The misery of a school teacher
Ayuba Kwagui Alamson is a 34-year-old Mechanical Engineer and the eldest in a polygamous family of four wives and 34 children. An indigene of Eayashatan village in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State, he also holds a diploma certificate from the Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri. With his engineering background, he passionately imparted knowledge in young […]
Ayuba Kwagui Alamson is a 34-year-old Mechanical Engineer and the eldest in a polygamous family of four wives and 34 children. An indigene of Eayashatan village in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State, he also holds a diploma certificate from the Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri. With his engineering background, he passionately imparted knowledge in young pupils, teaching them mathematics and quantitative reasoning at Haske Primary School, Jajeri in the outskirts of Maiduguri. With so much passion and love for teaching, which he considers the best profession on earth, he looked forward to a happy married life with Mary (real names withheld), the love of his life, whom he incidentally met in the course of his chosen career: teaching! But something dramatic happened and changed all that as he shared with Kanem Trust when he paid an impromptu visit to the Maiduguri office of Media Trust Limited, last Thursday.
“On 11th of 2005, I had a severe back pain and I was suspected to be infected with tuberculosis of the spinal cord after an examination at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH). But after series of tests, there was really nothing to show that I had such infection. I was then placed on TB drugs which I took for five months and two weeks. Somehow, my body reacted to the drugs leading to serious consequences and today, I am partially blind,” he began to recount.
As hospital documents showed, the quest for cure took Alamson to Asokoro General Hospital, Abuja. After several tests, he was referred to the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) Shika, for brain scan and then back to the National Hospital, Abuja, where more tests were conducted, including Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Eventually, the results showed he was suffering from spinal cord damage and will need to undergo spinal cord surgery. But for lack of necessary healthcare facilities in Nigeria, the surgery cannot be performed.
Alamson’s life is in misery because in addition to the spinal cord injury, he has a couple of life-threatening challenges that can cause permanent disabilities: back ache as a result of low supply of blood to his lower limbs. He narrates, “I also have problem with my eyes as a result of reactions from the TB drug, ethambutol which has been confirmed by separate medical experts as the cause of my visual impairment. In addition, I have partial hearing problem, and severe dizziness. Right now, as we are talking, this room is turning round us. There is also serious loss of sensation on my legs. I do not feel anything on my legs. I cannot walk without support. Doctors have said that I am now experiencing serious nerve damage on the legs. To add up, I have become hypertensive, an ailment which various doctors associate with complications resulting from the illness.”
When he was linked with some hospitals in America, Israel and England, his major problem was how to get financial support. After carefully studying his options, based on advise from the various consultants, Alamson settled for the North American Spine Institute in Dallas, Texas, because various correspondences assured him of both treatment and full recovery if he eventually undergoes surgery. That however, will cost over three million naira which he doesn’t have.
Surviving without a job is one thing and struggling to cope with a very severe ailment is another, he weeps, as he shares his predicament. At the moment, the school where Alamson dreamt of grooming the future leaders of tomorrow, has employed someone because he voluntarily requested for a replacement, but the school continues to offer him financial and moral support.
“I have been surviving through handouts from people. What people have been contributing for the surgery is what I have been surviving on. Presently, I have only N50, 000 left in my bank account,” he explained.
In his plea, he said, “I have been struggling to see that I raise this amount, but it has been difficult for me. However, I have decided to seek help through this medium. Possibly, some good Samaritans could provide financial assistance or link me with non-governmental organisations to come to my aid.”
To add insult to injury, Alamson’s dream wife abandoned him after she discovered he was suffering from the burdensome ailment. He says, “let me share my experience with you about a woman I loved dearly, but she dumped me when she discovered I was physically challenged. It was very painful. We met while I was teaching at Haske Primary School and stuck to each other, and were always in each other’s company and visiting each other. The relationship started sometimes on May 25, 2002. On a number of occasions, I had to travel to see her family in Mubi, Adamawa State.
“After I was diagnosed of the ailment, I noticed some kind of communication gap. She stopped coming to visit me as usual and began to avoid me. But I made sure I called her frequently. Even yesterday (Wednesday, March 31, 2010), I called her, but the last time I spoke with her was about a week ago when I called to know why her phone was no longer going through. She just switched off the phone. I have been trying but have not been able to reach her. I feel she has decided to move on with her life with someone else. I never wanted the relationship to end this way. I really love her and wanted to marry her. If not because of this sickness, we would have got married.
“I discovered her change in attitude around 2007 because the last time she visited me was in December the same year. Since that time, we have not set eyes on each other. At some point, I asked her to make use of the free night calls.
She called once and complained that since I have been sick, none of my friends or relatives had visited her. But since I fell sick, my family has been disorganised and worried. I am the first son from a polygamous family of four wives. All in all, my father has 34 children, and we are all alive. I am the pillar in the house. Most of them have now moved to urban centres like Lagos and engaged in security jobs and driving commercial motorcycles. As it is, I do not have someone who can visit her family. But I don’t think it is a good reason for her to desert me because we were already planning to get married before I became sick,” he lamented.
Alamson said he had been visiting Mary’s family regularly and was able to psychologically analyse that her family members were fond of him, including her mother, father and siblings. He said joyfully, “the whole family always received me with smiles. And when I come to the house and she is not at home, her mum would at times go in search of her or send her younger ones to look for her.”
Though Mary deserted him, Alamson, still has good memories of their relationship. He shared one with Kenem Trust. “One day, I wore an un-ironed, ruffled shirt and we met along Baga road. When I asked the commercial motorcyclist to stop so I could talk to her, she looked at me and said, “this shirt is not appropriate for you,” and insisted that I go back home to change. Thereon, I discovered that she was the kind of woman that I would love to be the mother of my children. And more so, she was always caring and quick to take corrections,” he recalled with nostalgia.
Medical report dated September 10, 2009 from the National Hospital, Abuja, after an initial spine assessment in July, further confirms the development of pains in his lower back in 2005, with associated lower limb weakness and difficulty in walking, which was associated with the wrong diagnosis of tuberculosis of the spine at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) and further complicated by a few months of anti-tuberculosis drugs therapy. Unfortunately, his body reacted to ethambutol, one of the drugs, and was further complicated by optic neuritis and irreversible partial blindness, he said.
Furthermore, the MRI test revealed that he is suffering from “degenerative disease of the lumbar spine with a displaced disc blocking the spinal canal and compressing the spinal cord, causing limb weakness.”
During the interaction with Alamson, his poor vision was clearly noticeable. “Honestly speaking, I cannot see clearly. My vision is blurred and I can only see in dark patches,” he corroborated.
Painfully and with much effort, he stood up to take a picture and supported his tall frame with a walking stick. His left leg, he said, had been shrinking rapidly and was now affecting his balance. Despite all these impairments, he proved to be a conscious and alert young man. His tenses were well articulated and his reasoning seemingly apt.
Documents from the Spine Consultant/Neurosurgeon at the National Hospital, Abuja, stated that Alamson stands a good chance of gaining back his health with full recuperation. But that will be after a surgical operation which as estimated by the North American spine institute, will cost nineteen thousand five hundred United State’s dollars. That’s about N3 million besides flight and other expenses. Disturbingly, he has about N50,000 only. That’s little above $300 in his coffers, which cannot take him anywhere. “I need someone to come to my aide. I am dying. Please, help me!” Alamson cries out.