I’ve forgiven man who fired gunshot that blinded me – Nnamani, lawyer

Chikwe Nnamani is a legal practitioner in the Enugu State
Ministry of Justice. The 47-year-old advocate from Akpugo, in the
Nkanu West Local Government Area of the state, tells ALEXANDER
OKERE how a gunshot injury he suffered at the age of five changed
his life.

Have you been living with visual disability since
you were born?

No, I wasn’t born blind; it was by accident.

How did it happen?

It was a gunshot accident that happened sometime in 1977 at a
funeral when a man fired a gun, which accidentally inflicted injury
on about five of us. I was the only  person affected in the
eyes. I was taken to a hospital and that was the beginning of my
switching over to getting education for the visually-impaired.

What was your reaction when you realised that you
could not see?

I was very young and couldn’t realise what was actually
happening. But when I was old enough to realise that I was in a
different situation from every other person around, I had already
become familiar with the environment around me. So, it wasn’t a big
problem to me, even though I knew I was different from my siblings.
But they were very cooperative, having seen the person in me. I
wasn’t that kind of a person that usually waited for people to do
things for them. Despite my circumstance, I used to run around with
my siblings and other peers.

When you think about your condition, it probably
reminds you of the man who fired the gun. Have you forgiven
him?

When I grew up to know that it (visual impairment) was a
problem, I had no option but to forgive him because I ought not to
have gone back to shoot him in retaliation. My circumstance did not
allow me to think about that and my people were free enough to
carry me along.

As a little boy who couldn’t see, did you have any
difficulty interacting with your peers?

There were limitations, rather than difficulties. For instance,
when we played football, they usually passed the ball to me and let
it touch my feet so that I could kick it and have that feeling. But
I knew I didn’t get it right as they did. But in the institution of
higher learning, some people felt I could not cope with social
life. Sometimes, when they wanted to attend parties, they didn’t
bother me to join them but narrated the event to me.

Can you tell us the schools you
attended?

I attended Special School for the Blind at Oji River in Enugu.
When I got to the school and was given Braille to use to learn and
told that I would have to use it for the rest of my life
academically, I was very surprised and wondered how I would read
with something that felt like sand on paper. But as time went on, I
discovered that I could do it because I was taught and, through
God’s kindness, I learnt very fast.

Social life within the school was wonderful because we did
everything by ourselves, even as visually-impaired persons. I
remember when our tap stopped functioning. We used to go to one of
the streams near the school to fetch water and nobody led us. I
also attended College of the Immaculate Conception, Enugu, and
studied Law at the University of Jos, Plateau State.

Was it your intention to study
Law?

Actually, I didn’t set out to study Law; what I was ready to
study was Political Science but I made Law my second choice while
Political Science was my first choice. But when I went to the
University of Nigeria Nsukka, I was told that the school had
exhausted the space for those who wanted to study the course. The
available option for me then was Law and I had to go for that. That
was how I went to Jos. Initially, I didn’t go into it with keen
interest but at a point, I started thanking God.

Are you are a practising lawyer?

Yes, I am; I go to court, sometimes. Some of the judges would
look at one with great expectation because they have never had a
visually-impaired lawyer in their court. I argue my case. But I
primarily work in the state Ministry of Justice.

How did you manage the challenges that came with the
disability?

The challenges are more emotional. For instance, when you fall
into a pit or a gutter, you may get wounded and you would have no
option but to come out and console yourself emotionally because it
could have been so for any other person. People who have their
sight could fall into a gutter let alone those who can’t see. In
the university at that time, there were facilities. What we (three
of my visually-impaired colleagues and I) usually did was to go to
the classroom with a tape recorder to record the lectures and
played them when we got home and made our notes into Braille. For
the handouts that most of the lecturers gave, we called on our
sighted friends to read out the contents so that we could record
them into tapes.

What is the worst form of discrimination you’ve
faced?

I have faced a lot of discrimination. When I wanted to get
married, a lot of questions were raised whether I could do it. But
the issue was about the position of the woman I wanted to marry –
whether she was okay by it or not. But we got married and I have
three children for now. The challenge is mostly in the area of
marriage.

How did that affect you?

If I had succumbed to it, I probably wouldn’t have been married
at the time I did or married the woman I chose. When you are
approached with that kind of discrimination, you try to come up
with a solution by yourself, otherwise you would be weighed down by
people’s insinuations.

What would you say disability has cost
you?

I know that God has a destination for everybody and has a way of
controlling an individual. But if I were to be as normal as every
other person or had my sight like every other person, you would
probably be talking to me as a governor or one of the ministers in
the country; I mean I would have gone the extra mile. But because
of this circumstance, sometimes, I realise that I might not be able
to reach the level where my mates are.

So, what has your condition taught
you?

Disability has taught me to be a patient person and believe that
I have my decision but God has the final say. Sometimes, when I
feel that my disability is limiting me, I realise that when I rely
on God, I see myself through that.

How did you meet your wife?

When I started looking for a wife, I went to a prayer centre and
met her. But it was not the type of meeting that people claim God
told them to marry a particular person. I used to go to the centre
with my sister and it was my sister who saw the lady, admired her
and wished that I married her. When she told me, my wife and I
introduced ourselves and discovered that we came from the same
community. At the initial stage, there was some resistance. But all
those who resisted discovered that they were on the wrong path and
had no option but to support us. Her parents were cooperative but
some of her relations initially had some reservations. However,
they eventually agreed.

Do you have faith in the Disability Act to bring the
changes desired by persons with disabilities?

I do, at least, for a start. There may be some amendments here
and there in the future. But for now, if that Act is religiously
implemented, it is going to take care of most of the problems, as
far as discrimination is concerned. The bill was signed into law
early this year. But the implementation commission has not been set
up. Without it, you can’t say the implementation of the law has
commenced. So, I will like the government to take the bull by the
horns and see how it can, as urgently as possible, set up that
commission because it will be the driving force of that law.
Without it, I don’t think the implementation will commence in
earnest.

Culled from Punch

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