Ten years ago, April 14, 2014 as the parents of the abducted 276 Chibok Schoolgirls in Borno State were devastated over the kidnap of their children, another native of Chibok, Hausa Chibok was worried over the fate of her two and half year old son, Ali Ahmadu.
The toddler met a terrible fate when one of the Boko Haram Terrorists who came to kidnap the Chibok girls that fateful night, ran over him with his motorcycle, which left a major damage in his spinal cord.
“Ali and his parents lived behind the school. The night when the attack happened, Ali’s mother was running with him when he fell down. One of the Boko Haram terrorists climbed Ali’s with a motorcycle and he was left for dead,” Nuhu Kwajafa, the Founder of a Non-governmental Organisation(NGO), Global Initiative for Peace, Love and Care, who has been following the case narrated to NewsNGR.
For three years, Ali’s parents who had no money to take him to the hospital resorted to traditional remedies until one day, when Kwajafa heard about his case.
“In 2017, someone came up to my organisaton to tell us about Ali’s situation. We brought him to Abuja but because he has not been to the hospital, there was no medical report. We took him to some hospitals in Abuja and they told us that because of the injury he sustained, they don’t think he will ever walk again,” he said.
Not deterred, the organisation decided to seek for medical help outside the shores of the country.
“We got a medical report and sent it to the hospitals in the United States and United Kingdom, Dubai and Germany. All the hospitals were expensive. We have to go with that of Dubai which gave us a bill of $48,000,” he said.
Kwajafa stated that he was able to raise the money with the help of his friends who believed in what he does and the then Senate President, Bukola Saraki.
Ali’s surgery was successful and the boy who doctors in Nigeria have condemned to the “life of a wheelchair” began to walk seven days after the surgery.
“It was indeed a miracle. The Dubai doctors gave him three to four weeks to start walking but he surprised them and started walking after seven days. Ali became an instant celebrity because all the media in Dubai came to see him,” he stated.
Kwajafa stated that Ali had gone back for a second surgery the next year adding that he is doing great now and trying to catch up in his academics which he lost while sick.
“He is here with us now. We adopted him. We didn’t allow him to go back to Chibok again. We are planning to take him back to the hospital after his exams during the summer holidays. The doctors told us to bring him back when he is 13 years old so that they will remove the screw used to firm his chod. He will be 13, this December,” he explained.
He said that apart from Ali, his NGO has also helped over 7000 children within the last 18 years adding that he had used the ‘power of volume’ to raise money for indigent children who needed medical help and also those who needed to pay for their school fees.
“In the last 18 years, we have raised way over $6m for children. We use the power of volume. If we want to raise N1m now, we will look for 10 people to give us N100,000 or 100 people to give 10,000,” he said.
He stated that he uses the power of social media to push his course adding that his friends are also always available when he calls on them.
The 53-year-old father of one said that his organisation focuses on children aged 0 to 13 years because they are the most vulnerable in society.
He, however, noted that dealing with children who are sick comes with enormous challenges.
“We are facing what we call an everyday epidemic. I have about seven children in National Hospital right now. It hasn’t been easy. The economy is bad. 70 percent of surgeries for our children are always out of the country; hole in the heart, kidney transplant, cancer and other illnesses.
“Last year, Dollar to Naira was about N600/700 to one dollar. We were able to manage but now it is about N1000/1200. This year has been very difficult. We have over 17 children waiting to be flown abroad for treatment but we can’t. The Central Bank of Nigeria does not provide Forex subsidies to NGOs. You have to buy black market,” he said.
Another challenge he noted was the wrong diagnoses given by Nigerian hospitals explaining that sometimes when the children are flown abroad with the medical expenses all calculated, “the doctors there will do a different check up and find out that what they checked in Nigeria is entirely a different thing”.
However, even with the challenges, the indigene of Biu, in Borno State said he derives satisfaction in what he does. He narrated how his charity work saved him when he was kidnapped by bandits in Jos, Plateau State.
“ One of the Fulani Boys who kidnapped us benefitted from one of our outreach in Nasarawa State. He was even wearing my NGO’s T-Shirt. He became our saving grace. He was the one that spoke on our behalf to the other gang members and they allowed us to go,” he said.
Kwajafa, who was conferred as a member of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria(MFR) last year, called on the government and other individuals to come on board to ensure that the vulnerable children in the country who needed help with medical services received them without delay.
“Government can provide a Forex subsidy for us so we can fly these children out easily. We call our campaign touching lives every day. Everyday, we must touch lives and show love to someone. Life is short and we don’t know what will happen in the next minute. The only way you can appreciate God today is to try to do something special in someone’s life. It is not all about money. Show concern and support,” he said