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Wed, Jan 21, 2015, 1:06 PM
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Three brothers, bonded by blindness
Posted by: Taiwo Abiodun in Sunday magazine November 2, 2014
They are three biological brothers; but they became blind on different occasions and in mysterious circumstances. Taiwo Abiodun caught up with them in Ago Are, near Shaki, Oyo State where they currently live and work together.
THEIR plight halted the hurrying reporter. It is a sad story of the trio of Adeteju, Sulaiman and Nasiru Isiaka, three biological brothers who are blind. Although they have their eyes wide open, they cannot see. While one blinked intermittently, the other looked straight on and the eldest simply opened his eyes and shut them quickly. Alas, only the white patch of his eyes could be seen.
A first-time meeting is likely to provoke you to tears, but as the conversation with them progressed, their sense of humour comes visibly into play. They also exhibited strong faith as they claimed God knows best. They outrightly refused to be pitied and said they have vowed never to beg for alms but work hard for their livelihood.
First of the brothers is a radio repairer, the second, an ex-mechanic, while the third was a former trailer driver. But their situation has made them jettison their occupations and turn to mills business, grinding grains, cereals, Yam and cassava Flour (elubo/lafun) and other agricultural products.
Observing the trio for a brief moment, one couldn’t but notice the way they chatted, smiled and brainstormed together. They also generate and execute fruitful ideas, amid bouts of arguments. They told this reporter that it is the creativity of their ideas that now put food on their table. In addition to sharing thoughts and ideas, they are also bonded by their blindness.
This is the story of three blind biological brothers of Ago-Are, near Shaki in Oyo State, whose story is literally pulling their locale out of obscurity.
Courageous in difficulty
At the frontage of their bungalow residence is a big shop where a big grinding machine, jointly owned by the three brothers, is installed. To them, it is their only source of income, as it is what their entire family, including their aged father, relies on to feed. To make the job a bit easier, they have employed a woman who assists in emptying the grains into the grinder. So while one of them is operates the machine, you find another fixing the belt or vice versa; and before you say ‘Jack Robinson,’ the engine is on and running.
One of them, Sulaiman said: “We have been operating this business for the past eight years”.
Speaking on how the business evolved, the youngest, Nasiru said: “It was one of my friends who taught us how to operate it. I am the one fixing and rolling the belt. And I have never been wounded, nor had any industrial accident while operating it.”
The brothers, who live in the bungalow with their wives and aged father, said they live peacefully. They also said there is no quarrel among them, “as each one of them has his own room with his wife and children”.
And though their condition remains pathetic, they obviously have become used to their environment, as they’re quite able to find their way to the shop and back to their rooms, usually by trailing the walls. “At other times,” one of their wives revealed “they ask any of their children or wives available to guide them to wherever they wish to go.”
Most importantly, they have not allowed their situation to weigh them down. Whilst they chatted with this reporter, they exhibited great wit; laughed, cracked jokes and exchanged banters. Their wives also flowed along. But their aged father, with his head drooped, appeared weighed down with sadness, as he sporadically shook his head and mutter the Muslim expression of faith, ‘Alihamdullai’. He would then rub his hands and retreat into silence, while looking into space.
How they became blind
There were more questions than answers. But the story goes that they were born blind from the start. Truth however is that they were all born normal, like every other human, and were into their respective profession without problems. According to the eldest, Adeteju Isiaka, who is in his early 50s, “I was once a radio repairer. But on January 28, 1988, I just woke up to discover that I could not see again. I started running helter-for remedy. First, I was taken to an eye specialist hospital in Kano; later, I went to France; and then Sudan, to see eye specialists. But in the end, I was told the eyes were completely gone. That is my story,” he trailed off, shaking his head and mumbling
Asked to comment on his marriage, Adeteju simply shook his head, laughed and confidently declared “My wife of three years of marital bliss is here. We have two children and I thank God for sparing my life”.
Isiaka Sulaiman, the former trailer driver said he had been driving since 1979 before he became blind in 1995. According to him, he met his doom while at work. He was about to unscrew a bolt from the trailer tyre and asked his motor-boy to give him a spanner. Instead, the boy threw the spanner at him and the tool eventually hit him in the eye. He lamented, “That is how I saw it o. It was the spanner that my motor assistance threw at me that missed its way and accidentally hit me in one of the eyes. Clearly, it was not intentional, and I still drove home with one eye from Ibadan to Lagos on that day. But on the second day, my second eye somehow became affected. We struggled and visited eye specialist hospitals in Kano, Sudan and France to no avail”.
