However, not everyone can achieve such feats, but the achievements of paralympians remind all of us of that when given support, when given education, when given opportunity, the disabled population can reach their fullest potential and contribute greatly to the productivity and progress of the nation.

Speaking with NAIJ.com, a Lagos based Lawyer, Barrister Iwuala Ugonabo Raymond said there is no legal duty bonding the Federal government to the disables:

“If you talk of their welfare the government have no legal or contractual duty to them. Except there is a contract signed between government and them or welfare is provided for in their terms of contract. Every male duty is responsible for his/her self.

“The stakeholders in sport sector should press the state or federal legislature to pass a law that will take care of the disabled.

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The legal practitioner sighted harsh conditions in the federation for the problems faced by the athletes: “harsh economic reality of the times.”

Points to be noted

The first organised athletics day for disabled athletes that coincided with the Olympic Games took place on the day of the opening of the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.

The first official Paralympic Games, was held in Rome in 1960. Since then, Paralympics has taken place once every four years. In 1976, the first Winter games were held in Sweden.

Nigeria made its Summer Paralympic debut at the 1992 and it has participated in every edition of the Summer Games since then 22 gold medals, 11 silver, and 12 bronze medal.

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