The Executive Director of the Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), Mr David Anyaele, has revealed how President Bola Tinubu rehabilitated him after Sierra Leone rebels amputated his hands in 1999.
Anyaele spoke on Friday evening during the Nkata Umuibe, a monthly speakers’ series organised by the Centre for Memories (CFM), Enugu, with the theme ‘Onye Aghana Nwanne Ya’.
He explained that the assailants were fighters of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which waged war in Sierra Leone between 1991 and 2002.
The disability rights activist said he wrote to various governments, including Southeast governors, seeking support after his ordeal was televised, but his requests were rejected.
According to him, he later sent the same appeal to then Lagos governor Bola Tinubu, who directed doctors to examine him.
Medical reports recommended overseas treatment, leading to his rehabilitation in Germany, where artificial hands were fitted.
“I must thank the Tinubu administration and the good people of Lagos State for their hospitality,” Anyaele said.
He lamented that living with disability in Igboland often meant enduring discrimination and neglect.
Recounting his ordeal, Anyaele said he was on a business trip to Freetown when he was attacked solely because he was Nigerian.
He recalled that his pleas not to be mutilated were ignored, stressing that many Nigerians faced similar inhuman treatment during Sierra Leone’s civil war.
He said Nigerian-led ECOMOG troops rescued him while he lay in pain and rushed him to hospital, saving his life.
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“That experience changed my world as I suddenly found myself in the disability community, without knowing what the future held,” he said.
He added that he was subjected to stigma, discrimination, isolation, and exclusion because of his disability.
Appealing to Igbos, Anyaele urged them not to discriminate against persons with disabilities but to embrace inclusion, noting disability could happen to anyone anytime.
He commended Gov. Alex Otti for establishing the Abia State Disability Commission and urged Gov. Peter Mbah to replicate it in Enugu State. (NAN)