On his marital life, Sulaiman said he got married in 1982, but the woman later deserted him. He then remarried in 2007 and that union has produced two children, the first, a two year-old and the second, a six-month old baby. I thank God that I have a family”.
The third, Nasiru Isiaka, said he was a mechanic. But in 2008, he woke up one morning to see that his two eyes gone. He said: “I just woke up to see that I could not see again. It was painful because I was the one catering for my two brothers. It is sad and pathetic, as we still have our aged father. Our mother died three years ago. It is also painful that my first wife abandoned me when she saw my predicament.
Adeteju also exclaimed, “Each time I remember my condition, I feel very sad. I know if we were to be in a foreign country, the government would be taking care of us all. But here, we live each day struggling with no assistance.
Their father, Pa Ayoade Isiaka, 85, was sleeping when this reporter got to him. He was woken up and told that he had a visitor from Lagos. The first thing he asked as he got up was: “I hope you have come to assist me? Things are bad. You can see my children who should be taking care of me; now the reverse is the case. I am pained”, the old man lamented.
The Octogenarian, who is still visibly strong, said he didn’t know what could be responsible for his sons’ ill fate. He said: “I am a native of Oyo town. I have been in Ago-Are since 1952 doing my business as a butcher. I have never seen such a thing in my life. How can my three male children be blind in three different circumstances? It is very sad”.
Asked the state of his eyes, he said: “At 85, my eyes are not dim. I can see very well. Their mother of blessed memory had her eyes intact before she died about three years ago. She never complained of eye problems. So, I don’t know what is happening to me at my old age to be experiencing such calamity on my children.”
On whether it could be spiritual, the old man shook his head and said: “Well, I don’t know. We were told it is not glaucoma or any other mouth-twisting disease. What I know is that this thing happened to only my male children. All my daughters are not affected. They still have sisters who live in Lagos.”
The elderly man then looked sideways, shook his head in self-pity as his eyes became bloodshot and said: “I believe that is how God wants it. What will I do?” He sighed, as he dropped his head again.
Asked whether he ever fought over property with anyone who could be on a revenge-mission, he shook his head vigorously and said: “No, nothing of such ever happened and neither to my descendants before. It is this sad news and problem that killed my wife three years ago.
Asked to comment on his children’s wives, he said, “Hmm, women? One of my children’s wives ran away when she saw her husband’s condition. But I still thank the women that came to marry them .They are nice, loving and hardworking. What I know is that nobody is above temptation in life; and where there is life, there is hope. It is still a misery and burden to me. This grinding machine is the only source of their income .I was once a butcher, and they assisted me in hawking and doing the business; but when they grew up, they found their levels in their chosen professions. Now see what we are witnessing?”
Their wives
Who says women don’t fall in love anymore? Notwithstanding, it will shock any visitor to know that despite their condition, their wives are beautiful, hardworking and understanding. They are very helpful and ever ready to assist their husbands in their daily activities. They also assist in the grinding machine business and the proceeds are used for their feeding and children’s upkeep.
Adeteju’s wife, Fatimo said “My name is Fatimo. I knew him (Adeteju) before he went blind. I had a baby from my previous marriage before marrying him. I know his parents; they are from good family background.” Asked whether she was discouraged from marrying Adeteju, Fatimo said “Oh yes, it was a tug of war. My friends and my family members objected to it .They sneered at me but I told them he was never like that when I knew him. It can happen to anybody. I am comfortable with him. I have two children for him: one is 6 months and the other, four years old. I used to argue that if I were their mother, I will not desert them. Besides, their case is not hereditary. They have sisters in Lagos and in France who are not blind.”
Feeding
The family survives on the proceeds from the grinding machine. According to Nasiru, “We make about 2,000 naira daily, but if there is no market we make 1.000 naira and we share it amongst ourselves.”
Regrets
The most painful regret the brothers have is the fact that they have been deserted by their friends .Nasiru and Sulaiman chorused “You are talking about friends? Where are they (they all burst into laughter)? Ha! They have neglected and abandoned us for long .The ones we knew from primary and secondary schools have gone. No friends anywhere.”
Adeteju on his part asked jocularly “Who will want to associate with us again? Even if we come across them, how do we recognize them? We have accepted our fate and that is our destiny.”
Asked their biggest wish, they all chorused that they want the Osun State government to come to their aid and assist them. They complained bitterly that despite promises by the state government few years ago, the local council and the government are yet to fulfill their promises. “A few years ago, the government promised to assist us, but nothing is forthcoming .We are appealing to good-spirited Nigerians to come and assist us. We don’t want to go to the streets begging for alms; we want Nigerians to please come to our aid” they chorused.
