By Correspondent in Lokoja.
Residents of Agassa, Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State and indeed, Central Senatorial district of the state have been thrown into upset and sympathy as one of their own, a struggling amputee vulcanizer,Mal. Dauda Sheidu, (40), has again been struck by a tragic event.
Poor Sheidu critically down in the hospital.
Our Correspondent reports that Sheidu, was involved in a motorcycle accident few on Sunday at Agassa junction close to his workshop while warming to receive modern Tyre Changer, wheel balancing auto machine from Natasha Akpoti, a notable politician in kogi state.
The highly determined amputee,who suffered dislocation of one of his right leg, is howeverr,i one of the hospitals in the area.
Narrating the nature of the accident in an interview with our Correspondent at Agassa, a relation of the victim, Siyaka Shaibu, said that that the incident occurred at about 9a.m on Sunday when Sheidu, who was on his motorcycle from Obehira community enroute Agassa, was involved in an accident with a commercial motorcyclist at Agassa junction opposite his workshop.
The eye witness, who is also a vulcanizer, added that the vulcanizer was taken to a hospital at Agassa where medical personnel successfully battled to safe his life.
A medical personnel,who preferred anonymous but attended to Sheidu, confirmed that he sustained “bone fracture” on his left leg, adding that his condition remained critical.
Also speaking to our correspondent in Okene,Abdullateef Dele, who taught Sheidu the act of vulcanizing, wondered why this type of incident happened to the amputee,after the first motorcycle accident that claimed his left hand some years ago.
Going memory lane, he said that Sheidu lost his father at a tender age , noting that it was his mother who took care of him and his other siblings.
Dele, who is also the Vice Chairman, Association of Vulcanizer of Nigeria (AVN), Kogi Central senatorial district branch, revealed that the amputee ,who is had been passing through turbulent situations in life.
He wondered why the second accident should happen to Sheidu when a philanthropist in the person of Natasha Akpoti had promised to change his life for the better as a result of his pitiable condition.
“What a sad fate that befalls this young man. I taught Dauda Sheidu vulcanizing skill and he graduated after he acquired all the needed skills to stand on his own.
“Sadly, less than 24 hours for him to open his workshop in 2002 , he was involved in a ghastly motorcycle accident at check point in Okene, where he lost his right arm on the spot.
“Dauda remained in Okene hospital for upward of one year before he was discharged.
“Being a determined person who always want to pursue his ambition, against all odds, he still chooses to practice his trade with one hand.
“Every body,including me that trained him, did not believe that he can still do the job after he lost one of his hands.
“Alas with faith and the passion he had for the job, he was able to put body and soul together to practice the trade and through the job he was able to marry and gave birth to children some of who are in secondary school.
“Ironically, just four days for this young man to receive a gift of his life , working tools that would have changed his life for the better, then another accident came to further distance him from receiving the tools,” he recalled.
Our Correspondent recalled that Barrister Natasha Akpoti,the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate in the Kogi State 2019 Governorship election, recently acquired a multimillion naira state-of-the art equipment to be handed over to Sheidu, to make his operations easier and seamless.
Akpoti,after receiving the German-made European Twin Busch machine in Abuja, expressed optimism that the gesture would help to strengthen the faith of other persons living with disabilities and to further stress the truism that,there is indeed, ability in disability.
She fixed December 9, 2021 to personally hand over the modern equipment to the industrious vulcanizer, as part of the events marking her 42nd birthday.
Sheidu was recently celebrated in the social media for his strong determination to make it in life, through hard work and sense of optimism, in spite his amputee condition then.
.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
