•Father, 96, bedridden for 45 years
From Geoffrey Anyanwu, Enugu
When in 2013 Chief Okechukwu Ilonze of Abatete, in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, and another person decided to assist blind Eloka Obi in his educational pursuits, he (Ilonze) was hoping that it would guarantee the blind young man better opportunities in life.
The 42-year-old Obi, who is now a lawyer, had approached Ilonze after his secondary education at the Christ the King College (CKC), Onitsha, for sponsorship in the university when he passed the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination. He was lucky to receive a positive answer.
Ilonze and Obi had believed that acquiring tertiary education would make it duty-bound for government to give the latter job, as a physically challenged person. But, no, that was not the case.
After sponsoring the young man to study law at University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, going to the Law School in Lagos and doing his mandatory one-year Youth Service at Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja, the visually-impaired lawyer was denied employment. He is now roaming the streets of Anambra State looking for a job.
A visit to Obi’s home in Elu Awgbu village, Abatete, would explain why he fought hard to acquire education to lift the status of his humble family. He is the first child of a family of seven children and supposed breadwinner of the family, as his 96-year-old father, Brendan Obi, has been bedridden for about 45 years now.
Narrating his story to Daily Sun, Eloka Obi said: “I am 42 years old. I graduated from University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, in 2018, I studied law and went to the Nigeria Law School, Lagos campus, in 2019. I was called to bar the same year, November, to be precise. I made 2.2 both at UNEC and Law School. I served with the Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja, in 2020. I attended Awgbu Central School, Abatete. When I lost my sight, I attended Basen Special Education, at Isulo, Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State. From there, I proceeded to Christ the King Colllege, Onitsha. Thereafter, I went to study law at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.
“I lost my sight in 2005 as a result of an eye disease called glaucoma; then I was 25. My father is 96 years old and he is bedridden. My mother is a peasant farmer and she is 74, not doing much. I am the first son of seven children. I was sponsored by Chief Okechukwu Ilonze and Dominic Ekesi.”
On his job-seeking adventure, he said: “I am doing nothing presently because, when I served in Abuja, I was thinking that they would retain me. I tried my best but it didn’t work out. I later came to Anambra State and went to the attorney-general. I explained to her and submitted my credentials, because Anambra State government employed 100 lawyers last year. I submitted my credentials also to the civil service commission. I met the attorney-general and she told me to go to the special adviser to the governor on disability matters, which I did. I went and explained to the special adviser on disability matters to Governor Willie Obiano and he sent names of those living with disabilities but I was surprised, when the employment list came out, I was not employed. I took my case to our association; I wrote a letter to them to inform the attorney-general and the civil service commission to accord all the privileges and rights given to those living with disabilities in Anambra State to me. Yet, when the employment list came out, my name was not there. Now I am doing nothing, I am jobless. I am just managing myself. I went to some chambers, but they keep discriminating against me because of my disability. So, I am not doing anything for now.
“What I am asking is for Governor Obiano to help me so that I will be employed in Anambra State Ministry of Justice or any other place so that I can better my life, instead of wasting like this. I am also begging the Federal Ministry of Justice, where I served (NYSC), if they can call me, because they know me there. I even met the permanent secretary there. They told me that the best thing I should do was to go and submit my credentials to Federal Civil Service Commission, which I did, and they said I should be hoping. But since then, they have not called me. I served in 2020 with the Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja. I was in the Citizen Rights Department. My family is looking unto me for their salvation. I don’t want to be idle and I don’t want to be a liability to anyone.”
Ilonze has found it difficult to believe that the blind lawyer was still without a job. He recalled how Eloka Obi and his younger brother came to him in 2013 and told him of his predicament and how he decided to sponsor his university education and went ahead to accomplish his promise.
He is, however, disappointed that Obi is still jobless. “My hope had been that, having trained him, the government and Good Samaritans would take over from where I stopped and offer him a good job so that it will encourage other physically challenged people. If a challenged person strives to go to school, the government should offer them jobs when they graduate.
“I am calling on government to offer Eloka a lucrative job, as such will encourage other challenged people to be off the streets where they constitute a nuisance by begging. When you go to the civilized nations, even if there are only three spaces for employment and there are three challenged people, they offer them to the challenged people. That is how to build society; building society is not by discriminating against people that are challenged. Their brains are not challenged; even if their brains are challenged, there are ways to manage them. People like Eloka should be sought after for employment, not them looking for jobs. Government agencies should look for them, make special advertisement for job opportunities, that they are looking for challenged people who can fill the gaps. That is how to promote society where nobody is discriminated against.”