Posted by: Taiwo Abiodun in Sunday magazine November 2, 2014
They are three biological brothers; but they became blind on different occasions and in mysterious circumstances. Taiwo Abiodun caught up with them in Ago Are, near Shaki, Oyo State where they currently live and work together.
THEIR plight halted the hurrying reporter. It is a sad story of the trio of Adeteju, Sulaiman and Nasiru Isiaka, three biological brothers who are blind. Although they have their eyes wide open, they cannot see. While one blinked intermittently, the other looked straight on and the eldest simply opened his eyes and shut them quickly. Alas, only the white patch of his eyes could be seen.
A first-time meeting is likely to provoke you to tears, but as the conversation with them progressed, their sense of humour comes visibly into play. They also exhibited strong faith as they claimed God knows best. They outrightly refused to be pitied and said they have vowed never to beg for alms but work hard for their livelihood.
First of the brothers is a radio repairer, the second, an ex-mechanic, while the third was a former trailer driver. But their situation has made them jettison their occupations and turn to mills business, grinding grains, cereals, Yam and cassava Flour (elubo/lafun) and other agricultural products.
Observing the trio for a brief moment, one couldn’t but notice the way they chatted, smiled and brainstormed together. They also generate and execute fruitful ideas, amid bouts of arguments. They told this reporter that it is the creativity of their ideas that now put food on their table. In addition to sharing thoughts and ideas, they are also bonded by their blindness.
This is the story of three blind biological brothers of Ago-Are, near Shaki in Oyo State, whose story is literally pulling their locale out of obscurity.
Courageous in difficulty
At the frontage of their bungalow residence is a big shop where a big grinding machine, jointly owned by the three brothers, is installed. To them, it is their only source of income, as it is what their entire family, including their aged father, relies on to feed. To make the job a bit easier, they have employed a woman who assists in emptying the grains into the grinder. So while one of them is operates the machine, you find another fixing the belt or vice versa; and before you say ‘Jack Robinson,’ the engine is on and running.
One of them, Sulaiman said: “We have been operating this business for the past eight years”.
Speaking on how the business evolved, the youngest, Nasiru said: “It was one of my friends who taught us how to operate it. I am the one fixing and rolling the belt. And I have never been wounded, nor had any industrial accident while operating it.”
The brothers, who live in the bungalow with their wives and aged father, said they live peacefully. They also said there is no quarrel among them, “as each one of them has his own room with his wife and children”.
And though their condition remains pathetic, they obviously have become used to their environment, as they’re quite able to find their way to the shop and back to their rooms, usually by trailing the walls. “At other times,” one of their wives revealed “they ask any of their children or wives available to guide them to wherever they wish to go.”
Most importantly, they have not allowed their situation to weigh them down. Whilst they chatted with this reporter, they exhibited great wit; laughed, cracked jokes and exchanged banters. Their wives also flowed along. But their aged father, with his head drooped, appeared weighed down with sadness, as he sporadically shook his head and mutter the Muslim expression of faith, ‘Alihamdullai’. He would then rub his hands and retreat into silence, while looking into space.
How they became blind
There were more questions than answers. But the story goes that they were born blind from the start. Truth however is that they were all born normal, like every other human, and were into their respective profession without problems. According to the eldest, Adeteju Isiaka, who is in his early 50s, “I was once a radio repairer. But on January 28, 1988, I just woke up to discover that I could not see again. I started running helter-for remedy. First, I was taken to an eye specialist hospital in Kano; later, I went to France; and then Sudan, to see eye specialists. But in the end, I was told the eyes were completely gone. That is my story,” he trailed off, shaking his head and mumbling
Asked to comment on his marriage, Adeteju simply shook his head, laughed and confidently declared “My wife of three years of marital bliss is here. We have two children and I thank God for sparing my life”.
Isiaka Sulaiman, the former trailer driver said he had been driving since 1979 before he became blind in 1995. According to him, he met his doom while at work. He was about to unscrew a bolt from the trailer tyre and asked his motor-boy to give him a spanner. Instead, the boy threw the spanner at him and the tool eventually hit him in the eye. He lamented, “That is how I saw it o. It was the spanner that my motor assistance threw at me that missed its way and accidentally hit me in one of the eyes. Clearly, it was not intentional, and I still drove home with one eye from Ibadan to Lagos on that day. But on the second day, my second eye somehow became affected. We struggled and visited eye specialist hospitals in Kano, Sudan and France to no avail”.
