Ngozi Blessing Onu was born in the family of Mr and Mrs Cletus Onu who hailed from Isiagu in Ebonyi state. She is the sixth born in a family of eight. Ngozi who grew up in Mokwa, Niger State also attended primary and secondary school in the same town. A former staff of MTEL or NITEL where she worked as a customer care agent and currently, she is working with Nigerian Universities Commission where she is working in the call centre department. Ngozi who is an industrious woman with disability is professional hair stylist and a beautician. Even at the course of her work in her former job, she found time to acquire OND and HND from Akwaibom Polytechnic distance learning in Abuja.
In this interview, she spoke exclusively on her growing up, coping with her disability and her exploit in entrepreneurship.
Can you recall how your disability came about?
My disability is as a result of polio, it happened when I was age five, I had malaria and my mother took me to hospital and I was given an injection and that was the beginning of what you see today. My mother lived with that guilt until she died because she was thinking that assumed, I was not given an injection, I would have not gone down with polio.
This disability at a tender age, how did it affect your early life?
Growing up seeing myself this way, as a child, I was depressed because I found myself different from my peers. At that time, I was always hiding inside, I totally disassociated myself from the public, and even when I tried to come out, my peers would be mimicking the way I move and I would go back to my hiding. The act lasted for so long to the extent that I lost over 2 years before I started school. My immediate young brother had to go ahead of me in class because of this act. After sometimes, I came out of the trauma and started school.
Another challenge surfaced because my family house-help was carrying me to and fro to school every day. There were times I would be the only one left on the school premises, waiting for her for two to three hours after the close of school. This continued until one day that she forgot to come. I summoned courage to join other pupils home even though I had to crawl on the ground. It was usually a horrible experience because all my legs peeled. Sometimes, my schoolmates took turns to carry me on their backs. They were very supportive all through that difficult period of my life and I am very grateful to all of them. At times, in order to avoid the pity from people, I would wake up early and crawl to school before others will come. I would also wait and crawl back home when there would be less attention on me. That’s how I continued until I finished primary school and some part of my secondary school. I refused to use crutches; I used a wooden walking stick in later part of my secondary school.
The whole of my life changed on the day I followed my mother to the market. I saw other persons with disabilities happy going about and engaging themselves in one trade or another. I became challenged. Then I told my parents to stop paying my school. I engaged in selling groundnut, eggs and so many other things and that’s how I continued until trained myself from primary 6 to the end of my secondary school.
Most parents made relentless efforts to their children affected by polio walk come back on their feet, can you recall what you were told about these efforts?
The effort of my parents as I was told was much even though they couldn’t afford to take me to hospital, they fought hard to see me walk again, they took me to so many places. There was a place my skin was badly cut with shape knife some concoction were applied on it. I was even taken to some place where live frog was place on waist with the hope that its movement would force me to get up and walk. There was also a place where my legs were buried on ground to get them stretched. These efforts couldn’t meet my parents’ expectations but it yielded little result because initially my legs had no feeling but I started feeling it after these treatments, I began to feel hurt when I am pinched.
When you were growing up as a person living with disability, did you face any form of discrimination?
Screamed Yes! Many people don’t believe I can do much in life, they practically look down on me but there were many who encouraged me especially when I engaged myself in hairdressing. It made me become self-reliant, I took care of my bills and my schooling, till date my exploits in life is challenging even the able-bodied people.
At that stage of your life, what are the challenges you faced?
Hmmm I faced a lot of challenges especially moving from one place to another and also trying to do things that I would have loved to do. It was frustrating, it was always making feel sober, wanting to cry at times.
Did you have the full support of your family, what was their attitude towards you?
My family have been very supportive. They showed me a lot of love and never make me feel that I am not complete in any way. I have never been seen or treated as a person living with a disability in my family. They are the best gift God have given to me. Infact, it was my brother that encourage me to go for a certified hairdressing school after my secondary school, I got the certificate in 1999 and I graduated from making hair locally where I was selling groundnuts and eggs to setting up a hairdressing shop where I trained over 13girls and all of them are doing so well today, some of them have even left this country to overseas with the help of what I taught them.
Do you get undue favour all the time because of your disability?
I have enjoyed favour from a lot of people but it all started when I started to believe in myself by discovering the abilities in my disability. It is also good to note that there have been times when I had to fight very hard to get some things.
Have people tried to oppress or take advantage of you as a result of your disability?
It is normal but by the Grace of God, I have always prevailed. God’s purpose in my life has been realized, even with the disability it has been amazing, many are marveled about the height I have attained today.
What is that you think disability took away from you?
