| How strange ailment
truncated cobbler’s future
From TIMOTHY OLA, Maiduguri
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
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•Sunday
Bitrus
Photo: Sun Publishing
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He never met or read about Dr. Martin Luther King. In fact,
he had no clues about the famous speech made by the assassinated
Black American hero in which he outlined his dreams for the
black men and women in the then racist America. Yet Sunday
Bitrus, a cobbler based in Maiduguri, also had a dream.
But unlike the African-American cleric and activist who dreamt
of a positive change in the lives of African Americans and
other men and women of colour in the United States, the 27-year
old mender of bad soles in the Borno State capital nursed
a different dream.
Sunday’s dream was also big, though. When he was
five years old, he had a dream where he was a pastor teaching
about the goodness of God. And since that time, his ultimate
goal had been to become a celebrated pastor, a firebrand man
of God preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to perishing folks
around the world.
“My vision was to be a great pastor after my higher
education,” he told Daily Sun recently. “God gave
me this vision as I was growing up as a young boy in the village.
I wanted to be known such that people will usher me into the
car while on my way to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
That dream never materialized though. A strange sickness truncated
his vision and his plans. Today, instead of mounting the pulpit
to propagate the gospel of Christ, giving succour to men and
women with the words of God and mending their broken souls,
all Bitrus can mend are the broken soles of shoes, sandals
and other items of footwear.
Until 1996, Sunday, the second in a family of nine, was a
healthy, vibrant boy in Michika, Adamawa State. He was an
active little boy, radiating joy and exuberance and youthful
innocence. But by mid 1996, a strange ailment, later discovered
to be polio, suddenly knocked him down.
In a voice laden with emotion, Bitrus told his story to Daily
Sun. Hear him: “It started like malaria and my urine
was very thick. Nobody understood the nature of the sickness
but I just discovered at a point that I could no longer walk
and I had to resort to crawling.”
In what look like the story of his life, the cobbler said
the disease completely weakened his body and he had to lie
helplessly on the bed for several weeks. “It is not
something I like discussing at all because I usually feel
sad about the incident. I just remember how I used to run
around with my friends in the school in those days but now
it is another story entirely,” he lamented.
Asked if he was taken to the hospital then for immediate treatment,
he informed that the poor economic condition of his parents
and lack of access to health facilities prevented him from
seeking medical attention, adding that he was only taken to
some traditional healers, a situation that did little to help
his deteriorating condition.
Notwithstanding his pitiable condition, Sunday struggled to
finish his primary education and subsequently proceeded to
a secondary school. According to him, it was the most challenging
part of his life as he had to sway left and right with his
crutches on the way to school five days a week.
“It was painful and stressful for me, especially my
back and my shoulders. But I was not really feeling the pains
on my lower parts,” he added.
But that wasn’t all. He was forced to drop out of school
in 2006 due to financial constraints. But instead of getting
a bowl and a bag and adding to the growing list of beggars
roaming the streets of Yola, Sunday opted for something more
dignifying. He got some money with which he started a small
trade, selling candies, crackers and other consumables in
the Adamawa State capital. But he quit last year and relocated
to Maiduguri where he started a fresh life.
Sunday told Daily Sun that his resolve never to turn a beggar
compelled him into becoming a cobbler. “I told myself
I will not beg to feed or clothe myself,” he asserted,
adding that he ventured into shoe making and repairs without
any training.
Though, the cobbler’s priestly dream seems to have been
truncated by some cruel fate, he was nonetheless thankful
to God for his life. “At least, God has not allowed
me to remain unproductive,” he said softly.
Today, his stall along Damboa Road in Maiduguri is usually
a beehive of activities as both the young and the old, including
‘big men and madams’ come to repair shoes and
bags. He usually starts his daily work by 7a.m right in the
early morning cold and retires by 6.30 pm. Each day, Sunday
makes between N500 and N1000 from his business. Those who
live or transact business around his stall describe him as
a skilful and friendly person.
Despite Sunday’s unfilled dream, he said better days
lie ahead of him. He, however, still has a number of challenges
to contend with. The biggest, he noted, is how to get a motorized
bicycle to convey him from his house to his stall, a distance
of three kilometres. He also needs the bike to transport him
from the stall to the market where he buys materials for his
business.
“If I can get a motorized bicycle, I will be very happy
and my business will continue to grow,” he noted.
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