On his marital life, Sulaiman said he got married in 1982, but the woman later deserted him. He then remarried in 2007 and that union has produced two children, the first, a two year-old and the second, a six-month old baby. I thank God that I have a family”.
The third, Nasiru Isiaka, said he was a mechanic. But in 2008, he woke up one morning to see that his two eyes gone. He said: “I just woke up to see that I could not see again. It was painful because I was the one catering for my two brothers. It is sad and pathetic, as we still have our aged father. Our mother died three years ago. It is also painful that my first wife abandoned me when she saw my predicament.
Adeteju also exclaimed, “Each time I remember my condition, I feel very sad. I know if we were to be in a foreign country, the government would be taking care of us all. But here, we live each day struggling with no assistance.
Their father, Pa Ayoade Isiaka, 85, was sleeping when this reporter got to him. He was woken up and told that he had a visitor from Lagos. The first thing he asked as he got up was: “I hope you have come to assist me? Things are bad. You can see my children who should be taking care of me; now the reverse is the case. I am pained”, the old man lamented.
The Octogenarian, who is still visibly strong, said he didn’t know what could be responsible for his sons’ ill fate. He said: “I am a native of Oyo town. I have been in Ago-Are since 1952 doing my business as a butcher. I have never seen such a thing in my life. How can my three male children be blind in three different circumstances? It is very sad”.
Asked the state of his eyes, he said: “At 85, my eyes are not dim. I can see very well. Their mother of blessed memory had her eyes intact before she died about three years ago. She never complained of eye problems. So, I don’t know what is happening to me at my old age to be experiencing such calamity on my children.”
On whether it could be spiritual, the old man shook his head and said: “Well, I don’t know. We were told it is not glaucoma or any other mouth-twisting disease. What I know is that this thing happened to only my male children. All my daughters are not affected. They still have sisters who live in Lagos.”
The elderly man then looked sideways, shook his head in self-pity as his eyes became bloodshot and said: “I believe that is how God wants it. What will I do?” He sighed, as he dropped his head again.
Asked whether he ever fought over property with anyone who could be on a revenge-mission, he shook his head vigorously and said: “No, nothing of such ever happened and neither to my descendants before. It is this sad news and problem that killed my wife three years ago.
Asked to comment on his children’s wives, he said, “Hmm, women? One of my children’s wives ran away when she saw her husband’s condition. But I still thank the women that came to marry them .They are nice, loving and hardworking. What I know is that nobody is above temptation in life; and where there is life, there is hope. It is still a misery and burden to me. This grinding machine is the only source of their income .I was once a butcher, and they assisted me in hawking and doing the business; but when they grew up, they found their levels in their chosen professions. Now see what we are witnessing?”
Their wives
Who says women don’t fall in love anymore? Notwithstanding, it will shock any visitor to know that despite their condition, their wives are beautiful, hardworking and understanding. They are very helpful and ever ready to assist their husbands in their daily activities. They also assist in the grinding machine business and the proceeds are used for their feeding and children’s upkeep.
Adeteju’s wife, Fatimo said “My name is Fatimo. I knew him (Adeteju) before he went blind. I had a baby from my previous marriage before marrying him. I know his parents; they are from good family background.” Asked whether she was discouraged from marrying Adeteju, Fatimo said “Oh yes, it was a tug of war. My friends and my family members objected to it .They sneered at me but I told them he was never like that when I knew him. It can happen to anybody. I am comfortable with him. I have two children for him: one is 6 months and the other, four years old. I used to argue that if I were their mother, I will not desert them. Besides, their case is not hereditary. They have sisters in Lagos and in France who are not blind.”
Feeding
The family survives on the proceeds from the grinding machine. According to Nasiru, “We make about 2,000 naira daily, but if there is no market we make 1.000 naira and we share it amongst ourselves.”
Regrets
The most painful regret the brothers have is the fact that they have been deserted by their friends .Nasiru and Sulaiman chorused “You are talking about friends? Where are they (they all burst into laughter)? Ha! They have neglected and abandoned us for long .The ones we knew from primary and secondary schools have gone. No friends anywhere.”
Adeteju on his part asked jocularly “Who will want to associate with us again? Even if we come across them, how do we recognize them? We have accepted our fate and that is our destiny.”
Asked their biggest wish, they all chorused that they want the Osun State government to come to their aid and assist them. They complained bitterly that despite promises by the state government few years ago, the local council and the government are yet to fulfill their promises. “A few years ago, the government promised to assist us, but nothing is forthcoming .We are appealing to good-spirited Nigerians to come and assist us. We don’t want to go to the streets begging for alms; we want Nigerians to please come to our aid” they chorused.
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