No one believed I'll survive the deadline illness that struck me at birth, "I thought he wouldn't survive it" my aunt who arrived Nigeria at that time said, it wasn't just her who had that same belief but everyone who witnessed me growing up, except my grandma, she had an opposing view.
Just like every child, I completed my nine months gestational period. At my birth I had that lovely smile and a handsome look. I could imagine the smile on people's faces and on the white man's face who held me. I learned he was the one who suggested my name a few days after. Every celebration was done, then suddenly they discovered I had a pile, it wasn't mild but a severe one that made me cry all through the night and wail. My parents traveled to different places in search of drugs but none worked. Doctors advised that I should be restrained from working especially hard jobs because the illness became severe each day, I was 8 at the time.
The illness affected my development as a child, I could not play with my peers for a long time without falling ill. I had to sleep in my grandma's room so she could watch over me in case I ran temperature at midnight. Sometimes if I remember the sacrifices my grandma went through, I wish I had made it in life so I could appreciate her in a huge way. I had just a few friends then, they always reminded me of my health challenges but I wasn't concerned, I just kept living.
But someone never gave up even when others got tired and withdrew themselves off my health issues, she had the belief that I will become healthy again. We kept traveling from one town to another until finally we got the cure in Kaduna state from some Fulani men who had knowledge of medicine but I was asked to stop taking much sugar, food with plenty of pepper, and not do hard work just like the advice given by the doctors. After a few months I started to regain weight, I was 12 years old then, indirectly my life as a child began at 12. My Aunty who was residing in London visited, I was 22 at that time, she looked at me strangely and asked my grandma who I was, she was shocked when she learned I survived the illness that started early in my life and confessed she never believed I would survive. I could sense the feelings of joy as she gazed at me, a now full grown man, handsome, and intelligent and ready to face life with a refilled energy.