Moving from one place to another is my major worry for living with disability. I have had to cancel a lot of appointments that could have changed my life because I am not able to access some places. It is heartbroken and discouraging but I always look forward to better days.
Despite your disability, you have been able to achieve a lot, how did you do it?
After my secondary education, I continued with making hair locally and my petty trading until my brother advised me to go for a certified hairdressing school, thereafter, I established my hairdressing saloon in 1999, where I trained about 13 girls. Later I relocated to Abuja, I continued with the hairdressing, it was there that a woman saw me and assisted me to get a job in MTEL, in the course of the job, I enrolled in Akwa Ibom polytechnic distance learning where I acquired OND and HND in Public Administration.
I worked in Mtel for 7years as a call center agent before the disengagement of all the staff in 2010 and 2011, I got my current job in National universities commission where I am working as a telephone operator. Apart from my white-collar job, I have always upgraded myself, if you see my handwork, you will know that I am good in what I am doing. I engaged in the production of oil for the maintenance of hair such as coconut oil, carrot oil, lemon oil, lime oil etc and my product is organic. I got the formula through reading some manuals online. I followed the techniques and added my own style and creativity to it. The idea came from being inquisitive about knowing more about the oil I used in my saloon. I researched, got some hints, practicalize them and that how I become a producer of oil today. I introduced them to my customers and they confirmed that they are effective. It is now another source of income for me.
One of the greatest challenge of people with disabilities is employment, how do you manage to get job easily?
To be honest, I have never looked for job. The first job I got was just that a woman saw me at my saloon and offered to give me a job as a customer care agent at MTEL. I was chosen because I have flair for many Nigerian languages. I speak my language Igbo; I speak Hausa because I was born in the north and I speak many other languages because I can learn a language by just staying with a particular tribe for few weeks. Its like a gift that I have. It happens to be what they were looking for. Even my present job, I was taken at one attempt.
Relationship is one area that people with disabilities suffer a lot of discrimination, what is the situation around your relationship?
Hmmm, for now I can’t boast of any but I have found fulfillment with the two children I adopted who are with me now. They give me a lot of joy and they mean the whole world to me. If I see a committed man, surely, I will settle with him. Mind you I am not desperate; I am comfortable and open for serious minded person.
What is motivating you to always want to achieve more?
I want to be seen as a solution provider or a problem solver. I want to be an example to many, a role model. Someone that even the able-bodied people will be looking up to.
What is your advice to other People with disabilities?
Discover yourself and make use of your ability. Disability is not an excuse for failure in life. If the government is not helping you. You should try and discover your inherent potential and help yourself. Remember that as a person with disability once you engage yourself in any trade and perfect it, you will surely succeed because it is always extraordinary before the public. If I didn’t take up the challenge when I was growing up, I won’t be where I am today. Instance, it was at my saloon that I was picked and was given my first job. If I was begging on the street, nobody will know that I have any skill. I urge all people with disabilities who still subject themselves to pitiable state to come up and engage in something more meaningful. God will surely bless your effort.
What are your life aspirations?
Be an example to many all over the world, again since my childhood aspiration was to become a medical doctor, I will train one of my adopted children to be a medical doctor. It is my wish to promote my organic hair oil and build it to become a big industry in the nearest future.
What are the lessons you have learnt living with disability?
It has been quite a lot of experiences living with disability and many lessons has been learnt on the line. I have learnt that disability is not an obstacle to success but an opportunity to motivate others.
There is a lot of good things emanating from living with disability because it makes unique and all that you are doing will appear unique to the public and that how they are also appreciating it. It is an advantage to any person with disability who will toe that line of thinking and embrace things that propagate his or her uniqueness. For instance, in my hair dressing saloon, I had a lot of customers because I am good in the trade and also, I am living with disability, many were coming to see how I am doing it. My saloon was so popular that I had up to 13 apprentices working for me. Through my help, they have all established themselves and are very successful today. It is something to be proud of.
As I come to Abuja, I continued my art of hairdressing where I met a woman who helped me secure a government job, and with the help of the job, I enrolled in school, thank God, I can now boast of Higher National Diploma in Public Administration.
The hunger for success and doing unique things, I discovered how produce coconut oil, carrot oil and several others which are in hot demand. I thank God for the height this is taking me.
Parting Words?
I thank The Qualitative Magazine for dedicating the medium for the promotion of the exploits of the people with disabilities and bringing to the fore the plights of the people with disabilities. I urge you to keep it up. I wonder how it is being funded knowing the attitude of people towards issues of disability. Let me use this opportunity to call on well-meaning Nigerians to support this magazine because disability issues should be our business. It is a known fact that as long as you live, you must surely have disability. A gesture to promote disability issues is not a waste but an art of building a better future for yourself and others.
