•Says I can’t beg for alms
Aminu Isa is a lesson in the philosophy of ‘ability in disability’. He lost an arm in a motor accident in 2008 and his essence of being seemed to have gone with it. Then he was a shoe maker in his home state of Katsina.
The accident devastated the 23-year-old man so much he could not think about the next level in his life.
“I was a shoe-maker then in Katsina State when the accident happened. It affected me so much that I did not know what else to do for years. I was confused and worried because one hand was gone,” he said.
Last year, he shrugged off his disability and decided to earn a living by all means.
He came to Lagos and approached a kinsman living on Akchapo/New Road in Olodi-Apapa, Lagos for assistance to get a cart for garbage collection. His benefactor obliged but demanded daily returns.
Isa kicked off his cart-pushing business and before his friends could question his ability, given his condition, he had hit the ground running, fending for himself.
“Any money I make every day, I pay N200 to the cart owner and keep the rest for myself. Sometimes I make N500 and sometimes it can be N1,000 or more daily,” he disclosed.
“The work is hard and I feel it most times after the close of work but I must survive. So I still like it because I can never beg for alms.”
But does he plan to quit the work soon? “If I get enough money, I will like to go back home to sell provisions because that will be easier for me to do. You see this one (cart-pushing) is not an easy work.”
Isa is already looking forward to the day when that dream will come to reality and he will not mind if a Good Samaritan comes to his aid.
What he saves he sends back home for his parents to help him invest in farming and also take care of themselves.
“If I get help from any good Nigerian today, I will definitely go back home permanently to start selling provisions. That is my plan.”
Isa, a bachelor, lives with his kinsman on Achakpo/New Road. He said he cannot stay without going to work, although he feels that people just patronise him out of pity.
Many of his customers said they are amazed to see him collect garbage, and doing so cheaper than able-bodied men.
“He is a good and hardworking person. Some people who have two arms cannot even do the type of work he is doing and he does not charge a high price,” a customer said.
