First Lady urges Nigerians to strive to overcome challenges

First Lady urges Nigerians to strive to overcome challenges
Gloria Essien, Abuja

The wife of the Nigerian president, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, has called on Nigerians to learn from people with disability who have contributed much to humanity despite their challenges.

Mrs Jonathan made the call in Abuja, the capital while distributing wheelchairs and solar lamps to physically challenged persons.

She said “It is worthy of note that the history of the World will not be complete without due recognition and appreciation of the contributions of great men and women who turned their challenges into lifelong blessings.”

Mrs. Jonathan noted that these courageous people have continued to surprise the World with their belief, determination and strength which have amazingly turned their disability into ability.

Great people with disability

The First Lady cited great people who have contributed to world development like Albert Einstein, the greatest physicist and mathematician who was autistic and could not speak early in life.

Others mentioned by her were:

•      Thomas Edison who invented the light bulb in the 19th century although he was partially blind and had a learning disability as a child and
•         Helen Keller, an activist, socialist and author who was deaf, mute and blind and was the first blind person to acquire a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Appreciation

The first lady thanked the UCP Wheels and Africa Focus Incorporated, both NGOs, who partnered with her A. Aruera Reach-out Foundation to provide the wheelchairs and Mr Fu-Tien Liu of the Taiwan Mission to Nigeria for donating the solar lamps.

Mr. Liu, in his remark lauded the First lady’s efforts at reaching the needy through her NGO and said “Taiwan is ready to assist in any possible way’’.

The President of the Joint Association of People with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Abdul Nasir, in his vote of thanks, urged Nigerians to stop treating disability as a charity issue, saying that what they needed was encouragement from the public and not pity.

 “I thank the First Lady for her encouragement always, this is the first ever disability-friendly government and for her contributions we are conferring on her the ‘Pillar of Disabled People’,’’ Mr. Nasir said.

A supervisor for an NGO who oversees the FCT vocational and rehabilitation centre, Mr Martin Musa, Bwari, noted that “this is a welcome development; it will enable the students move easily from their hostels to the dining and their classrooms because it was an uphill task before.’’

A student of the Kuje School for the Handicapped, Tobi Gbarugba, who shared a wheelchair with another schoolmate thanked the First Lady and prayed for ‘long life and good friends for her’.

In a related event, the First Lady donated dialysis machines to some states and pleaded with some governors’ wives who were present to ensure their proper usage to help save lives in their domain.

Mrs Judith Amaechi, the Rivers State Governor’s wife thanked the President’s wife for the machines, wheel chairs and solar lamps saying, “life saving is the best thing you can give to humanity’’.

Waziri/Ekata