AGAINST ALL ODDS.... A TRUE LIFE STORY

The room was unusually serene. Only punctured by the deep breath of the sleeping child. He lay on his bed; snoring, not having a clue of the happenings around him. A few metres away in the adjacent kitchen, the mother wiped a tear of sweat of her face. The steam from her pot of banga soup did not help matters. But she kept on stirring and tasting to ensure the salt level did not exceed normal. Though the aroma of the soup will make any Oliver Twist around beg for more, it did little to sway her thoughts on how hectic her day had being. A glance at her snoring three year old child and the images of the last five hours came flooding again..... 

*********** 

It was just like every other day. The sun rose in its beauty without any sign of what was in store for her. She rushed through her normal morning routine: doing the dishes; washing her son's napkins and other dirty clothes; preparing breakfast; and getting set for a trip to her shop. She was a seam-stress. Just as she was packing her bag to leave, her child let out a soft cry. He had a slight fever the night before. But it withered away as mysteriously as it had started. 

"Foskolo", she called out his favourite pet name, "whats the problem again?". Instead, the child increased the tempo. 

"Nyie, nyie, nyie," he sobbed trying to get his mum's attention. He did succeed. She immediately left the bag she was packing and rushed straight to grab him. She was shocked to discover his temperature was on the rise again. Panic set in. For a few minutes, she was not sure of what to do. Just then, it occured to her. "I must rush him to a hospital," she murmured to herself. A Few minutes later, she was on her way to a nearby general hospital. 

On getting there, she called out: "Help, please! My son needs help." Immediately, one of the nurses on duty rushed and grabbed the child from her hands. She took the child straight to the doctor's waiting room. The mother waited. All she could do was bite her finger as she sat down anxiously in the waiting room. Her son was then taken to an emergency room. 

"God what is this now? Eh?", she wondered. A few minutes later as the doctor appeared from the emergency room, she rushed up to him. "Doctor is he okay? What's wrong with him? Can I see him?", the questions pouring out all at once. 

"Calm down young woman, your baby is fine", the handsome doctor said reassuringly. " He only has a high fever but he's been injected and fast asleep. The nurse will bring him out to....." 

************* 

The sound of the child's cry brought her back from her memories. 

" Foskolo, nyase", she called out in her Isoko dialect. " Come and meet me in the kitchen". He stopped the sob and tried to come down from the bed. But, his legs ached. He felt a sharp pain in his waist. His feet went numb. Much as he tried to lift his legs, he just couldn't. 

The mother was watching. Thinking it was one of his usual antics, she yelled at him in broken english 

"You no go waka come here? I take God beg you i no get power for shout!" 

Her rant did little to ease his seeming discomfort. As he tried to lift his feet, he went thundering on the floor. He stood up and tried again. And once again, he fell. Only this time, he made no effort to stand again. Sensing danger, she left her pot of banga soup and rushed to him. Out of fear more than anything, she carried him on her back and rushed back to the hospital. Unfortunately, there was little the doctors could do. It was the last day the boy would ever walk with his feet again.... 

PS--- It's exactly 29 years this August since this incident. Truth is, I can't really remember it happening. The pictures am trying to bring to life are patches from stories I have heard over and over again from my mother. But, the that little boy whose feet went numb is now a man. In fact, the cute guy showing on this blog. He's grown up to become a successful writer and journalist. So what is that thing keeping you from fulfilling your dream? What's that problem that keeps you awake at night? Trust me, there isn't anything as bad as you think. You can make it AGAINST ALL ODDS.

London 2012: Nigeria's Plans, Bekele's Unfulfilled Dreams and Pistorius, the People's Champion

It only happens once every four years, but the few weeks of any Olympic Games are always full of excitement, joy, passion, disappointment but ultimately an avenue to compete with the best of athletes from all over the world. And thanks to superb organisation, the2012 London Olympics hasn’t been any different. Here are a few of my thoughts on Africa’s plight in the games so far:

NIGERIA:  THE FIRE~BRIGADE APPROACH

It isn’t the first time that Africa’s most populous nation will go into a major championship on the back of shoddy preparations. And it doesn’t seem to be the last – it is a norm for the “Giant of Africa”. Year in year out, the country’s athletes are never given proper attention. What happens is a situation where a few months to a major competition, a fire brigade approach is adopted by officials and then the nation is expected to “pray” and “hope” for the best.

Nigeria’s government released about 2.3 billion naira (9 million Pounds) just a few months to the games. A huge investment you would say, but definitely one that is the right thing at the wrong time. Nigeria’s Vanguard Newspapers quotes an unnamed official as saying the late release of funds is a major reason for the country’s woeful performances at the games.

Hear him: “2 billion naira can help our sports and help us win gold medals at the Olympic Games if it is released in time and spread over four years for preparation. From the last Olympics in Beijing till date if we used2 billion naira to develop our athletes, train them, expose them and enter them for competitions, I will be telling you how many gold medals we can win here in London.”

Unfortunately, as at the time of writing this, Nigeria is yet to win any medal. So much is the anxiety for any colour of medal that Maryam Usman, a weightlifter was accorded a bronze medal even before her event was through. Even respected news outlets published the information which later turned out false. Ultimately, the country’s wait to podium continues.

KENENISA BEKELE IS HUMAN AFTERALL

If there was one race which had everyone glued to their seats, then definitely, the 10000 metres men’s final was it. This was because two questions needed to be answered: would Ethiopian greatKenenisa Bekele create history by going past legendary compatriot Haile Gabrselassie’s feat and be the first man to win three consecutive gold medals or would Britain’s Mo Farah (with African roots) rise to the occasion and win his first?

Bekele was really looking forward to going one step ahead of the great Gabrselassie. Sadly, he only managed fourth position as Mo Farah’s amazing finish clinched gold. Consolation is, Bekele’s younger brother Tariku~ who looks a great prospect~ clinched the bronze medal.

OSCAR PISTORIUS: A CHAMPION EVEN IN DEFEAT

Perhaps South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius provided the world with the most compelling story of the 2012 London Olympics – even before it’s ended.  His story is one that has inspired lots of people from all over the world. Participating in the competition itself has been a story of doggedness as he was initially banned by rules of the International Amateur Athletics Federation. The athletics ruling body opined that the use of his carbon fibre prosthetics called Cheetah Flex~Foot puts him at an advantage. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sports ruled in his favour and on August 4th, Pistorius became the first double leg amputee to participate in the Olympic Games. Not only did he participate but he became a source of inspiration to lots of viewers all across the globe. He may have not qualified for the finals of the 400 metres but popular CNN broadcaster Piers Morgan best described the scene on his twitter page when he wrote, “Heroic. #Pistorius.”

More so, South African Kim Masters reckons in her piece for The UK Newspaper, The Metro “Yes, there was disappointment….but the image of Kirani James (winner of the race) swapping name tags with Oscar on the track at the end of the race~ that will stay with me forever… Pistorius is the people’s champion as well as a sporting champion. For me, he is the symbol of everything we can do and everything we dream of doing.”

*This was first published on ventures~africa.com