Government has abandoned us, Karmajiji lepers cry out

Karmajiji, a community in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), accommodates over 3,000 lepers, mostly male and female adults. Daily Trust on Sunday was at the lepers colony and reports on the current condition of the settlement.   Karmajiji community, which is located behind the National Military Cemetery, along […]

Karmajiji, a community in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), accommodates over 3,000 lepers, mostly male and female adults. Daily Trust on Sunday was at the lepers colony and reports on the current condition of the settlement.

 

Karmajiji community, which is located behind the National Military Cemetery, along the Airport Road, is just one kilometre away from the Abuja city gate.

A visit to the lepers’ colony by Daily Trust on Sunday showed that it is another slum within the city. The road from the expressway to the colony is in a deplorable state, while makeshift shelters, erected with planks, serve as homes for the lepers, unlike the Yangoji Alheria special village in Kwali Area Council, where decent accommodations were provided for lepers by a former minister of the FCT and now governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai.

It was also observed that an upsurge in the population of lepers, amidst poverty, disease, lack of education and employment, poses a serious challenge as means of survival is very difficult. Due to the nature of their disease, many lepers are unable to undertake regular jobs for a living.

Daily Trust on Sunday learnt that the colony came on board during the administration of the Late President Umar Musa Yar’adua, but there was no facility on ground to cater for the lepers, although they were evacuated from the streets of Abuja.

One of the lepers, Malam Ibrahim Usman, who is a father of six, told our reporter that since they were moved from the city centre to the area, the government had not provided any infrastructure in the colony.

He said the only support they got was mostly from a non-governmental organisation that visit the colony, especially during festive periods to donate food and other items to them.

 

“As I am talking to you right now, three of my sons are in school while one of my daughters got married. But the way government abandoned us without any support is a serious cause for concern,” he said.

He said that many aged people who fall sick sometimes could not access health care in the colony, so they mostly rely on traditional herbal medicines whenever anyone is sick.

“When such sickness becomes worse or it is an emergency situation, I have to convey them to either the Maitama, Garki or Wuse general hospital for treatment. And I have to struggle to source for money to pay medical bills,” he said.

He said the only health centre at the community, called Candido Clinic, is a dispensary which does not admit patients.

“The clinic doesn’t admit patients; they only treat minor cases. They refer patients to other hospitals in town, especially for those with serious cases. There are no drugs in the clinic, not even Panadol. They only prescribe drugs and we go to a nearby pharmacy to buy,” he added.

Another leper, Malam Tukur Garba, who is a father of four, said he is into shoemaking business to cater for his family. He told our reporter that he learned shoemaking in the East, where he stayed for six years before returning to Abuja. He said he struggled to source for money to buy working tools to start making both male and female shoes, as well as children’s sandals.

He said his major challenge was lack of government’s support, even though there’s a vocational training centre in the area.

“What I do is that whenever I get little money I will send for hard skin in Kano. When they bring it to me, I make male, female and children’s sandals to sell.

“I have three children in primary school, and it is through this shoemaking that I cater for them,” he said.

The Madaki of the colony, Malam Naziru Mohammed, did not mince words in expressing his pain and agony because of the long neglect of the area. He lamented the deplorable state of the road leading to the colony, as well as lack of health facilities in the community.

He said that since they were moved by the FCT administration to the community over 11 years ago, there had not been any tangible support from the government.

He said the bus donated by the wife of the late President Yar’adua, which conveyed them to functions or emergency cases, had broken down for over five years.

He also said only a vocational training centre was built for them by the Rochas Okorocha Foundation some years ago, where some of the lepers acquired skills, such as soap-making, welding, tailoring and others.

 

“At the end of the day, if we are able to produce some of these things, people hardly patronise us, probably because of our condition. Life has become very difficult for us,” he lamented.

According to him, officials of the Social Welfare Department of the FCT have often promised to come to their aid, but nothing has happened to alleviate their plight.

“Some of my people rely on herbs for treatment as the cost of drugs is above the income of many of us. We don’t even have a standard clinic,” he said.

He, however, said there was no much problem of water in the colony as a non-governmental organisation sank two solar powered boreholes, which supply water across the community.

Mohammed, who said he had eight children, added that he was into welding business, and some residents within the community patronise him.

He also said his major challenge was lack of support from the government.

“I learned this welding work while I was still in the North. When I came here I decided to use it to continue to survive with my family. But some of the tools I use are not mine. I borrow from someone whenever customers bring work for me to do,” he added.

He, therefore, appealed to the FCT administration to, as a matter of urgency, come to their aid by providing amenities and soft loans to enable his people, especially those that have acquired some skills, to start their own businesses in order to cater for their family.

“We are aware that government is giving some group of people soft loans. Since some of my people have handiworks, we will appreciate it if government would support us with soft loans to start some businesses,” he said.