‘I no get eyes to see wife wey I just marry’

"My biggest pain now na say I no get eyes to take see wife wey I marry recently and even siblings wey my parents born afta me I no know how dem look and we dey together everyday.”

Saifullah Mukhtar don dey blind for 17 years now afta e lose im sight at di age of 16 wen e bin dey secondary school for Kano state inside northern Nigeria.

Saifullah wey no allow im disability hold am back not only graduate from Bayero Universitt Kano but also recently get job with Nigeria airspace management agency (NAMA).

“At first, like any oda pesin wey calamity befall, i bin tink say na di end of di world for me, we try everytin to get di sight back but e no work.”

“Na wen me and my parents go see one Indian specialist wey tell my parents say I no go see again na wen we give up and na from dia I decide to make best use of my life by taking education seriously.”

“I graduate from BUK, enrol for Masters and just recently get job with Nigeria Airspace management agency and for di records I even beat pipo wey dey see to get di job.

“My advice for pipo wey get my type of condition be say, make dem no give up on life, I know say e dey pain not to use eye see di world but many pipo dey in far worse conditions, go hospital see pipo with spinal cord injuries or mad pipo wey lose dia brains.”

'50 million Nigerians get eye problem'

Di Nigeria Optometrist Association hold dia annual conference for Nigeria capital Abuja on Wednesday, 13, July 2022 wia president of the association, Dr Obinna Awiaka tok say nearly 50 million Nigerians get eye problem.

E add say na about 300 million blind pipo dey for di world and Nigeria dey account for 7 million inside dat huge number.

“For di world, na about 40 percent of pipo get eye issues while for Nigeria, 50 million na im get am.” Dis na wetin Dr Obinna tok.

Dr Sadiq Hassan na di head of ophthalmology department for Aminu Kano Hospital and e tell BBC Pidgin say e agree say 50 million Nigerians get eye problem because of di way di number of eye patients dey shoot up for dia unit.

Di doctor say di leading cause of blindness not only in Nigeria but in di world na cataract.

“Cataract na di biggest cause of blindness for Nigeria and di world oda major issues like Glaucoma also dey but na cataract be di biggest.”

Wetin be di cure for cataract?

Dr Sadiq say di best ways to prevent from getting cataract na to get healthy lifestyle.

And also to manage well oda health condition wey dey worsen di problem. “For example, pipo wey get Diabetes fit get worsen case of cataract, so di beta pesin manage those kain health problems di less im chances of cataract.”

Di doctor also add say some dey get cataract due to dia age while dem dey born some with am.

“Senile cataract na due to age and dey start mostly from 50 years while congenital cataract na di one wey dem born pesin with.”

Finally, di head of department say di only cure at di moment for cataract na operation as science still dey do research on eye drop or medicine wey patients fit take to solve di problem.

“At di moment, no eye drop or any particular medicine to cure am but only operation.”